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dumb-bell. Cultivated on alkaline nutritive gelatin in streak cultivation at 20°, in 24 hours there is a whitish continuous line like a line of white paint; after 24 hours a distinct blue colour appears in the gelatin immediately in contact with the streak, becoming more gradually diffused into the depth.

In broth also after about ten days at 35° the liquid becomes slightly greenish. Twelve mice fed directly with the pie, became very ill, one of the twelve died. Two dogs were fed with the pie but the effect was but little evident. Mice were also fed with the cultures and suffered from the same kind of illness, some of the mice dying, those that died showed the same post-mortem signs, viz. congestion of stomach and intestines, and enlargement of spleen, kidneys and liver. The remarkable fact was discovered that cultures from ten days to a fortnight old had no effect on mice.

(449) The Arlford Sausage Poisoning Case.

As an example of the other type of meat poisoning may be cited the Arlford 1 sausage poisoning case investigated and described by Dr. Ballard. In this case a gardener aged forty-two purchased in Chester half a pound of sausage. At about 11 A.M. the same morning he ate the sausage, and in three-quarters of an hour was found extremely ill with choleraic symptoms; the man died after a week's illness, pneumonia apparently supervening, but there was no post-mortem examination.

The sausage eaten was part of a consignment of American manufacture; on the man's illness being discovered, the rest was put aside, portions of the sausages being experimented on by Dr. Klein. Some were found to be innocuous, others very poisonous to small animals such as mice and rabbits. "In all instances where the animals became ill, the illness showed itself soon after the feeding, viz. from a quarter of an hour to a few hours. The animals became quiet, and in some instances, especially in the rabbits, there was vomiting a quarter of an hour after feeding; they neither cared to take food, nor to move; their faces were pinched and their eyes small. In the case of the mice their coats became very rough. This state soon grew worse, the animals becoming comatose, the temperature rapidly sank and

1 Supplement to the Eleventh Annual Rep. of the Loc. Gov. Board.

the animals soon died. In some cases they lingered on for several days, recovered slightly, took food again and became a little more lively; but when killed they showed the same post-mortem appearances as those that died spontaneously, only in a milder degree. On post-mortem examination, the appearances found were hæmorrhages in the stomach, congestion of the lungs, enlarged kidneys, the cortex of the organs being pale, the medulla hyperæmic. On microscopical examination of the kidney, the important fact was ascertained that most of the urinary tubules contained casts, that many Malpighian corpuscles and the tissues surrounding them were in a state of disintegration, without however there being present any inflammatory cells (pus corpuscles), so that this disintegration was evidently the direct result of some destructive agency circulating in the vessels of the glomeruli of the Malpighian corpuscles." In this case there was evidently some soluble poison, probably of bacterial origin.

The student may also refer to the instructive cases of poisoning by meat at Welbeck and at Nottingham, both investigated by Dr. Ballard, the symptoms of which somewhat differed from the above in being more like a specific (typhoid) fever.

(450) Diarrhea from Milk or Cheese-Tyro-toxicon.

In cases in which it seems likely that either milk or cheese has produced intestinal disturbance, carefully examine for diazobenzene butyrate, also named tyro-toxicon, a very poisonous substance which is formed with considerable ease. If, for instance, a minute fragment of butyric ferment be added to milk in a bottle and the bottle corked up, tyro-toxicon is formed. The testing for tyro-toxicon is a simple matter-supposing the substance is milk, a sufficient quantity of carbonate of soda is added to give a decided alkaline reaction, and then the liquid is shaken up with an equal bulk of ether; this operation is best done in a tube with a stopcock at the bottom. The tube is allowed to stand until the ether rises to the top; if there is no proper separation a little strong alcohol will assist matters by clearing the liquid up; the milk is now run off and the ethereal layer separated. The ether is poured into a flat dish or saucer and allowed to evaporate 1 Supplement to the Tenth Annual Rep. of the Loc. Gov. Board.

spontaneously; the residue left on evaporation is dissolved in a little water and filtered through wet filter paper to free it from fat and again the filtrate shaken up with ether, the ethereal layer is once more allowed to evaporate spontaneously; the residue contains any tyro-toxicon present in a sufficiently pure state to admit of tests being applied. The most convenient test is a mixture of equal bulks of pure phenol and sulphuric acid. This strikes an orange red or purple colour with very small quantities of tyro-toxicon. Another test is to evaporate the solution to dryness with strong potash; a compound is formed soluble in alcohol but which is precipitated by ether in the form of crystals.

If cheese is to be tested the cheese is triturated with water and carbonate of soda added, and the solution or emulsion shaken up as before with ether.

(451) Method of Investigating outbreaks of Diarrhea or Illness supposed to result from bad Food.

In these investigations it will be far simpler and more certain to pursue a properly thought-out plan of investigation than go haphazard to work. The only way is to examine each person separately as to what he or she has eaten for one, two, or three days previously, bearing in mind that it is of equal importance to examine those who have not suffered, as well as those who have suffered. The inquirer will find it convenient to draw out the facts in a tabular form according to the plan drawn out below, putting a simple mark against the particular article eaten on each day, and denoting by a single stroke that the substance has been eaten sparingly, a double stroke thus x that it has been eaten or drunk in fair quantities and a treble stroke thus that it has been taken in large quantities.

The table on the following page gives at a glance much information for instance, take the dairy products—it is obvious that not alone did every one of the family use milk but the boy drank it largely and we will presume unboiled; the milk may therefore be excluded in the same way the butter is excluded; on the other hand the master and mistress both eat Gorgonzola cheese and both suffered, but this fact is neutralized by the fact that two others who did not eat this cheese were also ill; hence it can hardly be

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the cheese; and proceeding in this way with each item, there is one substance found-the pork-which the sufferers took alone and no one else, hence when this stage is arrived at the attention may be concentrated to this particular article, and strict inquiry made concerning it—that is, where it was bought, and so forth; it may then be possible to find out whether any other families have had pork from this particular animal or not, or bought pork the same day from the same butcher. In this way ultimately the evil may be traced back to its source. In such work as this he who is capable of taking the most trouble will be most likely to succeed. An apparently simple inquiry consumes much time and demands the exercise of natural powers of observation and keenness that some persons are never able to acquire.

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