56 DISEASES OF SWINE AN» OTHER ANTfMALS. 



I intciidoiT to nnike i'nrlhor expeiimouts, by inoculating lifialtbyfiuira.ils with blrtofl* 

 Bernni or i)nlnional exudations, lit'ed from bacilli and bacillus-gerjns by repeated lil- 

 tratious ami viitli eultivated haeilli, but the time left me (sixte>ni days) was not suffi- 

 cient to obtain reliable results. Besides, it appeared to bo desirable to use the pigs I 

 Lad on Iiaud lor the jjurposo of testing the vitality of tho infections principle in sucli 

 a way as would give the test a, direct practical value. 

 I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



H. J. DETMERS, F. S. 

 Chicago, III,, Decemhcr 1, 1878. 



REPORT OF DR. JAMES LAW. 



Hon. Wm. G. Le Due, 



Commissioner of Agriculture : 



Sir : I have the honor to submit the followmg report of exiieriinent» 

 and observations on the prevailing fever in hogs. 



As you are already aware, my attention has been directed mainly to 

 the i^athology of the disease, the nature and vitality of the virus, and 

 its behavior when treated by different disinfectants. Distant as Ithaca 

 was from all inflected districts, and seeing it was impossible here to ex- 

 periment on large herds of diseased and exposed swine, it seemed 

 preferable to leave to others all essays of treatment and prevention of 

 the illness by the use of disinfectants and other sanitary measures. This 

 isolated and noninfected locality offered special advantages for coiiduct- 

 iug that class of observations -which I aimed at, as there was no danger 

 of accidental infection from other sources than the experimental pens. 

 At the same time the number of animals subjected to experiment was 

 limited by the necessity for the most perfect isolation of the healthy and 

 diseased, for the employment of separate attendants for each, and for 

 the disinfection of instruments used for scientific observations, and of 

 the persons and clothes of those who conducted these. 



The experimental idcus were constructed in a high open field, with 

 nothing to imi^ede the free circulation of air ; they vv^ere large and roomy, 

 with abundant ventilation from back and front, with perfectly close walls, 

 floors, and roofs, and in cases where two or more existed in the same 

 building the intervening walls were constructed of a double thickness of 

 matched boards with building pasteboard between, so that no com- 

 munication could possibly take place excepting through the open air of 

 the field. When it seemed needful disinfectants were placed at the ven- 

 tilating orifices. On the pigs showing the first signs of illness, infected 

 pigs were i^romptly turned over to the care of attendants delegated for 

 these alone, and the food utensils, &c., for tho healthy and diseased were 

 kept most carefully apart. AVhen passing Irom one to the other for 

 scientific observations, the healthy were first attended, and afterward the 

 diseased, as far as possible in the order of severity. Then disinfection 

 was resorted to, and no visit was paid to tlte healthy iiigs until after the 

 lapse of six or eight hours, with free exposure in the interval. In the 

 ])ens the most scrujMilous cleanliness was maintained and deodorizing 

 agents used so as to keep them perfectly sweet. 



I may be allowed to add that I have received most valuable assistance 

 from two of my students, Messrs. A. M. Farrington and A. G. Boyer, in 

 conducting the daily observations^ as well as in making post moriein 

 examinations, and in tho examination of diseased products. 



