VETERINARY MEDICINE. 587 



piffs ;ind tnberculiii injoetod iiilraentaiieoiisly and subcutaiieously in order to 

 elicit whether a specific " sensibilin " conld be detected. The results show that 

 healthy guinea pigs when injected subcutan«>ously with tuberculin react quickly 

 with a rapid rise in teuii»erature. The autlior states that such a rise in tem- 

 perature, however, must not be taken as an indication of true tuberculin hyper- 

 sensitiveness. Guinea pigs which were re-treated with blood serum from tuber- 

 culous animals did not in any instance respond specifically to intracutaneous 

 injections of tuberculin. 



Action of some molds and bacteria on tuberculin, A'AroREMEU {Ann. Inst. 

 Pasteur, 2J, {1910), No. 3, pp. 189-196; ahs. in Zcntbl. Biochem. n. Biophys., 10 

 {1910), .\o. 5-6, p. 210). — Tests were made to determine the influence of Asper- 

 gillus fumigatus, A. niger, PeniciUium glaucum, BaciUus megatherium, B. coU, 

 B. typhi, B. enteritidis Giirtner and B. pyocyancus during growth in a media 

 of dilute tuberculin solution upon the toxicity of the tuberculin. Of the mold 

 fungi P. glaucum was found to have a markedly destructive action upon the 

 tuberculin. B. pyocyancus was found to be equally active, while the remainder 

 had no influence at all. 



From this it can be seen that it is the proteolytic organisms which are antag- 

 onistic toward tuberculin, while those organisms which attack only peptones 

 leave it intact. Tuberculin thus seems to be a toxalbumin of the bacterial 

 protoplasm of the tubercle bacillus. 



Von Behring^'s protective vaccination of bovines against tuberculosis, its 

 theoretical foundation and its practical utility, J. Xowak {Ztsclir. Infektion- 

 skrank. u. Hyg. Haustierc, 6 {1909), Nos. 5, pp. 31S-3',1 ; 6, pp. .'(09-J,Jio).—The 

 results of vaccinating 202 cahes (at 4 barns containing from 50 to SO head of 

 full grown cattle each, and which reacied more or less to tuberculin) with von 

 Behring's Bovovaccin are given. The author concludes that at present no prac- 

 tical value can be attributed to vaccination, particularly as regards preventing 

 the spread of tuberculosis among bovines, but on the other hand it seems to 

 have no detrimental effect on the health of the vaccinated animal. The theory 

 of the method is considered correct. 



Utilizing' the complement binding and the agglutination reaction for 

 foretelling abortion in cows. H. Holtii (Berlin. Tierdrztl. Wchnschr., 25 

 {1909), No. 37, pp. 686, 687). — The author utilized for this purpose the abortion 

 bacillus (originally described by Bang and Stribolt), which was isolated from 

 uterine exudates in cases of abortion (horse serum from a healthy horse inac- 

 tivated at 62° C. for 1 hour). Bouillon cultures of the bacterium were injected 

 intravenously into a small horse in increasing do.ses until 100 ec. was given. 

 Agglutination tests carried out with the resulting serums against various strains 

 of the abortion bacillus showed them to be definitely positive in dilutions up 

 to 1:10.000. The serum was finally tested against the serum of cows in 10 

 barns where abortion was prevalent. Thirty-eight serum tests (dilutions 

 1:100) were positive, giving definite reactions. The complement binding re- 

 action was positive in 7 instances with the blood serum of the animals. 



Contributions to the pathology and treatment of milk fever, Bredo (Ahs. 

 in Berlin. Tierdrztl. Wchnschr.. 26 {1910), No. 21. pp. .'i30, .',.3/ ).— Calving or 

 milk fever, according to the author, is a " hyposeroamia." that is, it is a genei-ai, 

 acute, progressive anemia, with a diminution of the l)lood serum which is de- 

 ])endent upon the dehydration of the blood, and which finally results in physio- 

 logical congestion of the mammary gland when milk secretion begins. The 

 name " milk fever " is not well selected, as in many instances no fever is present. 



For the preventive treatment the author recommends giving the animal as 

 much water as it desires directly after parturition and not to milk before 24 

 60863°— No. 0—10 7 



