388 EEPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



"water for drinkiug-, or directly into the blood tlirongli wounds, sores, 

 scratclies, or external lesions {cf. I^o. 4, W. H. Lord, and No. 12, Eick- 

 ett). 



2. That the carcass of a hog or pig that has died of svrine plague will 

 communicate the disease to healthy swine, if eaten by the latter before 

 it is thoroughly putrified (r/. No. 2, Forward ; No. 3, Hodsou j No. 6, 

 Whiteraan). 



3. That even frost is not sufficient to destroy the infectious principle, 

 provided the Schizomycetes, which constitute the same, are not exposed 

 for some time, for instance, on the surface of the ground, &c., to the 

 direct influence of the low temperature, but protected against external 

 influences by some organic substance {cf. No. 6, Whiteman, and No. 11, 

 Peudarvis.) 



4. That swine plague is readily and frequently communicated to 

 healthy hogs by means of the water used for drinking, if it is contami- 

 nated with the infectious principle either by the carcass or parts of a 

 carcass of a dead hog, or by the excrements, urine, and nasal discharges, 

 saliva, &c., of the diseased animals, and that in many places a gross, 

 and sometimes even criminal, carelessness is prevailing in contaminat- 

 ing and infecting the waters of rivers, creeks, streamlets, &c., by allow- 

 ing diseased animals to have access to them, and by throwing in the 

 can asses of dead hogs, by which a considerable spreading of swine- 

 plague is effected (e/ No. '2, Forward; No. 3, Hodson; No. 7, Morris; 

 No. 12, Eickett; No. 13, Graham ; No. 14, CampbeU). 



5. That one or a few diseased swine can, and frequently do, commu- 

 nicate swine plague to a whole herd of healthy animals by infecting the 

 food or v/ater for drinking by means of their dirty feet and noses, soiled 

 with their excrements, urine, nasal discharges, saliva, or blood, as the 

 case may be (c/. No. 5, Moir and Peterson ; No. 8, Morris j No. 13, Gra- 

 ham). 



6. That every wound, scratch, or sore on the surface of the body con- 

 stitutes a port of entry for the infectious principle of swine plague, if 

 the latter is prevailing in the immediate neighborhood {cf. No. 9, Mor- 

 lis ; No. 10, Eagau ; No. 13, Graham). 



7. That an old straw-stack— any other porous body undoubtedly as 

 well— may preserve the infectious principle for months, and even for a 

 whole year {cf. No. 11, Pendarvis). 



8. That the infectious principle (the Schizomycetes) enters the animal 

 organism, and communicates the disease more readily and sooner through 

 external sores and lesions than through the digestive canal or any other 

 means {cf. No. 9, Morris ; No. 10, Eagan ; No. 13, Graham). 



SWINE PLAGUE NOT LIMITED IN ITS ATTACKS TO SWINE. 



That ST^ inc plague can be communicated to other animals besides 

 swine has been demonstrated by the experiments of Dr. Klein, Professor 

 Lav*', and myself, and also by several clinical observations; but the 

 question as to whether swine plague can also be communicated to human 

 beings is yet undecided, because such experiments, inocidaiions, necessary 

 to decide that question, can be easily made on animals, but, for obvious 

 reasons, not on hurnan beings. As to the latter, we have to rely entirely 

 upon clinical observation and accidental infection. The director (the 

 late Prof. A. C. Gerlach) nud the i'aculty of the Royal Veterinary S(;hool 

 at Berlin, Prussia, officially gave it as their o]iinion in a report bearing 

 date of February 25, 1875, that swine plague— "/uTWiorr/jfiff/Jsc/fe FolUcidar- 

 Di;pMherie des JJicMarms^^ in the report — can be communicated to human 



