BACILLI OF SWINE ERYSIPELAS. 303 



becomes hoarse, and there is often evacuation of blood 

 and slimy fceces. The temperature (which in normal 

 young swine is between 39 and 39'5 C.) rises at times 

 as high as 43 C. Sometimes, even in the commence- 

 ment, but usually not till the height of the disease, red 

 patches appear at the lower surface of the belly, breast, 

 and neck, which gradually extend and run together and 

 ultimately assume a dark red or brown colour ; swelling 

 of the reddened portions of skin is not noticed, nor does 

 there seem to be pain, nor is the temperature of the 

 part apparently above that of the surrounding skin. 

 Death occurs with increase of the listlessness, at times 

 with paralytic symptoms of the hinder extremities, at 

 times with convulsions. The duration of the disease, 

 from its first appearance until death, varies from a few 

 hours to four days. Where it ends in recovery, 6 to 20 

 days pass before the animal is quite well. Fifty- five to 

 sixty-six per cent, of the animals attacked die ; of those 

 which survive the acute attack a considerable number 

 ultimately die of chronic wasting. Older animals are never 

 attacked, those which are affected are aged from three 

 months up to at most three years. Different races show 

 great differences in their susceptibility; the ordinary swine 

 are almost without exception insusceptible, while the 

 more noble races more especially the English Suffolk 

 swine show a very great susceptibility to the disease. 



According to the observations of veterinary surgeons Mode of 

 the infection occurs almost entirely from the digestive infec 

 track, the faeces of the diseased animal getting into the 

 fodder, or infected mice being eaten. At Lydtin's 

 suggestion it was on several occasions shown ex- 

 perimentally, during the inquiry as to the causes and 

 the mode of protection from swine erysipelas, in the 

 Duchy of Baden in April, 1885, that swine can be 

 infected by eating the intestines of other animals which 

 have died of swine erysipelas. In some of the experi- 

 ments which gave negative results, the above mentioned 

 insusceptibility of certain races seems to have come into 

 play. In some cases also infection was caused by sub- 

 cutaneous injection. According to the most trustworthy 



