338 BULLETIN No. 161 [November, 



230111, and on the 261 st days of the exposure, produced in the 

 third and fourth weeks an enlargement in the right superior in- 

 guinals of each guinea pig inoculated, which then became normal 

 again. Tho it cannot be surely known, it may be that the number 

 of live tubercle bacilli was so small as not to cause the disease, but 

 of sufficient number to produce an enlargement of the glands. 

 Three tests made later than these two showed no such enlargement 

 of these glands. 



BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS IN A DEAD ANIMAL 



SOURCE OF Besides the exposure of the pure culture of bovine 

 MATERIAL tubercle bacilli in garden soil, a guinea pig that 



had died of bovine tuberculosis was exposed in 

 this same soil. This guinea pig was extensively tuberculous. It 

 was placed in a flower pot and covered with a screen of wire hav- 

 ing a mesh fine enough to exclude earthworms. The screen was 

 pressed down close over the guinea pig, which allowed the fine gar- 

 den earth to come into immediate contract with the dead body. 

 The abdominal and thoracic cavities had previously been opened 

 in making an examination of the guinea pig just before placing it 

 in the garden soil. 



METHOD OF ^ ^ e ^ mie f the first test, made the 7ist day of 

 TESTING the exposure, the tissues of the guinea pig were 



so decayed that the flesh .and the skin were easily 

 torn. A part of the tuberculous lung and of the right superior in- 

 guinal lymphatic was removed for the test. At the next test, on 

 the 99th day, most of the soft tissues had been carried away by 

 small ants. On the I33d day only the bones, hair and some ten- 

 dons remained. A few pieces of bones and a bunch of hair were 

 obtained for this test. 



The results of these tests are given in Table 21. 

 RESULTS Live, active tubercle bacilli were found on the 



7 ist day; after this date no tuberculosis was pro- 

 duced in any of the guinea pigs inoculated. No doubt if the small 

 ants had not molested the soft tissues, tuberculosis would have 

 been produced in the test animals at later dates. While no final 

 conclusion can be drawn, it is evident that these germs live a suffici- 

 ent time in dead tuberculosis animals to be dangerous to stock. 



