358

Scientific American.

DECEMBER 6, 1890.

CURE OF CONSUMPTION-AN INTERVIEW WITH
PROFESSOR KOCH.

BY DE. CHARLES HACKS, IN "L'ILLUSTRATION."

"My hour of consultation is between 12 and 1 o'clock," signed "Koch." This is written on a little

Fig. 1.-THE BACILLI OF CONSUMPTION FROM NEW MUCUS EXAMINED UNDER THE MICROSCOPE.

square piece of paper fastened by four pins in a gray
frame against the wall at the foot of the grand stair-
case in the entrance of the Imperial Hygienie Institute,
in Berlin, and it was this that four European reporters
were studying on the 5th of November, at 9 o'clock in
the morning. Alas! what an illusion! Many others
have been stopped by that little card, and gone no
further. It is not easy, in fact, to reach this celebrated
savant. From the porter to the secretaries, every one
is extremely reserved in that house. It is almost im-
possible not to have one's card intercepted before it
reaches its destination. We had the good fortune,
nevertheless, to overcome all obstacles, and by excep-
tional favor obtained admission. We are going to try
to lift a corner of the veil under which the German
sphinx lies hidden, and to show to all the world the
great question of the cure of consumption and by what
intellectual and experimental processes the present
condition of the science has been reached.

The intimate friend and adviser of Dr. Koch received
us in his private study on the third floor of the insti-
tute. On the door is a little card on which are the
words "Dr. Koch." The room is very small, and is
partly filled by an enormous stove of faience, which
reaches to the ceiling, and opposite to it is a large table
covered with green and provided with two drawers.
At the end of the room near the window is a little oak
bureau, on which we perceived two proofs of photo-
graphs of which so much has been said, and which
ought to be annexed to the report which is waited for
with so much impatience. They represent two fore-
arms with a hand showing the scars of tubercular
lesions that have been cured, and photographs of
which have been taken from day to day.

Prof. Koch immediately arose and stretched out his
hand to me.

"I am very pleased to meet you," said he. "I remember very well our former intercourse at Marseilles at the time of the cholera in 1885. I remember also that you were the first one to translate my works and discoveries, but," and he held my card in his hand, "I guess the cause of your visit, and regret to say that I will not be able to tell you all I would like."

"Nevertheless, "I replied, "the French publie wish
to know you, and to know and to see something of you
and of what relates to your researches. That you will
certainly grant me. In the first place, let me ask you
for your photograph signed."

I then asked him for a tube containing some bacilli.
Prof. Koch passed immediately into a neighboring
room and came back holding in his hand a tube cou-
taining the *culture*, which he gave to me.

"Will you authorize me to say that these came direct-
ly from your laboratory and were given to me by you?"

"You know very well that I am a simple man, and
how much I fear the notoriety which has arisen. Ne-
vertheless, you desire it, and I give you the authority."

"Since you are in the vein, what would you think of letting me have a tube of the *culture* of comma bacilli of cholera? You are probably the only person in the world who has the germs of cholera bottled up, and it will be interesting to show as coming from the author of the discovery."

Fig. 3.-THE SIMPLE CULTURE OF BACILLI OF TUBERCULOSIS EXAMINED UNDER THE MICROSCOPE.

"It is not necessary for me to recommend to you the greatest prudence, as these bacilli are virulent."

"Certainly I shall destroy them just as soon as I
finish using them. I would like to give photographs
of the laboratory."

"As you please. You can have what you wish ex-

cept the small room at the rear. I am going to ask Dr.
Pfeiffer to assist in making photographs of my labora-
tory of bacteriology, especially that part of it which
relates to my work and where my experiments are
made. He will give you all the information you need."

Fig. 2. THE SAME BACILLI EXAMINED UNDER THE MICROSCOPE AFTER A PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT OF FOURTEEN DAYS.

Dr. Koch was born December 11, 1843, at Clausthal,
where he first attended school. From 1863 to 1866 he
studied medicine at Goettingen; then, having become
a professor of medicine, he commenced his practice at
Posen.

A few years later he was chosen professor and com-
menced his first work on the study of tuberculosis. He
discovered the bacilli, he studied it, and settled the
fact that consumption is caused by a bacillus. This
work at once put him in the very first rank, so that in
1883 he was sent by the Prussian government to India
to make a study of cholera and to discover the cause
of that infectious malady. This time again success
crowned his efforts, and it is admitted to-day without
doubt that cholera is caused by comma bacilli (a name
which Dr. Koch himself gave it on account of its re-
semblance to the comma), as tuberculosis is caused by
the Koch bacilli. As a reward for his services, on his
return the state voted him a purse of $25,000. The im-
portance of the work of this German savant was thus
recognized, and it appears that he is justly entitled to
be considered one of the most extraordinary persons
of our time. It may be well to mention at this point
that according to Koch there is no fear of cholera re-
turning to Europe, or at least it will not pass beyond
some of the countries of the South. Berlin with its
remarkable system of sewerage, and Paris also, have
nothing to fear from that terrible malady. This is cer-
tainly reassuring. Thus it may be seen that the ob-
ject of all of Professor Koch's work is the discovery of
the cause of infectious diseases. He is satisfied that
what he has done for tuberculosis and cholera, and
what others have accomplished for other maladies that
are less deadly, such as erysipelas, could also be done

DR. KOCH AT WORK IN HIS LABORATORY.