CULTIVATION OF THE BACILLUS 67 



Hesse, in 1899, first tested Ndhrstoff Heyden, which 

 is a preparation of Qgg albumen, for the cultivation of 

 the tubercle bacillus. On the medium given, Albien 

 states that he obtained a growth on eight tubes out 

 of several hundred inoculated ; but the cultures were 

 not tested on calves, and no confirmation of the results 

 has been published. Moreover, our own attempts to 

 isolate and grow Johne's bacillus on such a medium 

 have given uniformly negative results. 



In 1909, Melvin of America stated that he had 

 obtained a luxuriant growth of an acid-fast micro- 

 organism from a case of chronic bacterial dysentery 

 (Johne's disease) occurring in Oregon. The culture 

 was made on an egg medium, but the bacillus was 

 overgrown by a saprophytic micro-organism, and no 

 subculture could be made. As it is stated in the 

 Report of the Bureau of Animal Industry for 1910 that 

 attempts to grow Johne's bacillus had failed, it seems 

 clear that the acid-fast bacillus grown was not Johne's 

 bacillus, and we know from more recent experiments 

 that the bacillus gives no growth on a simple egg 

 medium. 



Early in 1910 we started some experiments with the 

 object of cultivating Johne's bacillus, and of preparing 

 a diagnostic vaccine from the culture obtained. A 

 prehminary note on the results of this work was 

 included in a paper by one of us on the cultivation of 

 the lepra bacillus of man, published in 1910. In June 

 of that year we obtained from Mr. De Vine, of Birming- 

 ham, a specimen of the bowel and mesenteric glands 

 of a cow suffering from Johne's disease. The ileum 

 showed well-marked lesions of pseudo-tuberculous 

 enteritis, and films made from the gut revealed the 

 presence of a large number of acid-fast bacilli. The 

 specimen was fresh, and cultures were made 



