June 1, 1898 .] Supplement to the '' Tropical Agriculturist." 869 
Cultivation of Bacteria- — The best; medium for 
artificial growth is agar and glycerine agar, in 
■which they will grow luxuriantly. In the incu- 
bator at a medium temperature of 37“ C. in twelve 
to fifteen hours in line cultures, shining dew-like 
little drops appear, which are partly scattered and 
partly run together as they grow. In the first case 
round colonies are develo{)ed ; in the second a thin, 
transparent, greyish, and slightly opale.5ceut film 
with unequal or jagged edges. 
Line cultures in gelatine show in twenty-four 
hours at a temperature of 17° to 18° C. a fine 
white line, like embroidery, which with the aid of 
the micro.scope appears to be made up of small 
pearly line granules gathered together into rounded 
colonies. In three to four days they form a 
yellowish irregular stripe, which is made up of 
numbers of small spherical granules. Gelatine 
plate cultures at 17° to 18° 0. show iu twenty-four 
to forty-eight hours under the microscope small 
colonies which gradually enlarge, and become in 
three to four days visible to the naked eye as punc- 
tiform, sharply bordered, yellowish, slightly shin- 
ing small discs which do not liquefy the gelatine. 
Under a high power it is seen that these yellowish 
discs are composed of nearly smooth round granules. 
Inoculation. — By inoculation with an artificial 
culture of this virus or of the bio cl of the buffalo 
suffering from the disease, we are in a position to 
infect not only the buffalo, but likewi.-e cattle, 
horses, pigs, guinea-pigs, rabbits, white and grey 
mice, and pigeons. Dogs and sheep have great 
resistance to the disease. Fowls and ducks are 
immune. Experiments have shown that the most 
susceptible of the experimental animals is the 
rabbit, and that a mortal attack was induced by 
cutaneous, subcutaneous, peritoneil or pleural in- 
jection of the virus. By the digestive canals also 
it can be produced. Healthy rabbits kept in a room 
with sick buffaloes likewise took the disease. 
By subcutaneous infection when the material 
was mixed with sterilised water (blood or flesh 
infusion culture) and injected, the temperature 
rose CO 40— 4D30° C , attaining its highest point 
generally in eight to eleven hours, never longer. 
In proportion to the virulence of the material the 
di.sease ran its course iu from nine to fifteen hcurs. 
Following infection through the digestive 
apparatus the disease runs a longer course, aud the 
rabbit lives for twenty-four to thirty-two hours. 
If inoculated into the pectoral cavity death occurs 
in two to three days. 
As we have before mentioned, rabbits brought 
into the same stable in which sick buffaloes are 
kept take the disease, and in such cases they die 
within twenty-four to forty-eight hours. 
On postmortem examination a somewhat bloody 
transudation into the pleural and peritoneal 
cavities is found, and further the blood-vessels of 
the mesentery and the serous membranes are much 
injected. The parenchymatous organs are con- 
gested, the lungs gorged with blood, the perilaryn- 
geal and peritracheal connective tissues cedematous. 
In the trachea and bronchi large quantities of 
frothy fluid serosity are found, and the mucous 
membrane appears red and studded with petechiae. 
The spleen and lymphatic glands enlarged. 
The mucous membranes of the bowel and stomach 
are injected, especially when the infection has 
taken place through the digestive system, 
In cases of infection by the direct injection of 
the virus into the lung or pleural cavity we find 
sero-fibrinous exudation and nercrotic inflammation 
of the lung. Cutaneous or subcutaneous infection 
does not remain localised. 
In the blood and spleen of infected rabbits the 
bacteria of idie disease were demonstrated iu 
great numbers. 
Guinea-pigs are more immune, and support the 
subcutaneous injection for two to three days. 
In the larger animals tlie horse is destroyed in an 
average of twenty hours, horned cattle twenty to 
forty-eight hours, and pigs in twenty to twenty- 
four hours, ^ by subcutaneous injection. Coii- 
siderable infiltration always occurs at the seat of 
inoculation, and the course of the di-ease resembles 
that of septicaemia. 
Effect of T irus on Eog and Sheep. — The dof^ and 
sheep support the virus given in the food or by 
experimental inoculation. Only in one case was 
a dog or a sheep destroyed by the injection of 
more than 1 c.c. of a virulent bouillon culture in a 
short time, from which it appears possible that the 
toxic products of tile virus may be fatal to do^s 
and sheep when given in large quantity. 
I o al -,0 used buffalo cal ves ; these experiments 
prove that virulent agar culture rubbed into the 
unwounded skin will not cause the disease, and 
tliat It 13 not usually communicated when the skin 
IS whole. When we wound the skin Gkotiva may 
be produced by the cultivated virus or the virulent 
Wood by smearing the wound with it, and we can 
in this manner cause death in the buffalo in 
twenty-four to thirty-six hours. 
With reference to infection per os I have made 
experiments to control my experiences ; virulent 
culture mixed with milk in large quantity and 
food witii urulent blood was given to buffaloe--. 
There was .some read ion, but the animals recoverd. 
In order to ascertain whether the animal remained 
susceptible a subcutaneous inoculation with 
virulent material was made ; there was no re- 
action; It appeared that the first reaction had 
rendered the animal immune. 
Plow TO TREAT BODIES. 
The following information regarding farm 
methods of treating bones, where no crushing-mill 
13 available, has been furnished, in reply to a 
quei 7 from one of our correspondents, by Mr. A, 
N. Pearson, Government Agricultural Chemist. 
Victoria ' 
Bones in country districts, where crushing-mills 
are not yailable, may be reduced by means of 
caustic lye, quicklime, or freshly-calcined wood 
ashes. 
A simple plan is to pack the bones layer bv 
layer, with freshly calcined wood ashes, in a 
barrel, and keep the mixture moistened for some 
months. Casks may be kept iu constant use for 
this purpose on a farm, receiving every few days 
a fresh layer of bones aud of ashe-;, ^ 
A quicker metliod is to boil the boues in an 
iron or copper boiler together witli strong caustic 
lye. The proportions of bones and lye to be used 
are not exact or invariable. Roughly speaking, 
five parts by weight of caustic soda, or seven 
parts by weight of, caustic potash, dissolved io 
