Report of the Bacteriologist and Dairy Listrurtor. 223 



The clear fluid from the cavities of the chest of an animal dead of the 

 disease, when thus filtered constitutes a means of reproducing the 

 disease in animals for protective purposes. Comparison of the tem- 

 perature charts show that the disease runs the normal course, and 

 there is no doubt that this " purified virus " will avoid the risks of 

 septic cotnplications which sometimes cause the death of the animal 

 when inoculation is performed in the usual way. Investigations have 

 also been carried on in relation to protective inoculation against 

 anthrax, but these are not yet complete. 



h. A disease which causes great mortality amongst bees is being 

 investigated. I am inclined to think that it is due to a deficiency of 

 proper food during the larval stage It is at this period in the life of 

 an insect that all the active living tissues are built up. In the adult 

 stage the food is used to supply energy, but there is little done in the 

 way of the renewal of the worn out tissues comparable to what 

 obtains in the higher animals ; hence a deficiency in the nitrogen of 

 the food of the larva is likely to result in malnutrition and permanent 

 loss of vitality. Anal3'sis of the different samples of pollen shows 

 that considerable variations occur in'the amount of nitrogen present 

 but it will take some time before a sufficient number of samples, the 

 history of which is known, can be obtained to settle the point 

 definitely one way or the other. 



c. About 3,000 tubes of locust fungus have been supplied to the 

 Entomologist. 



d. The routine diagnosis of specimens for the Stock Branch has 

 continued during the year. 



e. Samples of water, milk and butter have been examined for 

 bacterial contamination, and pure cultures of lactic acid bacteria 

 supplied to 14 factories. 



The work of the laboratory has been carried out in a most satis- 

 factory manner by Dr. Bull and Dr. Cowan. 



