VETERINARY MEDICINE. 783 



The life histoi-y of Gongylonema scutatum, B. H. Ransom and M. C. Hall 

 (Jour. Parasitology, 2 (1915), No. 2, pp. 80-SG). — ^This is a report of studies of 

 the life liistory of the gullet worm of sheep and cattle, commenced in April, 

 1911, at which time investigations of the role of insects as intermediate hosts 

 of helminths were undertaken. 



" The eggs of G. scutatum present in the feces of sheep and cattle infested 

 with the adult parasite hatch out when swallowed by insects of various species. 

 The larvae thus released from the eggs pass into the body cavity and reach the 

 final larval stage in about a month. In this stage the larva is coiled into a 

 spiral and is inclosed in a capsule about 0.5 mm. in diameter. The length of 

 the fully developed larva is about 2 nnu. and the esophagus equals about two- 

 thirds the body length. The mouth, elongated dorso-ventrally, is surrounded 

 by a flange-like chitinous border. 



" Sheep fed upon insects containing these larvee became infested with Gon- 

 gylonema. A hog fed upon Croton bugs artificially infested by feeding with eggs 

 of Gongylonema from cattle failed to become infested. A mouse, rabbit, and 

 guinea pig fed with Gongylonema lai'vsB from beetles found in sheep manure, 

 or from Croton bugs artificially infested by feeding Gongylonema eggs from 

 cattle, also failed to become infested. Failure to produce infestation in these 

 various animals indicates that the Gongylonema of sheep and cattle (G. scuta- 

 tum) is not transmissible to hogs, mice, rabbits, or guinea pigs. 



" Gongylonema larvfe have been found in various species of dung beetles col- 

 lected from sheep manure, namely, Aphodius femoralis, A. granarius, A. flmen- 

 tarius, A. coloradcnsis, A. vittatus, Onthophagus hccate, and O. pcnnsylvanicus. 

 They have been developed in various species of Aphodius and in Croton bugs 

 (Ectohia gcrnmnica) by feeding the eggs of G. scutatum from cattle. The 

 feeding of eggs of Gongylonema from the gullet of a hog (presumably G. 

 puMirum) to Croton bugs also resulted in the development to encysted larv£e. 



" Under natural conditions the usual intermediate hosts of G. scutatum are 

 probably dung beetles of various species. 



"The life history of G. scutatum is similar to that of G. neoplasticum of rats, 

 mice, and other rodents, the intermediate stage of the latter having been found 

 by Fibiger and Ditlevsen to develop in roaches {Periplancta amcricana, P. 

 orientalis, and E. gcrmanica) and in a beetle (Tenebrio molitor). It is also 

 similar to that of another rat and mouse parasite, Spiroptcra obtusa, whose 

 intermediate host was found by Leuckart and Marchi to be the larva of a beetle 

 (T. molitor)." 



Report of the veterinary department, R. A. Craig (Indiana Sta. Rpt. 1915, 

 pp. 70-75). — Three commercial hog-cholera remedies were tested and found to 

 possess absolutely no preventive or curative properties. 



The effect of heat on the potency of antihog-cholera serum was investigated, 

 with the result that the serum was found still to be potent after being heated 

 for one hour at 58° C. An attempt was made to prepare a vaccine by mixing 

 hog-cholera blood and antihog-cholera serum and heating in a water bath. 

 This, however, failed to protect pigs, thus evidently conferring no immunity. 



The virulence of blood from cholera hogs was tested at different periods in 

 the disease by making tail bleedings in from 5 to 8 days from the date of inocu- 

 lation. Eight-day virus was found to kill pigs in about 13 days, as compared 

 to pen exposure, which kiled in 24 days. 



The continued attempts to isolate a specific micro-organism from the hog- 

 cholera blood and blood filtrates were unsuccessful. 



On Blepharocorys equi sp. nov., a new ciliate from the cecum of the horse, 

 I. 0. SCHUMACHEK (Uuiv. Cat. Puhs., Zool., 16 (1915), No. 8, pp. 95-106, pi. 1). — 



