64 THE GROUSE DISEASE chap. 



even suspected, I will fully describe this bacillus and 

 its action. 



It is well known that recently manured garden 

 earth contains the anaerobic motile spore - bearing 

 bacillus of Koch, which, inoculated into guinea-pigs 

 subcutaneously, produces acute malignant oedema, 

 malodorous, rapidly spreading, and leading to gan- 

 grene of the muscular and cutaneous tissues, and to 

 the death of the animal in from 20 to 30 hours. This 

 anaerobic bacillus of malignant oedema grows in a 

 characteristic and typical way in the depth of grape- 

 sugar gelatine and Agar, and produces, as it grows, 

 numerous gas bubbles ; it liquefies the gelatine, and 

 forms chains or threads of various lengths. 



Desirous of obtaining this classical bacillus of 

 Koch's malignant oedema, I introduced in the custom- 

 ary manner subcutaneously into the groin of the guinea- 

 pig a small quantity of recently manured garden earth. 

 Next day the animal showed extensive oedema in the 

 groin, on the abdomen, and thorax, was very shaky on 

 its legs, and died in less than thirty- six hours. The 

 sanguineous oedematous fluid was crowded with 

 motile short bacilli, a few longish chains and threads 

 amongst them, also a few that contained the oval spores 

 characteristic of the anaerobic malignant-oedema bacillus 

 (Fig. 24). Cultivations were made in ordinary nutrient 

 gelatine and in grape-sugar gelatine, and it was found 



