528 



This accounts for the outbreaks at the time of the first rains after a 

 dry season. During the latter the earthworm goes deep in the ground 

 in^search of moisture; it finds the spore which has been washed there 

 in past years, swallows it, and brings it to the surface when the rain 

 furnishes the moisture which drives the worm itself from its deeper 

 home. The virus is carried with the wool from infected sheep and 

 remains in it through the process of manufacture into cloth. The 

 spores remain in the hides of animals which have died of anthrax and 

 retain their vitality throughout months of soaking in the tanners' pits, 

 the working of the harness-maker or the cobbler and after the oiling 

 of the completed leather. The dried spores in the dust from any of 

 these products nuxy be carried by the atmosphere. 



Infection of an animal takes place through inoculation or contact 

 of the bacillus or its spores Avith an abraded surface or mucous mem- 

 brane on a sound animal. In an infected district horses may eat the 

 rich pasturage of spring and early summer with impunity, but when 

 grass becomes low they crop it close to the ground, pull up the roots 

 around which the virus may be lodged, and under these conditions 

 the animals are more apt to have abrasions of the lips or tongue by 

 contact with dried stubble and the dirt on the roots, which favor the 

 introduction of the germs into the system. The virus may be intro- 

 duced with food and enter the blood-vessel system from the stomach 

 and intestines. If contained in the dust, dried hay, or on the parched 

 pasture of late summer, the virus may be inhaled and be absorbed 

 from the lining of the lungs. If contained in harness leather, it needs 

 but an abrasion of the skin, as the harness rubs it, to transfer the 

 spore from the leather to the circulation of the animal. 



The writer saw a case of anthrax occur in a groom from the use of 

 a new horse brush. The strap which passes over the back of the hand 

 inoculated an abrasion on the knuckle of the first finger, and in twelve 

 hours a "pustule" had formed and the arm had become affected. 



Sijmptoms.— The symptoms of anthrax develop with extreme rapid- 

 ity; they are frequently so sudden that it appears but a few minutes 

 for'the animals to have passed from a condition of perfect health to a 

 dangerouslv diseased one. The horse is dejected and falls into a state 

 of profound stupor, attended by great muscular weakness. The 

 feeble, indolent animal, if forced to move, drags its legs. There are 

 severe chills, agitation of the muscles, symptoms of vertigo, and at 

 times colickv pains. The mucous membranes turn a deep ocher or 

 bluish-red color. The body temperature is rapidly elevated to 104° 

 and 105° F. The breathing is increased to thirty or forty respirations 

 in the minute and the pulse is greatly accelerated, but the arteries are 

 soft and almost imperceptible, while the heart-beats can be felt and 

 heard, violent and tumultuous. In other words, it resembles a very 

 severe case of influenza, except in regard to the heart's action. The 

 symptoms last but two, three, or four days, at most, when the case 



