ETIOLOGY OF SPLENIC FEVER. 259 



worms as the splenic germs, are nevertheless bearers 

 of diseases to which animals are liable. All sorts of 

 germs are found in them, and the germs of splenic 

 fever are in fact always associated with those of putre- 

 faction and septicaemia. 



' And now,' concluded Pasteur, when laying before 

 the Academy a rapid survey of the etiology of splenic 

 fever, ' is not the remedy naturally indicated ? We 

 should never bury animals in fields destined either 

 for cultivation, for forage, or for sheep pasture. 

 When it is possible a sandy soil should be chosen for 

 the purpose, or any poor calcareous soil, dry, and 

 easily desiccated in a word, soil not suited to the ex- 

 istence of earth-worms.' M. Tisserand, Director of 

 Agriculture, has remarked that splenic fever is un- 

 known in the region of the Savarts of Champagne, 

 although it is surrounded by countries invaded by the 

 disease. If the conditions of commerce introduce 

 splenic fever, it is but a passing accident. Must not 

 this be attributed to the fact that in these poor soils, 

 such as that of the camp at Chalons, where the thick- 

 ness of arable soil is only from 4 to 5 inches, superposed 

 upon chalk, the worms cannot live ? In such a soil 

 the burial of a splenic fever animal will give rise 

 to great quantities of germs, which, owing to the 

 absence of earth-worms, will abide in the depths of the 

 soil and remain harmless. Finally, it has been 



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