90 



Effect of Internal Influences. 



tive agents against the immunizing powers of the body, would re- 

 quire too lengthy a discussion. The fact should suffice that strep- 

 tococci originating from affected udders almost invariably show 

 signs of such transformation. It is not intended to assert that a 

 steptococcus in milk which does not possess these form peculiari- 

 ties is not a streptococcus of mastitis, or that it does not originate 

 from the udder, and that under abnormal conditions (for instance 

 cultivation at 37 deg. in raw milk or in serum) the streptococci 

 which are present could not undergo changes of form which under 

 certain conditions simulate the forms of "animal" streptococci; 

 but for normal conditions of milk inspection the morphological 

 characteristics of animal streptococci offer certain definite appear- 



a n c e s of recognition 



lg ' ' which have always been 



proved by control tests 

 made in the respective 

 stables. 



These characteristics 

 are the following: 



The streptococcus 

 takes on a diplococcus- 

 like separation, the cocci 

 apparently press each 

 other, become disc- 

 shaped, and in profile ap- 

 pear like a dash. They 

 stand at right angles to 

 the length of the chain 

 (compare with equine 

 distemper streptococci 

 according to Rabe.) A 

 fine capsule is formed 



Sediment of market milk in which the typical animal arOlind tll6 animal 



forms of streptococci (a, b, c) make possible a diagnosis millr <af rant nrrnm Ti/hir>Ti 

 that the milk contains the secretion of an animal af- C1 > W11 



fected with streptococcic mastitis in spite of the oc- 

 currence of other forms of streptococci (d and e). 



is sometimes more, at 

 other times less pro- 



nounced. This sometimes swells to a broad mucin capsule (com- 

 pare Lingelsheim on streptococci, Wassermann-Kolle's Hand- 

 book of pathogenic micro-organisms III, pp. 309 and 310, and 

 Sven Wall, p. 29). The endococcus, especially in short chains is 

 spherical or swollen to a club shape. 



With slight practice one almost invariably succeeds in dis- 

 tinguishing, by one or the other given characteristics, the "animal" 

 mastitis streptococci from streptococci which have gained access to 

 the milk accidentally (even though they may also possibly be de- 

 scended from ' ' animal ' ' mastitis cocci) . 



In this way the author succeeded, from April, 1907, to Novem- 

 ber, 1908, in demonstrating by the aid of smears that secretions 

 from cows with streptococcic mastitis w r ere mixed with market 



