496 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



work. The skin itself, as v,-ell as the fatty tissue, was discolored by ex- 

 travasations ; tlie abdominal wall was iienetratcd by blood extravasa- 

 tions, especially marked on the serous surface. In i^o. 1 this condition 

 prevailed on both sides of the body. A coil of intestine lay in cont.nct 

 with the abdominal wall, wliich was covered with extravas.ations ; the 

 vessels of the mesentery of this coil appeared like broad streaks of blood. 

 The bacteria had, without doubt, penetrated the abdominal wall and 

 invaded the vessels of the contiguous mesentcr}'. In No. 2 only that 

 side of the body which received the injection was aiiected. The lym- 

 lihatic gland of the oppo.'?ite groin was already invaded, however, as 

 shown by a deep red color of the gland and a paler red of the surround- 

 ing layer. A few vessels were found on the same side with spindle- 

 shaped enlargements. In both animals the lungs were distended and 

 on section much reddened. Kight heart distended with a dark clot; 

 coronary vessels ver^' full. 



In cover-glass preparations of No. 1 the bacteria were found very 

 abundant in the subcutaneous effusion and in the kidney, less abun- 

 dant in liver and spleen. In No. 2 they were found in large numbers in 

 the effusion and in the spleen; they were moderately abundant in the 

 liver, kidney, and lungs. 



From the above it would seem that guinea-pigs are highly suscepti- 

 ble to the virus of swine plague, though quite insusceptible to that of 

 rouget, as shown by foreign investigations. A very small amount of 

 the virus might have shifted the disease to the internal organs and 

 produced less extensive lesions near the point of inoculation. The di- 

 lation and rupture of blood vessels seem to point to a rapid multiplica- 

 tion of the bacteria within thorn. 



The lesions may possibly suggest the presence of malignant oedema 

 to which guinea-pigs are very susceptible. The absence of the bacilli 

 of thio disease, however, and the enormous numbers of the bacteria of 

 swine plague present in the subcutaneous effusion effectively contradict 

 this supposition. 



The cultures made from these two auimals were all successful. One 

 in a tube of gelatine from the blood of the heart and liver of No. 1 

 showed the minute colonies in the needle track in two days. They were 

 exceedingly numerous in the liver, few in the blood. Three cultures in 

 liquid media from tlie spleen, liver, and blood respectively were tested 

 on gelatine plates and found to contain the motile bacterium inocu- 

 lated. From guinea-pig No. 2 gelatine cultures from the kidney and 

 liver, respectively^ and liquid cultures from the liver and blood of the 

 heart were tested as above and found pure. 



Three mice were inoculated at the same time with the same culture. 

 No. 34, quite small, received two drops; No. 35, four drops; No. 36, 

 six drops ; No. 34 Ava^ dead the next day. No. 36 died December 22 ; 

 spleen very large, containing the introduced bacterium in large quanti- 

 ties. No. 35 active December 28; this one had been inoculated with 

 some tissues from swine plague about six weeks previous. 



On the following day, December 17, two fowls, Nos. IG and 17, were 

 inoculated from the same culture. Each received 1*^'=, one-half on each 

 side of the keel of the sternum subcutaneously. Both were well ou De- 

 cember 26. When killed on that day, the site of inoculation on the in- 

 ner surface of the skin was deeply reddened by an injection of the smaller 

 vessels. On the surface of the pectoral muscle, the injection was not so 

 intense. In one case the surface of the muscle was dotted with puucti- 

 form ecchymoses. The deeper i^ortions of the muscle were not affected. 



