New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-03-27

men f. q
tof.-us can Do cured by such means physician
--.ll~t tfat before long art't0Zius may ne use.
tuccessfuIly f1r consumption. pneumonia ana ONE
diseases which are known 10 BE- produced ny germs
DlrhtherIa was the first Tlruleut disease To 'e coz.
trred hv antt0Kin and in the last eight years li'
fosth rate FROM GiIhtherIa has been reduced more
than g per cent. In hospitals which employ anu
toxin FOR dIphthcrIa there ifs one death now where
there were eight before its introduction
The Fu-cessfaI use Of autitoEn Tor lock1aW was
rtrdrgly Illustrated only tho other day ia a l'Iooh
Ism hospital u was operation which snatcAea
from the cog. % the grave little John McL9iolsh d,
The ele.-en-ysa id son Of Henry =. McDonough. o.
No 5Zg Chauucey-st. Several days after ne mao
wounded his leg in play by scratching IL on a rock
the uttle fellow was carried TO the Bushwick Cen
tral Hospital. his parents believed, 10 die Inc
laws had closed like wise and the BODY was
hent double with pain. spasms became frequent.
and only uqud food could be administered through
a tube After every other means OF treatment had
failed q was decided TO inject antoxin Ordinarily
10 perform this operation the skull is trepanned and
the fluid discharged into the brain But the boy
case was desperate for this method. and Instead
Dr Frank H. Clark the physician who had taken
charge OF the operation. injected the anttoXin Tor
tetanus into the cavity OF the spinal column Three
weeks afterward the Lad was romping about among
Ais Elayulates as hearty and wei as ever.
IN the laboratories where antitoxin IS made. how
ever operations f0r lOckiaw even more hazardous
than that which saved the life OF little John Nc
Donough are performed day IN and day out and the
world knows nothing OF them. Here may be found
CORDS OF hacteriologists, who make business OF
balancing life ana death as one might weigh grains
Of cold with a pair OF scales. one Of these experts
for example VIII administer just enough poison 10
bring his patient face 10 face with death aHo ile
nter nursing the invalid back 10 life DE- VIII poison
the .convalescent with stiu more potent dose.
Now and then his patient Is carried too far away
from lie and the bacterologst is compelled 10 re
sort 10 heroic measures TO prevent death. The pa
tierts are lower animals not human beings
In the laboratory Of Parse. Davis Co. OF De
troit there are two hundred horses which are kepl
Cor she sole rurq0se OF producing antitoNins- More
than a hundred generate In their veins the anu
toxin Tor dlphtheria. twenty-five create me anu
toxin FOR tetanus lockjaw. twenty more are Tor
she urpnaration OF the antitoNn for erysipelas ano
li-5-e5 diseases and the remainder for the expert
r,ertal --o6rctian of aufitoxins for consumption
and pneumonia
horse creates the e-titozin Tor disease by
heine inoculated with the toxin or poison. Whlch
the germs u that disease produce. in preparing
.h ertitozu Tor d.phthera. for instance, the germs
are first trauspanted from the threat Of chic 70
. a sort OF bouiuou. made from chopped lean beck
We're the germs on multiplying throw OF 4 'oA'l'
or poison which. when potent enough oauseS
death 20 any animal with whose blood X nlheieS
II quantity OF this toxin less than the Iatal oose
- infected into an animal the body Of that animal
Generates IN its system q peculiar product "hlch
a 6estro,s these posons This product is known a
sntitoxin. IN obtaining the anutoXin ioF oIpH
s1,e~fa n
.hs toxin are injected, with Intervals pelWeeh 10
,,rrs,t the animal 70 recuperate. until after sew
.-s1 months OF treatment enough toxin is harm
! lsssly injected Kin several hundred horses
N brought In fresh from the fields
III When che bscterioogist believes that the horse
~ has Feuerated IN It's blood al the anttoxin that
Sta tvrtem is capable OF producing. he draws on
half gallon OF its blood. A hollow neeole SNAPPED
tube is thrust into the 3ugar vein. and the olooo
nows through the tube into an airught NesseL
nwHrfH FrN
'sf1-esoe when Il Is siphoued or into small glass
tubes ready Tor the market. Theoretically sealed
and equipped with syringe attachment ana d
hypodermlo needle All the various anttoHlns are
prepared IN much the same way
In experimenting with various kinds OF horses. 70
-,ee which OF them would produce the best anti
toxin fer diphtherIa IN the largest quantities, an
animal was brought into the Parke-DaFls IaooIa-
tory stables which only two years before haa neeh
D. favorite entry ct Sheepshead Bay. More than
c7os n had crossed the line ahead amid the loud
hurrahs OF the raiIBirds. Indiscreet riders. how
ever had overtaxed the beast, so that u many
broke down In front
Ike every horse that enters an antitoxln stable.
the retired racer was isolated scrubbed from ears
~ ho0fs with a steriliZing soap, and examined 10
learn n s. had any hidden disease. At the end OF
three weeks drop of diphtheTia toxin was injected
into its blood. The result produced an alarming
rise IN temperature which seemed 20 Indicate that
te animal would no: rally and overcome the poison
dose by the creation Of a sufficient amount OF anu
toxin a. it, blood. For days the horse refused 70
cat and il was not uutu a fortnight had passed
that tho bacteriologst In charge dared 70 repeat
che dose
At .he second Injection one drop was again nd
rnirstered yet the animal showed violent symp-
toms as the first time. u was only by means OF
the most careful treatment that t5e animal sur
,fved the shock. Accordingly. the bacteriologists
decided that the horse was too susceptible 70 poi
sons 10 produce antitoXin probably Any larger
dose they feared. would XIII After the animal
had recovered from its second sickness IL was sold
20 q man. who succeeded after fixing Il up" in
winning many race thereafter az the county fairs.
Another patient % the antitoxin stable which
had been tnocuated for forty-one DAYS finally sue
cumbed 20 seven crops OF dphtheria toxin. In that
length OF time Il had taken in all seventy-iive
drops of poison A. the beginning Il had given
promise OF being large producer Of antitoNin but
was unable 20 stand tho increase OF poison from
dose 70 dose. which is necessary IN the standard
antitoNin horse.
For the reason that horses Of highly sensitive
constitutions proved 10 he failures in the produc
tion OF the coveted serum. draught horses were
enlisted az massive physique and Of phegmauc
disposition. Yet they failed as f,gnally the
highly bred animals in producing a profitable
mount OF autl-li phtherIIc serum. ono OF them IN
particular, a great Norman mare. was inoculated
with enough poison after several months. IN which
-the doses were steadily increased. 10 Kill several
hundred raw recruits Of the racer type. Yet on
being bled her blood showed only small per
scent OF anti-d.phthc-itc serum.
After long and costly experiments the bacterio,o-
Eists discovered that the best animal for their
the stylish cob. such as nav be seen draw
ing private carriages any fair afternoon IN upper
Fifth-ave. In the cob there Is Just enough blood
OF the thoroughbred MINGLED with that OF the COM
mon horse 20 produce the largest quantity OF the
best serum.