Infection always means that there is retention of a superfluous amount of reparative material. and confinement of this material in the womb, or in wounds, or in excretory canals or ducts, until putrefaction takes place. If the amount of infection is not overwhelming, and fatal, it may end in suppurative inflammation and formation of septic abscesses.

Milk fever, traumatic fever, putrefactive fermentation, syphilitic and gonorrheal infections, are different forms of septicemic inflammations. The distinguishing characteristics are furnished by the tissue involved, To make my meaning clear, think of the action of organized ferments (bacteria) on carbohydrates and fats. The result is to develop an acid which is more or less an intoxicant, but very unimportant compared with the toxins generated by the ferment on protein--meat--substances containing sulphur and nitrogen. It is probable, however, that excessive fermentation in the digestive tract of carbohydrates does impart a putrefactive change in the proteid tissues of the body and is the cause of offensive odors, hardening of tissues, inducing sclerosis and cancer.