32 DEl'ARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



above noted, and also the investigations already started, and to begin 

 as many others as the facilities of the laboratory will allow. 



DIVISION OF PATHOLOGY. 



The most important branches of work upon which this division has 

 been engaged during the past fiscal year are the following: 



(1) The investigation of a fatal infectious disease of chickens, to 

 which the name of "apoplectiform septicemia" has been given. 



(2) The preparation for publication of the results obtained in the 

 investigation relative to ' ' the inf ectiveness of milk from cows which 

 have reacted to the tuberculin test." 



(3) An investigation concerning the comparative virulence of tuber- 

 cle bacilli from human, bovine, ovine, porcine, ami simian sources. 



(4) An investigation of a highly fatal enzootic among the cattle in a 

 dairy herd in the vicinity of the city of Washington. 



(o) A preliminary study of a progressive, chronic, but nevertheless 

 fatal disease among Angora goats, which has been brought to our 

 attention from Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and 

 Missouri. 



(6) An investigation of the so-called maladie du coit among 

 horses in Nebraska, with particular reference to the probability of its 

 ultimate extirpation. 



(7) The preiDaralion and distribution of blackleg vaccine. 



(8) A continuation of the inoculation experiments and microscopic 

 examinations for the purpose of determining the prevalence of rabies 

 in the District of Columbia. 



(0) The preparation of tubes of grasshopper disease fungus for dis- 

 tribution by the Division of Entomology. 



(10) Experiments relative to the preparation of a harmless but effi- 

 cient anthrax vaccine. 



(11) The preparation, installation, and supervision of a pathological 

 exhibit at Buffalo, N. Y., and Charleston, S. C. 



(12) The determination of pathological specimens sent to the Bureau 

 for diagnosis and the preparation of answers to inquiries relative to 

 the character, cause, and treatment of various diseases of domestic 

 animals. 



APOPLECTIFORM SEPTICEMIA IN CHICKENS. 



jA highly fatal disease in chickens, to which the name "apoplecti- 

 form septicemia " has been applied, was observed on a farm in north- 

 ern Virginia during the past year. The nonpyogenic streptococcus 

 isolated as the causative agent in the outbreak is possessed of unusual 

 virulence for chickens, causing sudden death without premonitory 

 symptoms and with a mortality of 100 per cent of those affected and 

 92 per cent of the entire flock. The nature, etiology, and prevention 

 of this affection have been studied and the results of the investiga- 

 tion published as Bulletin No. 36 of this Bureau. 



INFECTIVENESS OF MILK FROM TUBERCULOUS COWS. 



As a result of the elaborate experiment which was conducted in this 

 laboratory for the purpose of establishing the presence or absence of 

 the tubercle bacilli in the milk of tuberculous cattle, a paper has been 

 prepared entitled " Inf ectiveness of milk from cows which have reacted 

 to the tuberculin test." This paper contains the final results obtained 

 from the inoculation and ingestion experiments conducted upon 

 guinea pigs with the milk of the tuberculous cows at the Government 

 Asylum for the Insane, together with the positive findings recorded 



