162 BOVINE PATHOLOGY. * 



It has been proved tliat these bacteria are the producers 

 of anthrax, and they generate also an irritating matter 

 which heightens their tendency to give rise to inflamma- 

 tory action. The beautiful researches of Toussaint seem to 

 prove that they accumulate in enormous numbers in the 

 small capillaries of the lungs, and, by blocking them up, 

 cause " mechanical asphyxia.'' Some authorities still deny 

 that they are the sole producers of charbon, and consider 

 this disease may originate spontaneously and the organisms 

 be accidentally present in the blood. They also state 

 that organisms of this kind may be present without 

 causing disease, but we note : 



1. That these bacilli are invariably present in cases of 

 anthrax. 



2. That when bacilli of this kind have been cultivated 

 in a solution of known chemical composition and are 

 injected into the blood they generate anthrax. 



3. That these bacilli in the condition of spores have a 

 remarkable vitality, and will bear any extremes of tempera- 

 ture and dryness to which they may be subjected in nature. 



4. That since all animals are liable to charbon, 

 undoubtedly wild ones diffuse the bacteria and bring them 

 into parts of the country where they have been hitherto 

 unknown. Flies may be vehicles of contagium. 



5. That bacilli capable of producing disease have been 

 found in the soil of meadows well known for their power 

 of generating the disorder, and especially from those parts 

 where post-mortem examinations of victims of this malady 

 have been made, or where these victims have been buried. 



6. That these bacilli in the spore condition can persist 

 for a very long time, and subsequently enter into the 

 animal system and generate anthrax. 



7. That anthrax is most frequent in marshy places and 

 during warm weather, heat and moisture being very 

 favorable to growth of bacteria, as of all other fungi. 



8. That when anthrax assumes an epizootic form, 

 climatic conditions are extraordinarily favorable to the 

 growth of other fungi. 



9. That harmless bacteria closely resembling those forms 



