een, Abbott's experiments prove beyond
doubt that attenuated disease-producing organisms, which in
healthy animals do not kill immediately, bring about a fatal
result when the animal has previously been treated with alcohol.
In order to determine which was the most important factor in the
destruction or weakening of the resisting agents in the body,
Dr. Delearde conceived the idea of experimenting with those
diseases in which it has been found possible to produce,
artificially, as it were, and under controlled conditions, an
immunity or insusceptibility in healthy animals. He carried out
a series of experiments on rabbits, immunizing against and
infecting with the virus of hydrophobia, tetanus and anthrax.[B]
To these rabbits he first administered a quantity of alcohol,
from 6 to 8 c.c. at first, and gradually rises to 10 c.c. doses
per diem.

[Footnote B: Carbuncle.]

"There is in the first instance a slight falling off in weight
of the animal, but after a time this ceases, and the animal may
again become heavier, until the original weight is reached. He
then took a series of animals and vaccinated them against
hydrophobia. In one set the animals were afterwards alcoholized
and then injected with a considerable quantity of virulent rabic
cord. It was here found that immunity against rabies had not
been lost.

"In a second set the vaccination and alcoholization were carried
on simultaneously, a fatal dose (as proved by control
experiment) of rabic cord was then injected, when it was found
that little or no immunity had been acquired. In a third series
the alcohol was stopped before the immunizing process was
commenced. In this case marked immunity was acquired.

"As regards rabies, then, acute alcoholism, especially when
continued for comparatively short periods, simply has the
effect of preventing the acquisition of immunity when alcohol is
administered during the period when the immunizing process ought
to be going on. This indicates that the action of the alcohol in
acute alcoholism is direct, and that although its administration
prevents the acquisition of immunity it does not alter the cells
so materially that they cannot regain some of their original
powers, whilst once the immunity has been gained by the cells,
alcohol cannot, immediately, so fundame