518 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



diseases, but the characteristic changes almost invariably foiuul in the 

 Iai\i;t^ iutostiiie are not mentioned at all bj^ Loffler. The descrii)t;oiJS 

 ^iveu by Lydtin and Schottelius leave ns in doubt wliether they did not 

 actually study the two diseases at the same time. The presence of 

 swine plague in England would naturally lead us to inter its existence 

 on the continent. 



In the animals examined by Loffler in the years 18S2 and 1883, the 

 fine bacilli were found constanth^ present in the sliin and internal or- 

 gans. Mice and rabbits usually succumbed to the inoculations, but pigs 

 themselves failed to contract the disease when inoculated. The jwsi 

 mortem of a ])ig which was affected with the disease and killed by bleed- 

 ing is given by him as follows : 



The skin of the entire abdomcu. more especiallyiii the axilla and iugniual regions, 

 intensely reddened. Lnngsof a ro.sy hne. Pharynx bluish-red ; awn.s in the tonsils. 

 Sjdeen enlarged, dark brownish-red, tongh. Mucons membrane of the stomach and 

 small intestine reddened, with unnierouseechymoscs. Follicles enlarged. Mesenteric 

 glands brownish-red, considerably tuiueiied, and studded with hemorrhagic spots. 

 Parenchyma of kidney changed. Eeneath capsule, as w^ell as in the interior, uumer- 

 ouf\ hemorrhages. Parenchyma of liver slightly clouded. 



We miss here any lesions of the large intestine almost invariably 

 found by us and carefullj' described by Klein. 



In another pig Loftier {I. c, p. 52), found extremely small, ovoid bac- 

 teria, recalling the organisms causing septicaemia in rabbits, especially 

 those forms in process of division, although they were but half as large. 

 Tliese bacteria were obtained in a pure state from the skin, liver, and 

 kidneys. The 2^ost mortem appearances were as follows: Skin of the 

 abdomen, of the genital organs, and neck livid, red. Enormous cedema 

 of the skin of the neck. Pharynx reddened and swollen. Mucous mem- 

 brane of larynx and trachea intensely dark rgd. Lungs and heart but 

 slightly affected. Parenchyma of liver and kidney clouded. Mucons 

 membrane of stomach and beginning of duodenum intensely reddened. 

 Intestine elsewhere normal. Mesenteric glands not enlarged. Inocu- 

 lations with portions of the edematous skin, liver, and kidney produced 

 speedy death in rabbits, mice, and guinea-pigs. The virus differed in 

 this respect from that of rou(jet, which does not affect the latter. The 

 most prominent lesion in all cases was an extensive ccdema of the sub-' 

 cutaneous connective tissue. This organism, cultivated through many 

 generations on gelatine, was found fatal to these same animals six months 

 later. Of two pigs, inoculated on abdomen and thigh at the same time, 

 one died within forty-eight hours with enormous ccdema of the subcu- 

 taneous tissue. The other pig remained healthy. The effects of this 

 ovoid bacterium on guinea-pigs seem to be identical with those produced 

 by the bacterium of swine plague. The disease, however, is clearly dis- 

 tinct from swine plague. 



The experiments of Schiitz confirm those of Lolfler as to the relation 

 of the fine bacillus to rouget. He produced the disease in two pigs by 

 inoculation. One of them (female) received the entire contents of a 

 Pravaz syringe subcutaneously on the inner aspect of the thigh. The 

 other (castrated male) was inoculated by simply pricking the skin down 

 to the subcutis five times with a needle of the syringe used in tlie pv-,- 

 vious injection. 



At the end of the second day the temperature of both slightly (;lo- 

 vated. On the morning of the third day they refused their food and 

 were very weak. The skin of the pig inoculated with the pricks of the 

 needle was faintly reddened everywhere, in some places quite juarkedly 

 so. Pressure effaced the color for a moment. The animal receiving the 



