THE DISINFECTION OF HORSE-SPONGES. 
189 
fully lame, with a defect so obscure that it had “ tripped ” the 
veterinary talent of this district. 
With your kind permission, Mr. Editor, I shall continue to 
discuss the subject at some future date. 
THE DISINFECTION OF HORSE-SPONGES. 
Translated from the German by Richard Middleton, D.V.S. 
It is known that the use of sponges for cleaning and thera¬ 
peutical purposes may give rise to various unpleasant con¬ 
sequences. Since impurities, infectious material, secretions 
and exudates, either dilute or tenacious, readily acquire a 
grasp upon the sponge texture, such have often enough given 
occasion to the transportation of infectious diseases. This 
danger is rife, especially in the stables of omnibus and street 
car companies, where it is customary to wash the nasal open¬ 
ings after a tour, or in the summer time. From using one 
and the same sponge, the latter becomes over-inoculated with 
the principle of glanders, rhino-adenitis, stomatitis contagiosa, 
etc. After two Italian veterinarians, Rabbaglietti and Diana, 
had earlier called attention to the loss in the Italian arm) 7 
from this cause, Baruchello undertook a bacteriological in¬ 
vestigation upon horse sponges, and in a subsequent treatise 
acknowledged the detriment, with a practical proposition for 
the judicious disinfection of such sponges. It had been sug¬ 
gested that a separate sponge be kept for each animal, and 
not allowed to be interchanged. The subject has lately been 
still further developed, and now it is proposed to periodically 
disinfect the stagnant sponges, and especially so to do during 
epidemic diseases. Baruchello has suggested a more feasi¬ 
ble method. He took from the soldiers of several squadrons, 
worn-out sponges and pieces, as they came to hand, and from 
these he cut cubes of one centimeter each. These he put in 
reagent glasses with fluid gelatine as a culture food. After 
thorough shaking, so as to remove the adhering germs, these 
cubes were removed. Esmarck’s method of “ flat roll cul¬ 
tures ” was used. The method consists in stopping the tubes 
