VETERINARY SCIENCE AND PRACTICE. 607 



Affected chickens shed their feathers and hogs lost their hair. The owners of 

 diseased stuck attributed the trouble to alkali water. Chemical examinations of the 

 water, however, failed to show the presence of any injurious elements in it. 



In all localities where the disease prevailed the corn was found to be affected with 

 a dry rot of a pinkish color. Experiments with feeding such corn to hogs showed 

 thai the disease could he reproduced in a typical form in this manner. The hair was 

 shed and the hoofs sloughed off in hogs fed upon this corn. When the mold was 

 cultivated on crackers and corn-meal mush and this material fed to hogs the disease 

 was again reproduced. The fungus was found to be Fusarium moniliforme. It was 

 found during the field work on this disease that the trouble ceased as soon as feeding 

 with affected corn was discontinued. If the moldy corn was soaked before feeding 

 it did not produce the disease. 



The resistance of the red blood corpuscles in experimental tuberculosis, 

 G. Humbert i Corrupt. Rend. Soc. Hi"!. [Paris], 56 (1904), No. 19, pp. 896,897).— The 

 majority of authors who have studied the resistance of red blood corpuscles in tuber- 

 culous animals have noted a diminution in their resistance during the progress of the 

 disease. The exact nature of this process, however, was not understood and the 

 author, therefore, attempted to study the modifications of the resistance of the red 

 blood corpuscles during the progress of experimental tuberculosis. 



The author's experiments were made on rabbits and the red blood corpuscles were 

 determined by the method of Vaquez and Ribierre controlled by the method of 

 enumeration. The animals were inoculated intravenously and intraperitoneal!}' and 

 in each case the animal received 1 cc. of a weak emulsion of human tubercle bacilli. 

 A considerable diminution in the number of red blood corpuscles was noted. In 

 some instances the number fell below 4,000,000 per cubic millimeter and in all cases 

 the number fell below the normal. 



No connection was ohserved between the variations in temperatures of the animal 

 and the variations in the number of red blood corpuscles. It was shown, however, 

 during these experiments that tuberculosis exercises a considerable influence in 

 diminishing the resisting power of the red blood corpuscles. 



A study of tuberculous fluids by indirect tuberculin reaction, L. Nattan- 

 Larrier (Compt. Rend. Soc. Biol. [Paris], 56 ( 1904), No. 4, i>/>- 135-137). — The author 

 tested the possibility of obtaining tuberculin reaction very shortly after inoculation 

 with a fluid suspected of being tuberculous. 



Guinea pigs were inoculated with 15 to 20 cc. of the suspected fluid in the fibrous 

 sack of the mammary gland. After a period of 4 to 6 days a tuberculin injection was 

 given and temperatures were taken for the purpose of determining any reaction. A 

 thermic reaction usually hegan after 3 hours and persisted for about 24 hours. The 

 reaction varied from 2 to 3.4°. In experiments during which a simultaneous inocu- 

 lation of a suspected liquid and tuberculin were given, results were not always satis- 

 factory, but the author believes that the results obtained by this method do not tend 

 to cast doubt upon the value of the method proposed by Marmorek. 



The determination of tubercle bacilli in liquids by means of a precocious 

 tuberculin reaction, A. Marmorek (Compt. Rend. Soc. Biol. [ Par is J, 56 (1904), No. 

 .'. pp. 60, >il). — The author had already determined the possibility of obtaining a 

 tuberculin reaction in animals immediately after tuberculous infection. The method 

 is explained as follows: 



Guinea pigs are inoculated hypodermically with an emulsion of tubercle bacilli in 

 physiological salt solution. After 30 minutes the skull is trepanned and 1 so of a 

 drop of tuberculin is introduced into the brain substance. The temperature rises 

 rapidly and reaches the maximum within 2', hours, the elevation of temperature 

 being from 2.2 to 2.4° C. It is thus possible to determine definitely the presence of 

 tubercle bacilli in any given liquid, if after inoculation of experimental animals in 

 the manner just described, a tuberculin reaction is obtained. 



