VETERINARY MEDICINE. 785 



crepaucy between these results and mine may probably arise either from the 

 plant from which my preparations were made having been collected at the 

 wrong season, or possibly from the poisonous principle having undergone 

 change into some inert form in the course of preparation or drying. 



" S. sylvaticus collected in Yorkshire in August proved equally inactive. 

 iS. vulgaris or common groundsel collected in England and prepared in the 

 same way proved poisonous, a cat which received the extract from 2 gm. of 

 the dried plant dying in 10 days with symptoms resembling those arising from 

 senecifoline, but with more marked diarrhea. The post-mortem findings were 

 similar to those observed from senecifoline." 



In regard to the enzym and streptococci content of milk obtained under 

 aseptic conditions, W. Rullmann {Arch. Myg., 73 (1910), No. 1, pi). Sl-l.'f-'f). — 

 Out of 84 milks which were obtained under aseptic conditions 20 were found 

 to be free from bacteria, and with a gi-eat many samples the number of 

 organisms was from 2 to 5 germs per cubic centimeter. 



The enzym content was determined in the 20 germ-free samples, and from 

 this it could be noted that catalase, direct oxidase, peroxidase, Schardinger's 

 enzym, and diastase are original constituents of milk, while reductase, hydro- 

 genase, and salolase are of bacterial origin. In these tests it was often pos- 

 sible to detect strains of micrococci which were capable of producing reductase 

 and catalase in sterile milk and at a temperature of 37° C. It was also noted 

 that milks obtained from cows affected with mastitis contained a large amount 

 of catalase, Schardinger's enzym, and reductase, and that Schardinger's 

 reagent could be decolorized by artificially sterilized germ-free milk, though a 

 much longer period of time was required than with ordinary milk. The 

 author was also able to note that the teats on each side of the udder were inti- 

 mately connected. When large amounts of leucocytes were present in the 

 milk the acidity content of the milk was low, and a decrease of the bacterial 

 content of milk took place when the milk was allowed to stand for a long 

 period. 



In regard to the mastitis itroblem, the author concludes that the TrommsdorCf 

 leucocyte test is of great value as a diagnostic agent, and where an unusually 

 large sediment has been obtained in the centrifuge tube he recommends a 

 microscopic examination for streptococci and also the inoculation of the sedi- 

 ment into bouillon. Ernst's tester for detecting mastitis, according to the 

 author, is an efficient apparatus for the control of the disease in the barn and 

 is easily handled. 



In regard to the biology of the hog erysipelas bacillus and two organisms 

 which are morphologically similar, Schipp (Dciit. Tierdrztl. Wchnschr., 18 

 (1910), Xo. 8, pp. 113-117; abs. in ZtvcJir. Fleisch ii. Milchlryg., 21 (1910), No. 1, 

 pp. 20, 21). — ^Two bacilli were isolated from a bovine (A) and from chickens 

 (B). which closely resembled Bacillus erysipelatis suis. These were subjected 

 to a biological examination (agglutination and opposite immunization), the 

 results of which showed that the (B) bacillus was identical with the erysipelas 

 bacillus. This bacillus, according to the author, had an increased virulence, and 

 in this way was capable of producing a lethal infection in the fowl but when 

 cultivated in the laboratory it lost much uf its aggressiveness. On the other 

 hand, like other erysipelas strains, it retained its toxicity for mice for a long 

 period of time. 



Murrina, a trjrpanosomal disease of equines in Panama, S. T. Darling 

 (Jour. Infec. Diseases, 8 (1911), No. h, PV- 467-485, fig. 1).— This is a report 

 of studies of the fatal type of equine trypanosomiasis known in Panama as 

 " murrina " and " derrengadera," a preliminary account of which has been pre- 

 viously noted (E. S. R., 23, p. 486). It is stated that at least 23 animals were 

 destroyed by this disease during the year prior to April, 1910. 



