326 SYNOPSIS OP CONTINENTAL VETERINARY JOURNALS. 
and its bombyx having been cultivated in Paris and the 
neighbourhood, there is now scarcely such a tree in the place 
which does not support numerous families of that silkworm. 
The history of the phylloxera of the vine is a more forcible 
example of the acclimatisation becoming dangerous and 
terrible. We have endeavoured on our travels to ascertain 
whether certain parts of Eure-et-Loire, or, preferably, certain 
fields in a specified region are more fitted than those which 
surround them to generate spontaneous charbon as many 
agriculturists believe. We are still studying this matter, 
results on it have hitherto been negative.” 
With regard to the manner in which death is brought 
about in charbonaceous and septic diseases, M. Colin read a 
paper at the Academie de Medecine on 10th December, 1878, 
of which we extract the following notice from the Revue 
Veterinaire (by M. Labat). “ The following three views 
have been taken of the matter : 
“ 1. Bacteria constitute an obstacle to capillary circulation, 
so that the cause of death is simply mechanical. 
“2. Since Bacteria are bodies very greedy of oxygen, they 
absorb that which is in the blood, and bring about as¬ 
phyxia. 
“ 3. Affected animals die in consequence of the considerable 
reduction of their internal temperature.” 
The author passes these theories in review successively, 
and undertakes to prove their insufficiency. Thus, Bacteria 
cannot obstruct the capillary circulation. Their pliability, 
flexibleness, and the ease of their movements, render them 
eminently adapted to obtain free passage through even the 
smallest of these conduits. As an experiment, “ after opening 
the abdomen of a living rabbit affected with charbon, we 
drew out a loop of intestine with its mesentery, which we 
cut at a certain height, and we placed the mesentery promptly 
on a slide, and examined it with the necessary powers. 
As the portion of intestine continued to contract for some 
time it drove the blood into the portion of mesentery examined, 
and for five minutes or more we could very satisfactorily 
observe persistence of the circulation in the finest capillaries. 
The Bacteria and blood nodules travelled through the vessel 
intermixed and with equal freedom. The Bacteria attached 
themselves neither to each other, nor to the walls of the 
vessels, nor to the globules. One would hardly suspect this 
who had only seen them in the body of a dead animal or in 
cooled blood, rigid, intermingled, and absolutely motionless. 
Nevertheless, as proofs of this impediment of the circulation, 
have been adduced the engorgement of the spleen, liver. 
