540 Professor David James Hamilton [March 8, 



organism being found in the blood, the disease is at variance with 

 Louping-ill, in which, ahnost without exception, the organism is 

 absent from the blood, even though it may be present in myriads 

 within the peritoneal effusion. 



The kidney and the liver contain the organism, the kidney, as so 

 often happens in bacillary diseases, sifting it out from the blood 

 through the winnowing action of the glomerular capillaries. 



It abounds in the blood-stained mucus found in the fourth stomach, 

 and in the intestine it is present in overwhelming numbers. The part 

 of the intestine in which it will be found in greatest quantity is pro- 

 bably the ileum, and more particularly in a poi-tion in which there is 

 not any feecal matter. If a scraping be taken from the surface of an 

 empty loop of this part of the bowel it will be found composed in 

 great part of bacillus and shed epithelium. The epithelium desqua- 

 mates in microscopic flakes, and becomes mixed up with mucus and 

 the bacillus, these together constituting the thick half-liquid dis- 

 charge which is found on the surface of the mucosa. In this respect 

 the disease seems to correspond with Louping-ill, bovine Black- 

 quarter, Struck, etc., which, as shown elsewhere, all appear to be 

 intestinal in their origin. The intestinal mucus seems to be the 

 natural habitat of the organism in this and other diseases of the same 

 class ; it grows upon it more readily perhaps than upon any other 

 secretion of the body. Even in cases where Braxy has been induced 

 experimentally by subcutaneous inoculation the intestine will be found 

 swarming with the organism, clearly showing that the intestine and 

 its contents afford peculiar facilities for its propagation. 



The first description of the organism seems to have been given by 

 Ivar Nielsen. In his work on the subject,* published in the year 

 188.S, he described an organism which he found in the ha3morrhagic 

 areas of the digestive tract, as well as in the capillaries of the various 

 organs, and which he regarded as the cause of the disease. There 

 seems little reason to doubt that the organism seen and described by 

 him was that of Braxy. 



The organism is an anaerobic bacillus, and is distinguished from 

 all the others of this class (Louping-ill, Blackquarter, Struck, Malig- 

 nant (Edema, etc.) by its comparatively small size and delicacy of 

 contour. 



The following measurements were taken from bacilli and spores 

 growing in the peritoneal liquid. They were made innnediately after 

 removal of the liquid from tlie body and in the perfectly fresh state, 

 without any drying, staining, or clarifying. The dimensions varied 

 considerably, the largest rods being found among those which were 

 not sporing : — 



Those not sporing : 2 -84, 4*26, 5-68 and 7-1/x long by 0' 7 to 

 1/x broad ; those sporing, 4 -20 to 5* (58/1, long ; free spores, 

 Afx long. 



* Bradsot hos Faret (Gastromycosis ovis), Tidsskrift for Veteriuaerer, 1888. 



