300 THE NEW WORLD OF SCIENCE 



of the possible danger which might arise from using the im- 

 perfect methods which had sufficed for other classes of brushes. 

 Hair of several kinds of animals was used, but all varieties, 

 except horse hair, had to be boiled to straighten the bristle, and 

 this boiling sterilized automatically all hair except the horse 

 hair, and that alone was found capable of carrying infection. 

 The factory inspection soon led to the use of correct methods 

 and the new brushes purchased were safe. Since a large num- 

 ber had been produced and sold to the army and to civilians, 

 a few cases continued to appear, but in decreasing numbers. 



A review of the experience of the French and British showed 

 that they had gone through an exactly similar experience and 

 had our own manufacturers and authorities been closely in 

 touch with foreign conditions we might have been spared the 

 129 cases and 25 deaths from this preventable disease. 



GASEOUS GANGRENE 



At the beginning of the war there was much confusion re- 

 garding the nature of this affection. One group of workers 

 who had isolated the Vibrion septique from cases believed that 

 to be the cause of the disease; another group, on finding the 

 bacillus of Welch considered that organism responsible. Other 

 workers from time to time isolated still other organisms. The 

 entire subject was investigated thoroughly during the war by 

 bacteriologists of the Allied nations, and at the present time 

 they have practically agreed that there are eight different 

 anaerobic bacteria which are capable of producing gaseous 

 gangrene in both man and animals, and that they may be 

 arranged in their order of importance as follows : ( i ) B. welchi 

 (gas bacillus, B. aerogenes capsulatus, B. perfringens, B. 

 phlegmonis emphysematosse.) (2) Vibrion septique (B. of 

 malignant cedema, B. chauvei, B. symptomatic anthrax, von 

 Hibler III, B. septicus.) (3) B. cedematiens (B. gasoedem, 

 B. bellonensis, B. novyii.) (4) B. fallax. (5) B. histolyticus. 

 (6) B. sporogenes (B. enteritidis sporagenes, B. faulnis erre- 

 ger.) (7) B. aerofetidus. (8) Streptococcus anerobius. 



