330 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 
, 
in conveying the malady to distantherds. Theratis suggested as being _ 
_almost ubiquitous in piggeries, and more likely than any otber rodent’ — 
to contract and transmit the disease to distant farms. In order to test 
its susceptibility to the poison, Dr. Law inoculated a rat with the virus 
from a sick pig, but unfortunately the subject died on the second day 
thereafter. ‘The body showed slight suspicious lesions, such as congested 
lungs with considerable interlobular exudation, congested small intes- 
tines, dried-up contents of the large intestines, and sanguinous diseolor- 
ation of the tail from the seat of inoculation to the tip. With the fresh 
congested small intestine of the rat he inoculated one pig, and with the 
frozen intestine one day later he inoculated a second. The first showed 
no rise of temperature, loss of appetite, or digestive disorder; but on. 
the sixth day pink and violet eruptions, the size-of a pin’s head and up- 
wards, appeared on the teats and belly; and on the tenth day there was 
a manifest enlargement of the inguinal glands. In the second pig in- 
oculated, the symptoms were too obscure to be of any real value. Dr. 
Law: will continue his experiments with this rodent. 
In addition to the above, Dr. Law experimented on two sheep of dif- 
ferent ages, an adult merino wether and a cross-breed lamb, and in both 
cases succeeded in transmitting the disease. With the mucus from the 
anus of the wether he inoculated a healthy pig, which showed a slight 
elevation of temperature for five days, but without any other marked 
symptoms of illness. Eleven days later it was reinoculated with scab 
from the ear of the lamb, and again three days later with anal mucus 
from the sheep. The day preceding the last inoculation it was noticed 
that the inguinal glands were much enlarged, and in six days thereafter 
the temperature was elevated and purple spots appeared on the belly. 
At the time that Dr. Law closed his report this fever had lasted but a 
few days, but he regards the symptoms, taken in connection with the 
violent rash and the enlarged lymphatic glands, as satisfactory evidence 
of the presence of the disease. It can, therefore, be affirmed of the 
sheep as of the rabbit, that not only is it subject to this disease, but 
that it can multiply the poison in its system and transmit it back to the 
pig. 
Among the later experiments by Dr. Law was one inaugurated with 
the view of testing the vitality of frozen products of the disease. This 
point was briefly alluded to above, but its importance would seem to 
call for farther attention. In two eases healthy pigs were inoculated 
with virulent products which had been frozen hard for one and two days 
respectively. In both instances the resulting disease was of a very vio- 
lent type, and would have proved fatal had it been left to run its course. 
The freezing had failed to impair the virulence of the product; on the 
contrary, it had only sealed it up tc be opened and given free course on the 
recurrence of warm weather. Onee frozen no change could take place 
until it was again thawed out, and if it was preserved for one night un- 
changed in its potency, it would be equally unaffected after the lapse of 
many months, provided its liquids had remained in the same crystalline 
condition throughout. Itisin this way, no doubt, that the virus is often 
preserved through the winter in pens and yards, as well as in cars and 
other conveyanees, to break out anew on returning spring. The import- 
ance of this discovery, as applied to preventive measures, cannot be over- 
estimated. Infeeted yards and other open and uncovered places may 
not be considered safe until after two months’ vacation in summer, and 
not then if sufficient rain has not fallen during the interval to insure the 
soaking and putrid decomposition of all organic matter near the surface. 
This will be made more apparent by reference to an experiment which 
