THE EXPERIMENT STATION. 173 



am in hopes others interested in the welfare of our equine favorites will fol- 

 low it up and report their findings to this department of our station. I am 

 aware that mature whip-worms often cause colic in horses, but it had never 

 occurred to me, nor have I ever heard it suggested, that the immature, or 

 microscopic creature, would produce such severe symptoms as I have seen. 



The manner in which I now proceed to make the examination, is to take a 

 small particle of the faecal matter to be examined and place it on a slide, 

 then drop the smallest quantity of water that will cover it on steadily, and 

 examine under a three-fourths inch objective or first-class pocket lens ; the 

 worms, if present, will soon show themselves by their erratic movements. 

 I have found them liveliest in fresh specimens, although they will live, even 

 in the outside world, for some days. 



With regard to the destruction of the parasites, I have not had an oppor- 

 tunity of experimenting very extensively; indeed, it may not be necessary, 

 as I think they will yield to most vermifuge forms of treatment. I will add, 

 though, that I have experienced very beneficial results from the administra- 

 tion of quinine and chlorate of potash. The procedure which I adopted was 

 to give fifteen grains of sulphate of quinine mixed with two drachms of 

 chlorate of potassium. This dose was given in the food three times a day 

 and continued for four days. 



ACTINOMTKOSIS. 



During the winter months of the present year the disease known con- 

 ventionally as Lumpy Jaw (Actinomykosis) was frequently brought under 

 the notice of the people of Michigan, as well as other States, and as I am 

 not aware of its ever having been investigated in this country, and as there 

 are certain features of the disease that I am not aware have been investi- 

 gated in any part of the world, I recommended to the board of conference 

 of the Michigan Experiment Station that the veterinary department of this 

 station be instructed to investigate this complaint, and that the investiga- 

 tion be directed: First, towards the cause of this disease; second, to 

 determine if it is transmissible from animal to animal, and the circum- 

 stances that are most favorable to its transmission ; third, to determine, as 

 far as possible, what animals are most susceptible to the complaint ; fourth, 

 to determine, if possible, if the poison will grow upon grass, or other 

 aliment when exposed to the sun's rays ; fifth, to test the effect of cooking 

 upon it, and determine what temperature it requires to destroy the poison. 



With regard to the first part of this investigation, I will say that during 

 the last few years (in our own time) transatlantic investigators have dis- 

 covered a radiating fungus composed of a number of little club-shaped 

 bodies, arranged in such a manner that fthey have been called actinomyces. 

 These, when transmitted to other animals under favorable circumstances, 

 are said to reproduce themselves, and thus cause actinomykosis in the other 

 animal. 



In carrying on this work it was my desire, first of all, to grow these fungi 

 in some artificial culture medium, then transmit the artificial preparation to 

 some animal, and watch the result ; and for this purpose I procured some 

 tumors, supposed to be composed in part of ray fungi or actinomyces, and 

 inoculated certain culture fluids, as well as solid culture material ; but up to 

 the present time I have not been able to produce an artificial crop that 



