894 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Outbreaks of anthrax among the employees in tanneries in Pennsyl- 

 vania and amon- cattle in the neighborhoods are described in consider- 

 able detail. 



"These two outbreaks illustrate one of the important ways in which anthrax is 

 carried long distances. Unfortunately, there appears to he no simple way by which 

 we can protect ourselves from the danger resulting from the use of such infected 

 hides. No method lias yet been discovered for the safe, efficient, and economical 

 disinfection of hides, and although attempts have been made upon the part of the 

 Federal Government to plan.and enforce such disinfections in Hie case of hides from 

 suspected sources, they appear to have been evaded in a few cases. It seems that 

 in some partly civilized countries the hides are- removed from animals that die of 

 anthrax and are exported. There is a provision against the importation of hides 

 from districts where anthrax is known to exist, but as the hides do not always come 

 directly from such districts the regulation does not fully prevent their importation. 

 It has been shown by firiglio, an Italian investigator, that the spores of the anthrax 

 bacillus are even more resistant than is usually supposed, and that the usual, 

 so-called, disinfectiou to which wool and hair and hides are sometimes submitted is 

 futile. He has found that the salting of hides and steeping of the skins in brine 

 does not destroy the spore, nor does soaking of the dried hides in milk of lime, nor 

 prolonged drying; and other observers have noticed that treatment even with 

 arsenic does not disinfect the skins. One reason for this may lie in the fact that 

 spores exist not only on the surface of the skin, but in the deeper parts, whither 

 they are carried in the circulation. 



'• With continued careful oversight of the localities in which anthrax has devel- 

 oped, the proper disposition of all suspected carcasses and a judicious use of 

 vaccine, there is every reason to believe that the disease can not only be kept within 

 present bounds but that it will in time be suppressed.'' 



The other diseases enumerated are treated of in less detail. 



Effects of tuberculin on tuberculous cows, F. L. Russell (Maine 

 Sta. L'pt. 1897, pp. 159-166, pi. 1). — In a previous publication (E. S. II., 

 9, p. 891) a partial report was made of the progress of tuberculosis in 

 a herd of 10 cows, which had given reaction to the tuberculin test. 

 During the year the investigation was continued. The cows were quar- 

 antined in a light and well-ventilated stable and well fed and cared for. 

 In summer they had the run of a small pasture, and in winter were 

 allowed the run of a sunny yard when the weather permitted. The 

 attempt was made to keep the animals in as healthy condition as possi- 

 ble without resorting to any unusual means. From time to time the 

 cows were tested with tuberculin and were finally destroyed, post- 

 mortem examinations being made. 



In the author's opinion the investigation shows that — 



"Kept under exceptionally good conditions as these cattle were, 5 of them kept the 

 disease in check, so that it made practically no advancement. In the case of 3 others 

 but little advance was mad*;, while in 2 cases the disease had nearly reached a fatal 

 termination when the animals were killed. Ou the whole, we can not see that the 

 exceptionally good care that these animals received had any effect on the progress 

 of the disease. It may have retarded the progress of the disease, but if so, the fact 

 is not sufficiently clear to lend much weight to the argument that tuberculosis can 

 be successfully controlled by simply maintaining animals under good hygienic con- 

 ditions. Twenty per cent of deaths is probably as high a percentage as one could 

 reasonably expect among ordinary tuberculosis herds kept under poor or only fair 

 hygienic conditions if, to begin with, all cases that presented any physical symptoms 

 of disease were removed.* - 



