EDITORIAL. 
51 
Reviewing the writings of Klein, who considered the germ of 
hog cholera, as Professor Law also did, a micrococcus, and also 
the conclusions of Detmers, who at one time called it a bacillus 
(bacillus suis) and again a micrococcus, Dr. Billings, after a few 
remarks on the morphological and histological phenomena of 
micro-organisms, proceeds to the observations which he has per¬ 
sonally made, and says : 
“ The micro-organism of the true American swine plague is, then, a bac¬ 
terium in its mature form. It is not a micrococcus. 
“ It is oval, being at least twice as long as wide when fully developed ; its 
length as a mature individual being about one-half the diameter of the red blood 
cell of a hog when examined in freshly drawn blood under the microscope and 
care is taken that no atmospheric or chemical influences interfere with the mor¬ 
phology of the blood cell. 
“ It colors best in methylen-blue and methyl-violet; next best in gentian- 
violet and methylen-green ; also very well in other violets, especially in a variety 
known as Hoff’s violet, but not as well as many other organisms in fuchsin. As 
has been pointed out by Loeffler and others in Germany, the coloring capacity of 
many of these dyes is increased by adding to saturated solutions of the same in 
the coloring glass an equal quantity of a solution of caustic potash 1-10,000 
aqua.” 
This bacterium is difficult to discover. The manipulations 
attending the process of coloring are delicate, but still its histo¬ 
logical phenomena may be readily observed. Its method of pro¬ 
liferation is characteristic. 
‘ ‘ First let me say that this micro-organism is most actively mobile in fluid cul¬ 
tivations , and that every one)of the (to be described) biological phenomena can be 
seen, and are better seen, in a fluid culture than any other way.” 
The true bacterial nature of the disease being thus well estab¬ 
lished, Dr. B. takes up the subject in the post mortem lesions, 
and undertakes to solve the question often put, as to whether the 
American swine disease is analogous to that of Germany, or if 
hog cholera is similar to the schweineseuche. With a cursory 
review of the writings of Klein, Roloff, Schutz and Hueppe, the 
author presents his conclusions as follows: 
“1. That the American swine plague is, first and most important of all, an 
extra organismal infectious septicsemia. 
“ Characterized: 
“ (a) By a peculiar swollen ha3morrhagic condition of the lymph-gland. 
“ (b) By pneumonia of a peculiar character. 
