THE NATURE OF THE AMERICAN SWINE PLAGUE. 
355 
morpho-biological peculiarities of the germs alone, under artifi 
cial conditions of development, or even by the microscopical 
lesions, one would be obliged to accept Hueppe’s conclusion so 
far as the American swine plague and “ wild-seuche ” are con¬ 
cerned; but as I then demonstrated, this identity is absolutely 
contradicted by the clinical (or natural) disposition of the two 
diseases—the American being limited to swine, while the German 
attacks quite a number of species under natural conditions. 
These diseases, like anthrax, black-leg, yellow fever, Texas 
fever, are primarily telluric diseases (“ Bodenkraukheiten ”); 
that is, diseases which have their primary origin in the earth ; 
and again, no matter what effect they may have on animal life, 
it is the earth that becomes infected from such animals, and not 
other animals. 
The idea that because such diseases can be, either accidentally 
or experimentally, transmitted to other animals, it constitutes 
them contagious diseases, is a patho-etiological absurdity, and the 
sooner we can drive this “miasmatic-contagious” humbug out of 
medical literature, the better it will be for our reputation as sane 
and logical thinkers. 
Transmission by inoculation is simply a property that seems 
to be common to both contagious aud infectious diseases, consti¬ 
tuting them both, in such cases, “ wound-infection diseases.” 
Contagious and infectious diseases, again, have much in com¬ 
mon, in that in either case, when of a constitutional character, 
the respiratory tract seems to be the chief seat of primary en¬ 
trance to the organism. Inoculation per accidental wounds is 
rare in either case, and more rare in contagious than in infectious 
diseases. Like the animal parasites, however, some of these dis¬ 
eases seem to have a special predilection, or better pathological 
affinity, for certain organs. 
Hueppe’s assertion that the “ wild-seuche ” is a contagious 
exanthema (wound-infection disease), in one place, and that under 
the same circumstances (natural infection) it should generally 
be designated as an infectious pneumonia,” is only an example of 
the absurd carelessness and want of logical understanding that 
rules in the medical profession. To get out of this muddle, we 
