340 



BACILLUS PATHOGENIC IN ANIMALS. 



and around the point of entrance they form a greyish- 

 Experiments white wall, presenting a dry appearance. After sub- 

 on animals. . , . * 



cutaneous inoculation, mice die in about 24 hours, and 



show on post-mortem examination oedema of the sub- 

 cutaneous cellular tissue, swelling of the spleen, patchy 

 redness in the lungs, and the same bacteria in all the 

 organs. Rabbits also die quickly, and present the same 

 post-mortem appearances as animals which have died of 

 rabbit septicaemia. Guinea-pigs die after 1 to 3 days, 

 and show extensive sero-sanguineous oedema of the sub- 

 cutaneous tissue, and of the muscles. Fowls, pigeons, 

 and rats proved insusceptible ; on the other hand, in a 

 pig the same disease, terminating fatally in 2 days, 

 was produced as that which had formed the starting 

 point of the investigation, the disease being charac- 

 terised by enormous oedema of the skin, bluish-red 

 colouration of the abdominal wall, and hypersemia of 

 the gastric mucous membrane, but without, alteration in 

 the rest of the intestine or the mesenteric glands, and 

 being thus distinguished from true swine erysipelas. 



Bacillus tetani (?). 



Tetanus 

 bacilli. 



In the Gottingen Hygienic Laboratory, Nicolaier made 

 the observation that when garden earth was introduced 

 under the skin of mice and rabbits, these animals fre- 

 quently developed a series of symptoms which may be 

 shortly designated as tetanic. For the peculiar bacilli 

 found in the pus in these animals the name "tetanus 

 bacilli " may for the present be retained, although it is 

 doubtful whether these organisms are to be looked on as 

 Distribution the specific exciting agents of that disease. In all, over 

 in the soil. 3Q different k m( j s O f earth from fields, gardens, and 

 streets were investigated; the animals frequently de- 

 veloped malignant oedema after inoculation, and died of 

 this disease in from 24 to 36 hours ; at times kinds 

 of earth were found, the inoculation of which caused 

 sometimes malignant oedema and sometimes tetanus ; 

 some kinds of earth, particularly earth taken from the 

 deeper layers, from the soil in forests, &c., had no hurt- 



