Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1911-08-18


and this second wind" this refresh
ment Of the body, is due to the quick
production Of the anti-toxin in ques-
ton. The body begins to fight this poi
son Of fatigue, just as 1t tries to fight
all substances antagonfstic to it's per-
feet equilibrium. But push the labor
further, drive the body on continuous
ly In its work, and the toxin of fatigue
is produced in such large quantities
that 1T can no longer be conquered by
it's anti. Your man is then dead
tired" and must rest" until the IA
tigue poison can be thoroughly over.
come by the accommodating anti-poison,
or anti-body, as it is technically called.
Our German scientist had all these
well known facts in mind when he set
to work On the experiment by which
he hoped TO make an anti-toxin for
fatigue which he could administer arti-
ficially, and thus perhaps cure the rest
habit altogether The experiment and
its results are interesting.
Taking a rabbit-one of those plia-
BILE and accomplishing tools of the
laboratory-and placing it in revolv-
ing cage, he made it work continuous
ly until it was perfectly exhausted.
(There is positively no limit to the fool
things a rabbit will do, once it is fair
ly started on it's way) Then the ex-
perimenter drew off from this exhaust
ed rabbit quantity of serum which he
injected into two fresh rabbits. These
fresh rabbits he now placed in revolv-
ing cages, and, as check, or control
experiment, he at the same time
placed two fresh uninjected rabbits in
two other cages, and then put on the
power.
Away went the revolving cages.
Trust rabbit for doing any desired
quantity of purely improbable Ia Dor!
But our eXperimenter found precisely
what he was expecting. The injected
rabbits were quickly exhausted, where
as the uninjected ones merrily whirled
their cages, both of them as fresh as
a daisy and veritatle gluttons for
work
The first point was proved. Inject
into fresh animal the serum of a
fatigued animal, and the fresh animal
IS at once, without stroke of work,
fatigued in degree that varies with
the size of the dose. But the main OBJ
ject of the experiment was to produce
an anti-toxin for fatigue; a serum that
would MAKE the rabbits immune to
fatigue. The experimenter by repeat
edly treating a fresh animal with in
creasing doses of serum from a
fatigued animal, believed it possible
that the body of the treated animal
would react against the poison in such
a way that new doses would have no
effect. By taking the serum Of this
now immune animal and injecting it
into the body of another and fresh an
imal, the experimenter hoped to make
this last rabbit immune, and able to
work Indefinitely without fatigue!
The results of these latter expert
ments do not seem to have been quite
as satisfactory as were those of the
former.
While the body of the injected rab-
bit would react to certain degree
against the injected poison, it would
not react more vigorously than it
would to the toxin of fatigue produced
in the ordinary way by labor; at least
the results in the second line of expert
ments were not what might be called
startlingly encouraging.
And yet it is not to be expected that
this patient German will let his idea
go by default. The secret of success
in all scientific research is patience
and power of waiting that are almost
godlike In these desirable qualities
the German mind excels all others;
and the Germans therefore lead the
world in this kind of unremunerative
and slavish toll. But if he did not
succeed at one coup in banishing
made good start. No doubt in time
an anti-toxin for fatigue will be dis
covered. No doubt the Edison of the
future when he desires to work week
or two without resting will only be re-
CURED to apply at necessary intervals
to the nearest doctor for the injection
of the few hundred units of the anti
toxin needed, and merrily work away.
Nor is it to be imagined that he will
permit his pupils and assistants to
doze away valuable time behind the
bales in the warehouse when a few ad-
ditional units will keep them whistling
like sawyers at their work for three or
four weeks at time.
Copyright, 1911, by the Columbia Press
Syndicate.)