478 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OP AGRICULTURE. ^ 



tion of cells and enormously tbiclvened, so that the line of fatty tissue 

 in tbo submucosa was pushed forward into the lumen of the tube and 

 formed two sides of a cone (the apex of whicli had sloughed away) be 

 tween the mass of infiltrated cells. Various kinds of bacteria were 

 found in this inflammatory tissue, but towards and beneath the peri 

 toneum were colonies of microcooei occupying intervals between the cells 

 and layer spa(;es probably lymi)!iiitic. This case is cited simply to point 

 out what may be found in n. case of advanced swine plague in which tin; 

 lesions are concentrated in the large intestine chiefly, and the lungs 

 mostly intact. It indicates somewhat the difficulties in the way, the 

 time that must be consumed before any trustworthy results are ob- 

 tained, and the caution that must necessarily be exercised in coming to 

 a conclusion. 



In endeavoring to carry out the plan of isolating and cultivating the 

 bacteria found in swine plague, the work was retarded by the difficulty 

 of keeping on hand cases of swine plague contracted in the natural way, 

 and by the heat of summer which completely interfered with the ordi- 

 nary nutritive gelatine cultures. Finally a special " cold box" was con- 

 structed in connection with the cold-air chamber of an ordinary refrige- 

 rator, and thickly padded with felt. The air within this box, in com- 

 munication with that of tlio refrigerator by an upper and lower pipe, 

 remained about 10° F. below the temperature of the laboratory, whicli 

 for several months rarely fell below 00<^ F. at night. Plate-cultures and 

 tube-cnltures were ke[it in this box, and only removed for puri^oses of 

 examination and inoculation. lu this way only were wo able to utilize 

 gelatine after losing many plates upon which hours had been spent the 

 day previous. 



Perplexed by contradictory results and failing to obtain any pathoge- 

 nic germ by isolating the different forms found in the peritoneal effusion, 

 the discovery of a line bacillus in Germany causing a disease in swine 

 M'hich was regarded as identical with swine plague in England and the 

 United States aroused our attention. The baciUus, of exceedingly small 

 size, was described as being present in large numbers in the spleen and 

 other organs of diseased pigs, and that the disease could be at once deter- 

 mined by examining ijortions of the spleen, dried on cover-glasses. As 

 tills bacillus had never been seen by us we decided to examine the spleen 

 very carefully in order to determine its presence or absence. 



The disease having for the moment died out at the experimental sta- 

 tion, our attention was directed to an outbreak in Salem County, New 

 Jersey, where it had assumed quite extensive proportions. Two young 

 animals M-ere killed. In both, the large intestine was extensively ulcer- 

 ated, the lungs partially hepatized, and the large serous cavities filled 

 with effusion. Without going into details, we need but to state that in 

 numerous cover-glass i)reparation8 of the spleen the fine bacillus was 

 absent; cover-glass preparations of lung tissue and of the serous effu- 

 sions equally negative. 



In regard to the cultures made in gelatine tubes, the results did not 

 differ from those obtained heretofore. In three cultures of the blood of 

 one aninjal nothing grew; in one from the other animal, three or four 

 colonies appeared. Several cultures from the same animal Avcro entirely 

 negative. From the spleen of the first, three different microbes were 

 isolated — two micrococcii and a bacterium. In cultures from blood and 

 .serous exudates, several other forms were isolated. In all, five bacteria 

 from these two animals were studied (4 micrococci and 1 bacterium). I ii- 

 oculations of each into two mice and two pigs failed to produce any dis- 

 ease with the exceptions mentioned below. The culturr>i in gelatine 



