BAGILL US OF SYMPTOMATIC ANTHRAX. 4] 3 



Cattle, sheep, goats, guinea-pigs, and mice are sus- 

 ceptible to infection with this organism, and present the 

 conditions above described ; whereas horses, asses, and 

 white rats present only local swelling at the site of in- 

 oculation. Swine, dogs, cats, rabbits, ducks, chickens, 

 and pigeons are, as a rule, naturally immune to the 

 disease. 



Though closely simulating the bacillus of malignant 

 oedema in many of its peculiarities, this organism can, 

 nevertheless, be readily distinguished from it. It is 

 smaller ; it does not develop into long threads in the tis- 

 sues; it is more actively motile, and forms spores more 

 readily in the tissues of the animal than does the bacillus 

 of malignant oedema. In their relation to animals they 

 also differ, viz., cattle, while conspicuously susceptible 

 to symptomatic anthrax, are practically immune toward 

 malignant oedema; and while swine, dogs, rabbits, 

 chickens, and pigeons are readily infected with malig- 

 nant oedema, they are not, as a rule, susceptible to 

 symptomatic anthrax. Horses are affected only locally, 

 and not seriously, by the bacillus of symptomatic an- 

 thrax, but they are conspicuously susceptible to both 

 artificial inoculation and natural infection by the 

 bacillus of malignant oedema. 



The distribution of the two organisms over the earth's 

 surface is also quite different. The oedema bacillus is 

 present in almost all soils, while the bacillus of symp- 

 tomatic anthrax appears to be confined to certain locali- 

 ties, especially places over which infected herds have 

 been pastured. 



A single attack of symptomatic anthrax, if not fatal, 

 affords subsequent protection, while infection with the 

 malignant oedema bacillus appears to predispose to re- 

 currence of the disease. (Baumgarten.) 



