The non-bacillar nature of abrus-poison : with observations on its chemical and physiological properties / by C.J.H. Warden and L.A. Waddell.

Date:
1884
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The non-bacillar nature of abrus-poison : with observations on its chemical and physiological properties / by C.J.H. Warden and L.A. Waddell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    Exp. V.—A quantity was injected hypodermically into a chicken No result. Exp. VI.—A quantity was inoculated into a house-mouse. No result. The micrococci found on the glass plate appeared similar to those of the test-tube used in Exps. I to III. The following experiments were made with these micrococci:— Exp. VII.—A quantity mixed with a little distilled water was smeared over conjunctiva of cat. No result. Exp. VIII.—A small quantity mixed with a little water was injected into a chicken, without any apparent effect. These culture experiments therefore show that the seeds contain no specific bacilli or spores capable of developing in nutrient gelatine. In one of the specimens no bacilli at all were found, even after cultivation for two weeks. In the other the bacillus which was found proved to be inert, both when applied topically to the conjunctiva and also when inoculated and administered hypodermically. The micrococci found in both cultivations were also inert. For collateral evidence, stained sections of the seeds were examined. If bacilli be present in tbe seeds, then sections of the seeds stained with methyl violet ought to reveal the bacteria in situ. But such an examination failed to show bacteria of any kind. The annexed engraving from a drawing by Dr. Cunningham shows the microscopic structure of the seeds. The protoplasm of adjacent cells freely anastomoses. The protoplasm is of a granular character; the mode of shading practised in the engraving by short interrupted straight lines was adopted merely as a convenient way of giving effect to the granular appearance exhibited by the cell-contents. No starch granules can be detected in the seeds. Thus the processes of cultivation and staining furnish posi- tive evidence against the presence in the seed of bacteria. And it is only in keeping with the researches of Dr. Roberts (1) and others to find that undecomposed vegetable tissue is free from micro-organisms. (1) Phil. Soc. Trans., 1874.