CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF SWINE PLAGUE, ETC. 563 
creasing during the following days and until death occurred. 
Often the stretched condition of the skin was such that tear¬ 
ing would take place, from which sero-bloody fluid would 
escape. I have even at times observed the formation of 
vesicles on the surface of the ear, swollen to the maximum, 
which I think were due to trophical disturbances produced 
by the pressure upon the nerves. If life lasted more than 
five or six days the oedema would increase, as we will see 
further on. 
As to hog cholera , the subcutaneous injection of virulent 
cultures in fresh rabbits was generally followed by a local 
reaction much more manifest. There was formation of ab¬ 
scess, the ear was drooping, and, as in swine plague, the longer 
the disease lasted the greater was the oedema. When the 
virus was stronger the local reaction diminished, and much 
resembled that seen in swine plague ; vaccinated rabbits offered 
the same local lesions. 
As morbid symptoms of acute cases of the diseases, one 
must mention, before all, the elevation of temperature, appre¬ 
ciable two or three hours after the injection, and likely to 
rise to 42 0 or 42.5 0 . Afterwards, the animal is taken with 
diarrhoea, often severe in hog cholera until death. By degrees 
a progressive paresia occurs in the posterior extremities. 
Death, which takes place in a variable time, as we said above, 
is preceded by a short period of extensive spasms, and often 
the rabbit gives an acute cry as he dies. 
As to the lesions observed at the autopsy, they were 
equally analogous in both diseases. The small intestine con¬ 
tained a serous liquid; when drained off with a sterilized pi¬ 
pette, one would after a short time observe, especially in hog 
cholera , a more or less abundant deposit formed of solid par¬ 
ticles, and over it a liquid slightly colored and transparent; 
the contents of the intestines gave a pure culture of bacte¬ 
rium coli , having a great analogy to the microbe injected. 
Peyer’s patches were tumefied, but I have not seen any ulcer¬ 
ations. All the mesenteric vessels were dilated and gorged 
with blood. Another constant lesion is also observed, viz., 
the increase in the size of the spleen, and its being more 
