318 A MANUAL OF BACTERIOLOGY 



and taken home, where the specimen may be examined. When 

 material is sent from a distance for examination the ear should be 

 forwarded. 



The smears may be stained with Loffler's blue and by Gram's 

 method with eosin. Methylene-blue staining gives the most 

 characteristic appearances, according to McFadyean. A smear 

 preparation is made, not too thin, is air-dried, and then fixed by 

 passing once through the Bunsen flame. The film is stained in a 

 1 per cent, aqueous solution of methylene-blue for ten minutes 

 and then lightly rinsed and dried. The anthrax bacilli appear 

 as blue rods surrounded by a pale violet capsule (Plate IV, c). If 

 the post-mortem has been made shortly after death no spores are 

 visible. Unless the material be quite fresh large saprophytic 

 bacteria somewhat resembling anthrax are always present and must 

 not be mistaken for that organism ; by the McFadyen method of 

 staining these saprophytes do not show the violet capsule. If a 

 hanging-drop preparation can be made early enough, anthrax 

 bacilli are non-motile, while many saprophytes resembling them 

 are motile. 



The stained preparations can be kept and produced in a court of 

 law if necessary. Cultivations can also be made from the spleen, 

 but the necessary culture media are not of course usually forth- 

 coming. Finally, a guinea-pig or mouse may be inoculated sub- 

 cutaneously in the abdomen with a particle of the spleen, and 

 after death examined microscopically and by culture methods. 



As regards the disposal of the carcase of an animal dead from 

 anthrax, this should be burned if possible, but, failing this, it 

 may be buried in a deep pit, preferably with plenty of lime. All 

 traces of blood and discharge must be carefully mopped up with 

 a strong lime-wash or solution of chloride of lime, or other reliable 

 disinfectant. 



(2) In man. In malignant pustule, smear specimens should be 

 prepared from the fluid of the vesicles or with the scrapings from 

 the incised pustule, or sections of the excised pustule may be made, 

 and stained, some with Loffler's blue, others by Gram's method 

 with eosin. The bacilli are not often met with in the blood, 

 except shortly before or after death. Examination of the blood- 

 serum of the case by the opsonic method, using anthrax spores, 

 may be of value. At the same time cultivations on agar and 

 gelatin should be prepared, and may yield positive results when 



