562 SPORADIC DISEASES. 



chains often present here and there an occasional filament in 

 position alongside (see figures 34 and 35). In all of the 

 figures are to be seen masses of zooglcea with embedded bacteria, 

 as well as many free bacteria in the intervals. In figure 35 

 many of these seem to have been breaking up into debris (these 

 are shown in fainter lines) ; indeed it was noticed that by allow- 

 ing putrefaction to take place the appearance of the Bacterium 

 termo was always rapidly followed by this result, and finally by 

 the total disappearance of the bacillum under consideration. 

 Perhaps more interesting than the appearance of the rods in all 

 the cultivation fluids, whether from the spinal fluid or from the 

 blood, is the appearance of these filamentous tubes marked e 

 in figures 33 and 34, as proving the identity of the organisms 

 seen in the jelly from the spinal canal, and those developed 

 from cultivation of fluids from the affected animals, as well 

 from the bodies of sheep ticks, as will be seen from what 

 follows. 



An examination of the blood alone gave no very satisfactory 

 result. Here and there, however, spore-like bodies were seen : 

 these, however, were neither numerous nor constant ; but by ino- 

 culating mutton broth with a minute quantity of fresh Ijlood a 

 result was obtained, but not in all instances, exactly identical 

 with that resulting from the cultivation of the spinal fluid. In 

 the course of from twenty-four to thirty-six hours the cultivation 

 fluid was seen to be more or less turbid, and on the microscopic 

 examination of a stained specimen free bacilli were seen in 

 great abundance ; a few were also seen in rows. On the third 

 or fourth day mycelia, with spores in their centre or covering 

 their walls, became visible, as well as masses of zooglcea with 

 numerous embedded bacilli and micrococci, as seen in figure 33. 



The microscopic appearances of the jelly-like substance found 

 in the spinal canal, and the development of the same mycelium, 

 and spores with motile bacilli from the blood, &c., although 

 not as yet clearing up entirely the life history of these organisms, 

 showed that a new discovery had been made, and that the 

 disease in question was due to the irritation of the nervous system 

 through the spinal cord, in the fluids of which this organism 

 seems to find a suitable nidus for complete development. 



The experimental feeding of the sheep on fungoid grasses 

 having given no result (p. 553), the author had but one resource 

 left by which he hoped to determine whether the tick conveyed 



