my pricks himself with
his scalpel in the course of his work; or else, by inadvertence, he
has an insignificant scratch on his hand. A cut which one would hardly
notice, produced by the point of a pocket knife, a scratch of no
account, from a thorn or otherwise, now becomes a mortal wound, if
powerful antiseptics do not speedily remedy the ill. The scalpel is
soiled by its contact with the flesh of the corpse; so are the hands.
That is quite enough. The virus of corruption is introduced; and, if not
treated in time, the wound proves fatal. The dead has killed the living.
This also reminds us of the so-called carbuncle flies, the lancet of
whose mouth parts, contaminated with the sanies of corpses, produces
such terrible accidents.

My dealings as against insects are, when all is said, nothing but
dissecting room wounds and carbuncle flies' stings. In addition to
the gangrene that soon impairs and blackens the tissues, I obtain
convulsions similar to those produced by the scorpion's sting. In its
convulsive effects, the venomous fluid emitted by the sting bears
a close resemblance to the muscular infusions with which I fill my
injector. We are entitled, therefore, to ask ourselves if poisons,
generally speaking, are not themselves a produce of demolition, a
casting of the organism perpetually renewed, waste matter, in short,
which, instead of being gradually expelled, is stored for purposes of
attack and defense. The animal, in that case, would arm itself with its
own refuse in the same way as it sometimes builds itself a home with
its intestinal recrement. Nothing is wasted; life's detritus is used for
self defense.

All things considered, my preparations are meat extracts. If I replace
the flesh of the insect by that of another animal, the ox, for instance,
shall I obtain the same results? Logic says yes; and logic is right.
I dilute with a few drops of water a little Liebig's extract, that
precious standby of the kitchen. I operate with this fluid on six
Cetoniae or rosechafers, four in the grub stage, two in the adult stage.
At first, the patients move about as usual. Next day, the two Cetoniae
are dead. The larvae resist longer and do not die until the second day.
All show the same relaxed muscles, the same blackened flesh, signs of
putrefaction. It is probable, therefore, that, if injected into our own
veins, the same fluid would likewise prove fatal. What is excellent in
the digestive tubes would be appalling in