Fort Wrangel news., 1898-06-22
Consumption and It's Cure.

For years the physicians and sur geonS of the world have been waging an unceasing warfare against that most dreaded disease. consumption, and that considerable progress has been made during the past ten years cannot be doubted. Every step taken is given to the public in the various newspapers, aud the new remedies, in many cases, are sent to the afflicted free of charge. If wishes for success by the doctors who are giving so much time, study and research and thought to the causes and cure of the disease mentioned would only be of some assistance, they would thus be aided by the people of the whole earth, civilized and uncivilized, for there are none that are free from it's destructive effects.
 The San Francisco Call of recent date has the following to say concern ing the research of Dr. Pillsbury, in- structor in Bacteriology in the Cooper Medical Institute of that city:
 "Dr. Pillsbury is the man who is en- titled to the honor of having made one of the most important meteorological discoveries of the decade. In isolating the alkaloid, or active principal, of ba- cilli tuberculosis he has opened the door to the finding of cure for con- sumption, the dreaded white plague. Scientifically cure is now nearer at hand than ever before. Dr. Pillsbury has worked years at his theory and in order to make his tests has bred bill lions of billions of bacilli tuberculosis"
 The most important part of the dis coyery is that of the Alkaloid of Bacilli Tuberculosis, which it seems has not heretofore been accomplished. The production of the alkaloid by the doc tor is given in his own language, as follows:
 ..,rhe pure washed bacilli culture is washed in water acidulated with hydro chloric acid It is then washed again in pure re-distilled alcohol and filtered. The tiiliate is then distilled and the res iduc dissolved in water and precipitat- ed with phosphomoly bdic acid.
 Again the product is filtered and the residue broken up with Baryta water. The barium is then precipitated with carbon doXide. The filtratc is then eyaporated and the residue exhausted with alcohol, which gives the alkaloid in a comparatively pure state.
 1t is now in the form of white crys- tals and answers all the usual tests for alkaloids, such as chloride of gold, chloride of platinum, etc, leaving no doubt that it is the pure alkaloid of bacilli tuberculosis"
 In statement made by the doctor, he describes the propagation of the ba- cilli, of which he uses billions. In ord CT to get enough to make even small test it is necessary to breed them. This process consists of injecting a small number of the living bacilii into specially prepared veal broth and keep ing it at q temperature of about 100 degrees. From tine tiny specks at first visible in the compound the microbes spread all through the mass of broth i'll q few weeks.
 They were then washed out with alco- hol and water and put into a large jar for future use.
 Of course this washing kills them, but it leaves with them all their organic ele- mcnts.
 In this condition the mass of bacilli looks like jar of corn meal and can be handled in much the same manner.
 The Dr. Pillsbury referred to is son of Dr. Pillsbury, who is now in this city, of whom mention was made in our last issue.