EDITORIAL. 
5 
less regularly in breeding and dairy districts, many theories 
have been advanced. But more recently, from what has been 
published in Europe, it is generally accepted that the disease is 
of microbial! nature. Nocard was one of the first to make this 
assertion. Recently Professor Bang, of Copenhagen, and his 
assistant, Mr. Stribolt, have still further confirmed the opinion 
of the learned French master ; in fact, have been more fortunate 
than he, as “ they have not ojtly isolated a specific gerin with 
which they have experimentally reproduced the disease^ but have 
demonstrated the presence of a constant and characteristic lesion 
of the uterus in infected animals?^ From careful post-mortem 
examinations and from bacteriologic observations they have es¬ 
tablished that the preparations made of the utero-placentar exu¬ 
dates, colored with the blue of Loeffler, contained a large 
quantity and its pure culture of a very small bacteria, which 
gave rise to a uterine catarrh—cause of all the mischief. 
Bang and Stribolt have carried their researches on several 
animals, and have always found the same lesions, the same mi¬ 
crobe ; even in three cases did they detect it in the small intes¬ 
tines of the aborted foetus, in the blood, in the bulb, in the 
abomasum. The experiments of vaginal injections have also 
proved that the microbe is surely the agent of contagion, 
though the period of incubation is somewhat long, abortion 
sometimes not taking place before 30, 33 and 35 days, or even 
longer. Tested with ewes, and a pregnant mare, abortion was 
also obtained. Infected cows may abort once, twice or three 
times, or even more, but always the accident takes place later 
and later, and at last the animals carry their produce to term. 
It is then a kind of immunity which takes place and gradually 
the disease disappears. 
The treatment recommended by the authors consists princi- 
pally in prophylactic measures : isolation and disinfection. Sepa¬ 
ration of the sick animals, burning of the foetus and of the after¬ 
births, disinfection of the stables, and of the female genital or¬ 
gans. This last will also be done before the cow goes with the 
bull, and the sheath of this animal will also be washed with an 
