REPORT ON THE DISEASE KNOWN AS ANTHRAX. 
97 
driven to the conclusion that they can be nothing else than young, 
short, anthrax bacteria, derived from the bacteria germs. 
With regard to the hypothesis that the anthrax bacteria pro¬ 
duce something which has a chemical action on the bodies of ani¬ 
mals, the following well known fact may be adduced as evidence. 
When anthrax blood is inoculated in the texture of the skin, cer¬ 
tain effects follow in the form of inflammatory swelling. This 
tumefaction has no relation so far as extent is concerned to the 
quantity of bacteria and bacteria germs; and the presence of 
these alone cannot account for this result, so that one may sur¬ 
mise the production of some chemical matter which circulates 
more quickly in the lympaths of the connection tissue than the 
bacteria.—( Yeterinary Journal.) 
The most recent investigations on this subject are to be found 
in an able paper by Dr. Koch, entitled “ The ^Etiology of Splenic 
Fever based on the history of development of Bacillus AntliracisP 
Dr. Koch’s paper furnishes us with the following facts: The 
number of bacilli found in the blood varies with the animal; in 
the guinea pig it was enormous, sometimes even exceeding that 
of the corpuscles; in the rabbit much smaller, so that sometimes 
several drops had to be examined before any were found; in the 
mouse often nil. 
In the blood of dead animals or in other suitable fluids, the 
bacilli grow to very long, straight, leptrothrix-like filaments (with¬ 
in certain limits of temperature, and with the presence of air) 
while the formation of numerous spores goes on at the same time. 
The spores of bacillus anthracis under certain conditions of 
temperature, nutrition and presence of air, develop immediately 
to the bacilli, which were seen in the blood. 
Dilution of the animal fluid containing bacilli with a moderate 
amount of water makes no evident difference, but a large quan¬ 
tity kills the bacilli. Dampness, then, such as that to which a 
body killed by splenic fever is exposed when buried to some 
depth or left in the fields or skinning yards, or the excreta of 
some sick animal are exposed, does no harm to the bacilli, while 
it hinders the evaporation of the nutritious fluids in which the 
bacillus has done its harmful work. 
