VETERINARY MEDICINE. 285 



method against coast fever. After vacciuating 343 diseased animals, ISO re- 

 covered and became immune. Some 2.000 vaccinations have been made by other 

 veterinarians. 



The pathogenicity of Johne's bacillus compared with that of other acid- 

 fast bacilli for some of the laboratory animals, C. C. Twort and T. Cbaig 

 {Centhl. Bakt. [etc.], 1. AM., Grig., 68 (.1913), No. 5-6, pp. ;,.55-//?0).— Up to 

 the present time cattle, sheep, and deer are the only animals which have been 

 found to suffer naturally from this disease. In the authors' studies of the 

 toxicity of Johne's bacillus, a comparison being made with many of the sapro- 

 phytic acid-fast bacilli, they find the bacillus to be one of the least toxic among 

 the acid-fast group of micro-organisms. 



In reg'ard to our knowledge of Malta fever, G. Izar (Biochim. e Terapia 

 Sper., 3 {1911), pp. 208-218; a&s. in Ztschr. Imniunitdtsf. u. Expt. Ther., II, 

 Ref., 5 {1912), No. 15, pp. 111,2, i^//3).— The serum obtained from subjects 

 affected with Malta fever contains specific meiostagmins against antigens pre- 

 pared from the Malta fever organisms. By introducing living cultures of the 

 Malta fever bacterium intraperitoneally, meiostagmins can be produced in the 

 blood of rabbits, but when killed cultures or alcoholic or watery antigens are 

 injected, no meiostagmin production takes place. If fresh guinea pig serum is 

 brought in contact with the precipitate produced when the micro-organism is 

 treated with an immune serum, a toxic substance is produced, which, when 

 injected into guinea pigs intravenously, cnirses death within a few minutes. 

 The autopsical findings resembled those present in anaphylaxis. If the precipi- 

 tate is emulsified with a salt solution, the toxicity is less. 



Experiments on the efficiency of antirinderpest serum, A. R. Ward and 

 F. W. Wood {Philippine Bur. Agr. Bnl. 19, 1912, pp. 109, figs. i87).— This ma- 

 terial has been previously noted from another source (E. S. R., 27, p. 380). 



The use of antiformin for detecting the open forms of tuberculosis, F, M. 

 ScHMiTT and O. Proscholdt (Ztschr. Infelctionslcrank. u. Hyg. Haustiere, 11 

 (1912), Nos. 5, pp. 321S6Jf; 6, pp. //0i-////9).— Antiformin can be employed for 

 examining sputum, uterine fluids, mammary gland secretions, and feces for the 

 presence of the tubercle bacillus, and for destroying other bacteria and 

 spores which may be present. It, however, in the lowest allowable dilution 

 affects the vitality of the tubercle bacillus. According to this, antiformin 

 can be used for homogenizing the sample for the bacterioscopic examination, 

 but care must be exercised when employing it as a preparative measure in the 

 animal tests. 



Tissues rich in tuberculous granulation may serve as antigens in, the 

 complement fixation reaction, E. Gaucher, H. Salin, and G. Bricout (Compt. 

 Rend. Soc. Biol. [Paris], 75 (1912), No. 31, pp. J,39, UO).— The tissue employed 

 was from the lung of a young infant and made into an alcoholic extract. The 

 antigen was used in Wassei'mann's and Bauer-Foix's technique. 



The blood picture in fowl tuberculosis, its relation to the so-called fowl 

 leukemia, and some remarks on normal fowl blood, J. L. Burckiiakdt 

 (Ztschr. Imniunitdtsf. u. Expt. Ther., I, Orig., llf (1912), No. 5, pp. 5U-60.'t). — 

 These experiments were conducted for the purpose of gaining some further 

 information in regard to the nature of leukemia in fowls. It is shown that a 

 leucocytosis may occur in either a spontaneous or an experimental case of tuber- 

 culosis in fowls. 



The leucocyte count was found to be chiefly between 100,000 and 200,000 per 

 cubic centimeter, and rarely was it in the neighborhood of 376,000. These 

 counts are higher than those previously reported by other authors. Propor- 

 tionally the pseudo-eosinophils are highest, but absolutely and relatively the 



