786 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. [Vol. 43 



of the infection seemed to be restricted, as most of the pigs from which the 

 bacilli were obtained came from one litter. As we do not have clinical rotlauf 

 or swine erysipelas in this coimtry, as these organisms in Europe have been 

 founcf in a large percentage of apparently normal swine, and as the disease is 

 produced with difficulty by the injection of cultures, the question may be raised 

 whether they are not secondary invaders rather than the primary cause of 

 the disease with which they have been associated, or else whether the re- 

 sistance of swine on the European continent does not differ from that of our 

 breeds as a result of differences in foods. It is possible that the mouse septi- 

 cemia bacilli found in this country may differ culturally from those present in 

 animals with swine erysipelas. With this in mind, the carbohydrate reactions, 

 as well as other cultural characters not necessary for the identification of the 

 bacilli isolated, have been studied. 



" The disease produced by the injection of these bacilli into mice and pigeons 

 has been studied and shown to be largely an intracellular process. The or- 

 ganisms are taken up by the endothelial cells lining the veins and capillaries; 

 there they multiply and soon kill the cells. It has also been shown that the 

 only type of cell in the blood stream which contains bacteria is the endothelial 

 leucocyte, and the probabilities are that the free phagocytes have been detached 

 from the lining of the vessels. The disease is acute, and the indications are 

 that in the cells the bacilli find a favorable medium for their growth. While 

 phagocytosis may in general be an immune reaction, in this case it appears to 

 favor the parasite rather than the host." 



Diagnosis of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia by means of the com- 

 plement-deviation test, TiTZE and Giese (Berlin. Tierdrztl. Wchnschr., 35 

 (1919), No. 32, pp. 281, 282; abs. in Trop. Vet. Bui. 8 (1920), No. 1, pp. 55-57).— 

 The authors describe in detail the technique which they employ in the comple- 

 ment deviation test for the contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, and present 

 statistical data indicating that reliable results are obtained by means of this 

 test. 



Of 140 blood tests conducted by this method on suspicious cattle, 51 gave 

 positive and 89 negative results. Of the 51 positive cases 47 proved on slaughter 

 to be affected with the disease while 4 showed no macroscopic lesions. None 

 of the 89 negative cases showed any macroscopic lesions of the disease in ques- 

 tion, but gave evidence of other diseases, including 47 cases of tuberculosis. 



Sarcocystis tenella, the muscle parasite of the sheep, J. W. Scott and 

 E. O. O'RoKE (Wyoming Sta. Bui. 124 (1920), pp. 69-97/).— This report of inves- 

 tigations includes a summary of the present status of knowledge of S. tenella, >■ 

 a progress report of which by the author has been previously noted (E. S. R.. 

 41, p. 379). It was found that infection takes place independent of the presence 

 or absence of insects, and the feeding of hundreds of the particular insects 

 that appeared to be the only possible carriers of the infection produced no effect 

 on the results. 



" Infection occurred in the absence of any carnivorous animal. Hence, the 

 suggestion by Minchin and later by Crawley appears likewise untenable. 

 Though contamination of some of the dry feed with mouse feces can not be 

 excluded, the comparative results obtained indicate that this had nothing what- 

 ever to do with infection. Both the percentage and degree of infection are 

 greater in wet pastures than in dry pastures, and greater than in dry lots 

 where grain and hay are fed. Restricted range tends to increase infection ; 

 this holds true whether lambs are grazed in pasture or fed dry feed in a dry 

 lot or confined to a screen cage. The infection of lambs 16, 59, and 91, raised 

 by hand, is best accounted for on the theory that they were infected by an 



