282 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Bacteriological diagnosis of anthrax by dried swabs from the blood, and 

 by examination of the skin, J. M. Beattie and U. R. Phadke (Afts. in Jour. 

 Path, and Bad., 18 (1913), No. 1, pp. 115, 116). — "An examination of the skin 

 of infected animals is too uncertain to be of any vahie as a means of diagnosis. 

 Spores are not formed in dried swabs or in dried skin, and therefore heating 

 the swab or tlie skin to 70° C. renders a diagnosis still more uncertain; in our 

 experiments it destroyed all chance of a diagnosis. Small quantities of dried, 

 infected blood may give a negative result on examination, and therefore in the 

 examination of hides considerable areas and those taken from different parts of 

 the body should be examined." 



The curability of dourine, Monod {Rev. Y4t. Milit., 1912, Dec; ais. in Rev. 

 Yd. [Toulouse], 39 (1914), No. 3, pp. 164, 165).— The author finds the form of 

 dourine that occurs in North Africa to be curable through the administration 

 of atoxyl and of orpiment (arsenic trisulphid), on alternate days, until five 

 doses have been given. A 10 per cent solution of atoxyl is administered subcuta- 

 neously, the dose varying from 4 to 5 gm. The orpiment is administered in 

 boluses of 30 gm. ; three cases of poisoning, two ending fatally, have been ob- 

 served to follow. After an interval of 10 days the treatment is repeated. 



Progress and results in transmission experiments by the Imperial Health 

 Department with cytoryctes cocci recorded by Siegel as the cause of foot- 

 and-mouth disease, and with the bacteria said by von Niessen to be the 

 cause of this disease, Wehrle and Zwick (Arh. K. Osndhtsamt., 45 (1913), 

 No. 4, pp. 522-583, figs. 29; abs. in Rec. MM. V^t., 91 (1914), No. 3, pp. 102- 

 104). — The commission composed of a number of veterinarians appointed to 

 investigate the subject find that the cytoryctes cocci of Siegel (E. S. R., 28, p. 

 376) while pathogenic are not of etiologic importance in foot-and-mouth disease, 

 and that the microbe of von Niessen does not represent the infective agent, nor 

 is it of etiologic importance, in this disease. 



Experiments with Tryposafrol in foot-and mouth disease, Seiler (Berlin. 

 Tierdrzil. Wchmchr., 30 (1914), No. 13, pp. 219-224).— The author's work indi- 

 cates that Tryposafrol has no protective or curative value in foot-and-mouth 

 disease. 



Notes on complement fixation in glanders, L. Fbothingham and S. O'Toole 

 (Jour. Med. Research, 28 (1913), No. 2, pp. 333-344).— The results show that 

 complement may be obtained directly from the heart of a guinea pig without 

 injury to the animal. This allows a series of high titer guinea pigs to be kept 

 for this purpose only, and these can be bled in rotation. The complement may 

 be kept in an ordinary ice box for 3 days with but little deviation of titer in 

 either direction. 



" Hemolytic amboceptor kept in a dark room averaging 45 to 50° F. for more 

 than 6 months still holds it original titer. Rabbits may be immunized by the 

 intraperitoneal injection of washed undiluted sheep corpuscles. The immunized 

 rabbit may be bled from the heart without injury and be kept for the future 

 l)roduction of amboceptor. Antigen must be titrated against a known positive 

 glanders serum, and again titrated (as a control) without positive serum. Uni- 

 valent and polyvalent glanders antigens have been kept in a dark room at 45 

 to 50° for more than 15 months without loss of titer. They have also been kept 

 in an ordinary ice chest for 4 months, and probably can be kept longer under 

 these conditions without deterioration. Titration and the test proper may be 

 much hastened by placing the tubes in a water bath at 37 to 40° C. 



" Clear horse serum, rarely needing centrifugalizing, may be obtained by 

 allowing the blood to clot in an inverted test tube against a cork stopper; the 

 clot adheres to the cork and is removed with it. Positive and negative (glan- 

 ders) horse sera, inactivated, have been kept in a dark room at 45 to 50° F. 



