164 DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



Blood from four-year-old steer (first set of vacuum tubes) was placed in a De Bary s 

 growing slide, in a watch-glass with pulp of lemon, same with pulp of orange; also in 

 beaker isolation apparatus on lemon and orange. 



Blood from one-year-old steer (second set of vacuum tubes) was arranged in the 

 same manner. 



And, lastly, a similar series of apparatus was arranged with lemon and orange with 

 out blood. 



The growing slides and watch glasses were examined daily, with powers ranging from 

 200 to 1,000 diameters. 



At the end of five days the isolation beakers were opened. The phenomena in all, 

 with one exception, were the same. Penicilliwn crustaceum (Fr.) was developed in all, 

 more slowly and less luxuriantly where no blood had been added. The exception referred 

 to above was in the watch-glass to which the putrescent blood from the one-year-old steer 

 was added; in this there was a luxuriant growth of Mucor raccmosus, (Fres.,) and also 

 coremium, a luxuriant and fasciculated form of penicillium. 



It is considered needless to give the details of all the culture experiments undertaken 

 with this blood; suffice it to say that it was placed on various substrata and compared 

 with healthy blood, and the results were in all cases the same, that is, production of peni 

 cillium, coremium, and mucor. 



In cultures undertaken with the urine, either no result was obtained or the usual peni 

 cillium made its appearance. 



Culture of the bile upon lemon gave the same results, but the penicillium growth was 

 much less than when the blood was used. Disk-like masses of mycelium, (the Sclerotia 

 of Hallier.) usually bright yellow in color, were produced alike with diseased and healthy 

 blood. 



To judge, therefore, from the specimens that we have had the opportunity of exam 

 ining, it would appear that in the blood, bile, and urine of cattle slaughtered in Texas, 

 apparently healthy while alive, but presenting after death the appearances considered char 

 acteristic of the splenic fever, there are present minute bodies corresponding to the micro- 

 coccus of Hallier, which exhibit the same behavior with reagents as the spores of fungi. 



In the bile and urine bacteria and cryptococcus cells also occur. The micrococcus 

 granules, however, have no specific characteristics, and cannot be distinguished,from simi 

 lar bodies which are to be seen in any blood in an incipient stage of putrefaction. Thus, 

 on the 4th of June, vacuum tubes were filled with blood from a healthy sheep slaughtered 

 near Washington, and this blood, examined sixty hours afterward, contained in equal 

 abundance these same bodies (micrococcus) that were found in the blood of the Texas 

 cattle. The attempt to give these micrococcus molecules a special and important charac 

 ter by the &quot;cultivation&quot; in various ways of the blood containing them, also failed. In all 

 cases the fungous growth that appeared upon the cultivated material was composed of the 

 commonest molds, and, instead of being unique as to species or even genus, comprised 

 various forms and sizes of cryptococcus, torula, penicillium, coremium, mucor, and the 

 so-called schizosporangia of Hallier, of all forms and sizes; these various fungi being 

 either simultaneously or successively developed. Moreover, all these varieties of fungi 

 can be also developed by a similar cultivation of healthy blood, though not so rapidly nor 

 in so great luxuriance. 



