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THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



as effectually destroyed as was the con- 

 tagiuin of blood. A farther practical ad- 

 vantage was noted, inasmuch as — in 

 accordance with the well ascertained 

 antiseptic powers of glycerine — this mix- 

 ture was capable of resisting the inroad of 

 putrefactive organisms, and so preserving 

 the bile for an indefinite time. 



This was a distiact advance in the bile 

 method, and such a simple process would 

 doubtless have been genenerally adopted 

 had it not been asserted by other workers 

 that the addition of glycerine seriously 

 impaired the immunising powers of the 

 bile. 



That this seems to be the case to some 

 extent is undoubted, although how great 

 the loss of immunising power is must be a 

 matter still for future detarmination. The 

 question as to how such deterioratio n could 

 occar involves a cousidenition of the com- 

 position of rinderpest bile, which would 

 necessarily be off too technical a nature 

 for general interest. Briefly, it may be 

 conjectured that if the immunising prin- 

 ciples of the bile are dependent in any de- 

 gree upon the victual presence of the rinder- 

 pest organism in a living state, that the de- 

 sti'uction of the vitality of this germ con- 

 sequent upon tbe addition of a large per- 

 centage of glycerine would deprive the 

 bile of any properties due to the presence, 

 either in an active or inhibited state, of 

 this specific organism. 



Whether rinderpest bile owes any of 

 its immunising power to the actual 

 presence of this specific organism is prob- 

 lematical. Should it exist, it is probably 

 present in such an inhibited or attenuated 

 state that it is incapable of vigorous 

 growoh, and might in this form conceiv- 

 ably exert a gradual immunising effect, 

 somewhat in the same manner that the 

 attenuated microbe of quarter-evil pro- 

 duces its immunity. 



However that may be, no one who has 

 studied the effect of bile injections in sick 

 animals will deny the existence of a 

 strong anti-toxic or curative principle con- 

 tained in it. That these passive immunis- 

 ing substances are destroyed to any degree 

 by the addition of glycerine is improb- 

 able, and we have no reason to believe 

 that this undoubted immunising principle 

 is less stable than,cr differs greatly from, 

 that contained in the blood and other 

 1)ody fluids of an animal having sufl'ered 



from the disease. From our late experi- 

 ence we know that rinderpest serum 

 maintains its potency for three or four 

 years without a degree of deterioration 

 appreciable to our present somewhat un- 

 certain powers of standardization. With 

 this in view one has less hesitation in 

 accepting the statement made to the effect 

 that glycerinated bile " is equally efficient 

 after a year has elapsed ; " but that this 

 efficiency equals the efficiency of fresh 

 bile, unglycerinated, is, as far 'as I am 

 aware, unasserted by even its warmest 

 advocates. Still, we may, in judging of 

 the value of the glycerinated bile-system, 

 place any loss of immunising power at- 

 tendant upon the addition of glycerine 

 over against the undoubted advantage 

 possessed by this preparation in being 

 free from risk of causing the disease. 



When preparations have to be made to 

 meet an advancing wave of the disease 

 this claim to freedom from risk of spread 

 is of the utmost importance. The im- 

 munity consequent upon the adoption of 

 the glycerinated method may possibly be 

 shorter lived and less marked than where 

 pure bile has been used ; still, it is prob- 

 able that by this means a barrier would 

 be presented which would effectually 

 temporarily check the onward progress of 

 the disease. Whether one would be j usti- 

 fied in advising so fortuitous a policy in 

 the event of a general outbreak is ques- 

 tionable, however. 



The most which can be claimed 

 from the application of the simple 

 injection of glycerinated bile is that 

 by its use a temporary or passive 

 immunity is established, which protects 

 inoculated animals for varying lengths of 

 time. The duration of such protection is 

 probably dependent upon the amount of 

 the immunising substances contained in 

 the bile used. This is without doubt a 

 very inconstant quantity, and again de- 

 pends upon such factors as the virulence 

 of the disease to which the animal suc- 

 cumbed, its individual susceptibility, and 

 perhaps age. That breed exercises a 

 strong influence upon the course of the 

 disease is undoubted. This was noted in 

 Natal during our last outbreak. The 

 grey cattle of the Russian Steppes contract 

 only a mild form of the disease compared to 

 the rinderpest known to the cattle-owners 

 of western Europe. In India this race or 



