ANTHRAX BACILLUS 185 



Vital Resistance. Highly resistant to chemicals, light and dry- 

 ing. Spores resist 5 percent carbolic solution for days (Esmarch), 

 but i-iooo corrosive sublimate for only a few hours. They also 

 resist formaldehyde and sulphur for a long time, and withstand 

 light. A 2 percent fresh solution of H 2 O2 kills spores in three 

 hours. Three and one-half hours' exposure to bright sunlight 

 killed the spores if oxygen was not excluded (Dieudonne) (Fig. 52). 



Sporulation Phenomena. At i2C. spores are formed if oxy- 

 gen is present. The most favorable temperature for sporulation 

 is that of the body (37C.). Spores are never found in the bodies 

 of living or dead animals if they remain unopened, and oxygen 

 is excluded. If bacilli are cultivated at 42C. for a long time and 

 frequently reinoculated, on fresh media, the ability to form spores 

 is lost even if grown again at 3oC. (Phisalix). If cultivated 

 upon media containing carbolic acid and hydrochloric acid, the 

 ability to sporulate may be lost. 



Chemical Activities. Acetic acid is formed, as is H^S. Lique- 

 fying, milk coagulating, and milk digesting enzymes are formed. 

 Toxins have not been isolated, but may be produced. 



Habitat. Only found where infected animals, hides, and hair 

 have been. Fields, hay, bristles, hides, manure, etc., have been 

 found to contain bacilli. Drinking water may be polluted by tan- 

 neries and the bodies of dead animals. Meadows and fields may 

 be contaminated for years. From the buried bodies of infected 

 animals anthrax spores may be brought to the top of the soil by 

 earth-worms. 



Cultures. Grows exceedingly well on all culture media in the 

 air. On gelatine it grows in whitish round colonies, rapidly sink- 

 ing into the gelatine, due to the liquefaction. The liquid medium 

 is turbid. The interior of the colony is crumbly. When magni- 

 fied, the colonies seem to be made up of tangled waving bundles, 

 like locks of hair, especially about the periphery. In gelatine stab 

 cultures the growth is luxuriant and rapid; the medium is liquefied 

 more rapidly at the top, and finally a crater is formed; before this 



