184 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol.38 



" The plan of slaughter of infected herds with strict quarantine and disin- 

 fection of premises, such as has been pursued successfully in combating foot- 

 and-mouth disease, is entirely unsuitable for the control or eradication of hog 

 cholera in the United States. . . . Potent antihog-cholera serum, if used 

 promptly and intelligently on infected herds, will save a large portion of hogs 

 which would otherwise succumb." 



An inquiry into the horse disease kno-wn as septic or contagious pneu- 

 monia, H. Watkins-Pitchfokd (Vet. Jour., 73 (1917), No. 508, pp. 3.'t5-362, flgs. 

 6). — The autlior's studies here reported indicate that septic pneumonia and its 

 generally associated primary catarrhal condition are not infectious, nor are 

 they directly transferable from one horse to another except under certain 

 conditions of experimental infection. " The chief and probably the sole factor 

 determining the establishment of the disease would appear to be a condition 

 of lowered vitality of the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, however 

 brought about, thereby rendering possible the invasion of a prevalent micro- 

 organism. In this way collective outbreaks of a seemingly infectious nature 

 become explicable on the grounds of a common exciting cause." 



Equine trypanosomiasis in Morocco, H. Velu (Bui. Soc. Path. Exot., 10 

 (1917), No. 3, pp. 253-260; abs. in Internat. Inst. Agr. [Rome'^, Internat. Rev. 

 Sci. and Pract. Agr., 8 (1917), No. 6, pp. 888, S89).— This is a report on inocu- 

 lation experiments with mules, dogs, rabbits, rats, sheep, and goats with 

 trypanosomes obtained from six different horses. 



Hemorrhagic septicemia in mules, J. B. Hardentsekgh and F. Boerner, jr. 

 (Jour. Amer. Vet. Med. Assoc, 51 (1917), No. 6, pp. Si 7-S2;3).— This is a report 

 of an outbreak of hemorrhagic septicemia among young mules in Pennsylvtuiia. 

 The diagnosis was based upon the fact that the two cases autopsied showed 

 characteristic lesions of the disease, as seen in the acute form in cattle, without 

 the presence of pneumonia or any other condition to indicate that the lesions 

 were of a secondary nature. In both cases the heart blood and tissue fluids 

 were found teeming with typical bipolar organisms, cultures of which were 

 readily isolated, and showed the growth characteristic of this group. 



Notes in regard to horse lice, Ti-ichodectes and Hsematopiuus, M. C. Hall 

 (Jour. Amer. Vet. Med. Assoc., 51 (1917), No. 4, pp. 494-504, figs. 3).— -These 

 notes relate largely to the biology of the sucking louse (Hcematopinus asini) 

 and the biting lice (Trichodcctes parunipilosus and T. pilosus) of the horse. 



In longevity tests the sucking lice lived only one or two days off their host, 

 whereas the biting lice lived from 5 to 8 days. Newly hatched lice of both the 

 biting and sucking kinds died inside of 2 days when kept at a temperature of 

 from 70 to SS" F. off the host animal. In Petri dishes under atmospheric con- 

 ditions of humidity and at a temperature of 70 to 88°, the eggs of T. pilosus 

 hatched in 5 or 6 days and those of //. a.sini in 10 to 19 days. 



Incomplete tests indicate that Trichodectes is more resistant to insecticidal 

 treatment than is Hfematopinus. The sodium fluorid treatment, which has the 

 advantage of being applicable in winter and apparently does not injure the 

 hair or skin, was found to be effective against the biting lice but not successful 

 in destroying the sucking lice. 



Control of poultry lice and mites, W. F. Schoppe (Montana Sta. Circ. 64 

 (1917), pp. 65-71, figs. 6). — A popular summary of information. 



RURAL ENGINEERING. 



Irrigation of alfalfa in Imperial Valley, W. E. Packard (California Sta. 

 Bui. 284 (1917), pp. 67-84, fios. 8).— This report is based in part on work done in 

 cooperation with the Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering of the U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture and the State Department of Engineering of California. 



