The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-01-08
TO KILL FIELD MICE,
Uncle Sam Proposes to Inocula tie Them
With Typhus Bacilli.
ICor. Washington Start

GCor. Washington Start
Bacilli of mouse typhus" are being
propagated just now in the laboratory
of the bureau of animal industry here.
The disease is one peculiar to the family
of field mice. 1t is proposed to ascertain
If destruction can be wrought upon that
tribe of rodents in this country by in
oculating them artifcially with the
germs in question. The latter were first
isolated and identified by the German
Prof. Loeffier, who by means of them is
said to have cleared Thessaly of plague
of these animals during the last year. A
similar affection has now attacked
southern Scotland. From time to time
mice of the same family, though of a
different species, become epidemic, as it
were, in one part or another of the
United States doing great damage uo..the
crops.
Prof. Loeff1er was employed by the
Greek government, which paid ALI the
expenses of his work in the province of
Thessaly. On reaching the scene of the
plague he prepared many gallons of an
infusion of oaJ and barley straw. The
straw being boiled the water from it
was poured through sieve into tin
vessels resembling milk cans. Then a
ture was dosed with a small quantity
of gelatine containing pure culture
of the tyhus bacilli. Finally it was
subjected to a temperature of SO degrees
Fahrenheit. Under these conditions
the germs were propagated by millions
in the solution within few hours. 1t
only remained to dip into it pieces of
dry white bread, bit of which was
placed in each mouse hole.
Ate the Bread and Died.
10 begin with, an experiment. was
made with field which was SO thickly
ground was literally riddled with their
holes. Around this area ditch was
dug, so as to isolate it, and then the in
fected food was scattered about. A
fortnight later not one of the rodent
pests remained alive. It happens that
the disease is one to which no other ami
NAL is subject, SO that no danger is in
volved to man or domestic beasts. In
order to satisfy the people in Thessaly
of this fact Prof. Loeffier and his assis-
tants ate in their presence pieces of the
poisoned bread and fed them tos.dogs and
cows. Mouse typhus is not contagious.
Recently a scientific commission was
appointed in Scotland to investigate the
plague there, and members OF it
travelled all tn way to Greece for the
purpose of observing the results of Prof
Loeff1er'S work. They were not satisfied
that his achievement was as satisfactory
or complete as had been represented
The disappearance of the mice might be
attrib utable to one of those epidemics
which naturally arise among animals
that have multiplied excessively. This
is one. of natures methods of keeping
down the numbers of specie which might
otherwise over run the earth. Another
objection to the remedy was based on the
non-contagious character of the disease
which is only communicated to those
mice which actually swallow tie bread.
Healthy individuals are supposed to be
infected by eating the bodi es of dead
ones, but this is not proved.
But the mo>J important difficulty was
considered to lie in the high cost of the
inoculating gelatine culture, which Prof.
Loetfier furnished to the Greek govern
ment at 81 a small tube. However, Uncle
Sans bacterioloigsts do not indorse
these views. They say that. with the
plant possessed by the bureau of animal
industry, the stuff could be turned out
LUZ oeu CcHuS d buDe. NOW. Un6 contents
of a single tube are sufficient to fill with
the germs volume of bouillon or other
suitable solution equal to that of all the
oceans of the world. All that the mi
bes need is a start and food to live
on. Thus it will be seen that the
requisite. disease-producing material
could be made cheap enough, the amount
OF bread needed for treating even large
farm being not very great. The gela-
tine preserves its properties for two
months.
Different Species of the Same OF Genus.
The field mice of Thessaly. Scotland
and the United States are three different
species of the same genus. Unlike the
Others, those of Scotland do not live in
eat the roots of every kind of vegetable.
In meadows they live almost entirely on
the roots of grasses, thus reducing the
yleld OF hay per acre often very largely.
when they become SO numerous that
their ordinary food supply is insufficient
they destroy every thing green. They do
great damage to fruit trees in winter by
gnaWlng away the bark all around the
trunks from the ground level to the sur
face OF the SNOW. In this way they will
destroy entire orchards and in the same
manner tens of thousads of NAPLES and
beeches are killed In Scotland they
have inflicted much injury III the sheep
INDUSTRY by running the grass crop.
During the recent plague in Thessaly
the mice were present in such swarms
Ghat the fields were vocal with their
squeaking Extraordinary stories are
told of their doings. In one instance a
farmer had given orders that several
acres should be moved the next NOM
ing; when the laborers arrived they
found no grass to cut; the vermin had
destroyed the entire crop in "a single
night. On another occasion miller
went to field and cut a quantity of
corn, which he loaded on an ass and
brought to his mill. Then lie went for
secondsload, but on his return he found
scarcely vestige Of the first load re-
naming; Surprising that he had been
robbed. he hid himself for the purpose
of watching, and presently an army of
mice appeared and proceeded to carry off
the grain. There is mention of such
nlaouac of ro1optc tho DILL