San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-02-16

velopment and progress of typical
cases. The malignant pustule may ap-
pear. not ms an initial lesion, but as n
local manifestation of constitutional in
lection, and minor pustule" is apt TO
attack the hands of those working on
infectious material, pustule very diff.
ferent from the typical form, but
closely resembling the lesion resulting
from only partially successful inocula-
ton OF anthrax virus upon carnivorous
animals, and similar to that produced
by Pasteur's "attenuated virus" in the
herbivora. In the other variety OF the
disease, the anthrax fever, It'll more
important deviations from the accepted
type are described, and although the
German and French observers look
upon the affection as almost always
fatal, MIR. Spear concludes that only
moderate number of cases terminate
unfavorably. Again, while one man
may be stricken down by rapidly fatal
malady, his comrade, working in the
same material, may also be effected, but
by form of disease which stops short
OF the severer sy mptoms, and ultimately
goes on to recovery.
The histories of long-continued ma
laise, also, among wool sorters are nu-
merous. The symptoms are much like
those of the prodromal stage of acute
Observation-Disclosures, depression, nau-
sea, dimness of sight, cramps, restless
sleep, with the occasional appearance
OF cutaneous eruptions, petechi@, boils,
or herpes. At times an apparent peri
odicity is observed in the subjective
symptoms. Such manifestations may
occasionally occur as prodromata of an
acute attack of the disease; more often,
however. they disappear spontaneously.
The author admits the possibility of
chronic antbracoid poisoning, the ana
logue of which may be found in malar-
ial disease. The operation of the virus
from it's very inception is peculiarly in
constant. Incubation may be deferred
by long periods of latency; full devel.
opment may be delayed by prolonged
and intermittent prodromata; often the
disease aborts. At first, and for vari-
able time, the virus is "barely able to
prolong it's existence" either the re-
moval of unknown obstacles, however,
or the addition to the blood, or secre-
tons, of agents promoting the develop
ment of the poison, or both these con-
tingencies, enables the infectious ma
terial to exert it's full sway, and the
disease to run its fatal course. To ex-
plain the unequal receptivity to the
poison, Mr.. Spear revives an old the
DRY, that of the eating of more or less
crude vegetables and fruit. Guided by
the well-known prediction of this
contagium for herbivorous animals, and
by the fact that TESTIFIED rats prove re-
fractory to incubation with anthrax
virus, while the same rats fed on veg
etables quickly succumb, the author
was led to inquire into the alimentation
of the wool sorters who had suffered
from acute attacks of anthrax fever. He
found that in nearly every case in which
information was obtainable, the devel-
opment of urgent symptoms had super
vened upon the ingestion of an unusual
quantity of vegetable food in some
form or other. Again, in several cases
OF remission of the symptoms, a relapse
seemed to follow the eating of vegeta-
BILE food. In Constantinople, also,
where the external form of the disease
is well known, the eating of vegetables
and fruit during an attack is regarded
as Especially dangerous. The evil
dence appears to be strong and circum-
stantial, so far as such evidence can be.
The experiments Of Feser are now very
generally accepted by Continental au
thorities as indicating that the relative
immunity of the carnivora is not inner
ent to the genus, but is influenced by
the nature of their food. The immun-
ity of the f@tus is now regarded as de
pendent On the fact that it is really
carnivorous animal, not on any filtering
action of the p'acenta. As Mr.. Spear
says: ut is conceivable that alimen
tary substances may bring about in the
body such chemical or morphological
changes as will render its fluids a
richer field for the proliferation of dis
ease germs. British Medical Jour-
nal.
BrOwnlOw On Delinquents.
Father Brownlow of the Knoxville
Wing concluded an earnest appeal to