ANTHRAX IN NATAL. 
219 
vapor rising by evaporation to carry up germs in our vleys, 
etc.; but then there is the fact that the season has been remark¬ 
ably free from it so far, while fever of a malarial type has been 
more than usually prevalent amongst human beings. 
From the above it will be seen that I do not attribute the 
diseases under consideration to malaria. It is well known that 
redwater followed a steady course along the main roads of the 
colony before it prevailed to any extent on farms to which it 
had been carried from the roads. There is reasohi to believe, 
from Kafir tradition, that it existed here some time before the 
advent of Europeans, and that the germs had laid dormant until 
causes—which we are unable at this time to recognize—favored 
their development and introduction into the animals’ systems, and 
consequent increase and spread. As it is only lately, however, 
that it has been determined that these organisms are the sole 
causes of these diseases, it will be well to refer to some statements 
and experiments which have been made to show the manner in 
which they enter into the system. 
Professor Greenfield, Superintendent of the Brown Institu¬ 
tion, London, in a lecture at the University of London, on the 
17th December, 1879, in the course of his remarks stated that, 
“Food is the most ready means of conveyance of contagion, and 
experiments prove that the disease occurs most readily when 
there are wounds in the mouth. The endemic prevalence of 
anthrax in pastures is attributable to persistence of virus in 
earth, and it is possible that, at certain periods of the year, bacilli 
in the soil have their power of generating disease roused into 
activity.” 
Pasteur has shown conclusively that anthrax germs are 
brought to the surface of the soil over graves of animals that 
have succumbed to the disease. He further confirmed this by 
inoculating with the virus so obtained and producing the disease. 
Sheep and other animals pastured in enclosure containing 
these graves died of virulent anthrax. 
In some of these cases it was found that the animals exposed 
to the contagion resisted it until cut barley, spines and dried 
thistles were mixed with the food. 
“ The tendency of the rough fibre to irritate the mucous 
