ABSTRACTS                                   85

Development of neutralizing antibodies to the viruses of equine encephalo-
    myelitis (western strain) and St. Louis encephalitis in the blood and
    cerebrospinal fluid of man and animals, together with recovery of the
    St. Louis virus from the blood of monkeys.     F. HOWITT BEATRICE (1941).
    J. Immunology 42, No. 2, 117-31

THE author demonstrated the presence of neutralizing antibodies specific for the
viruses of encephalomyelitis (Western strain) and St. Louis encephalitis, in the
blood sera and cerebrospinal fluid of patients recovering from these infections, with no
evidence of cross immunity.

The author showed that in experimental monkeys inoculated intracutaneously with
Western virus, antibodies began to appear in the serum irregularly about the 5th or 6th
day after injection and were more regularly present in seven to nine days, becoming
progressively stronger through the 5th week. It was also observed that these antibodies
did not appear as early in the cerebrospinal fluid, but were found in small amounts by the
8th or 9th day and became stronger by the 10th or 11th day. The antibodies either
failed to appear or were only weakly positive in those animals running a fatal course
after intracerebral inoculation.

Observations of St. Louis virus were that the antibodies were more difficult to de-
monstrate in the serum of experimental monkeys, inoculated intracutaneously and that
these antibodies appeared only occasionally after 14 days. But after intracerebral
injections these could be found within 9 to 14 days. The disease did not run a fatal
course as in animals inoculated with Western virus.

The observations on mixed infection with both viruses were that, with a single
exception, practically no antibodies developed against the St. Louis virus either in the
blood or the cerebrospinal fluid, following intracutaneous and intracerebral inoculation.

The author's conclusions were that the Western virus could be recovered from the
blood and the cerebrospinal fluid of experimental monkeys during the first few days
following intracutaneous and intracerebral inoculation and from the blood alone in
animals inoculated with the St. Louis virus. In case of mixed inoculations both viruses
could be recovered at different intervals. [W. M. K.]

Straw pulp: Results of controlled feeding trials (1941). Jour. of the Ministry
                            of Agriculture 48, No. 2

THE paper records the results of the controlled feeding trials, carried out with
straw pulp at five different centres in England and Wales, under the auspices of
the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Council.

The process of straw pulping consisted in treating chaffed straw one inch in length
with 1½ per cent solution of caustic soda, for a period of 20 hours and allowing to
drain on the ramp for about 20 minutes and washing with water for four hours. The
plant used was that recommended by the Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd. No special
difficulties were encountered either in the preparation of the pulp or in feeding it to
the animals.

In most of the stations, young dairy cattle were used for the experiments, which
lasted from 10 to 16 weeks and the straw studied was wheat straw. In one centre, the
effect of feeding with treated and untreated straw was studied both in the warm and cold
weather. The animals were divided into two groups and suitably balanced rations for
the control and the experimental groups were adjusted to theoretically equal feeding
values. To produce a definite live weight increase per day, untreated straw was used
in one case and treated straw in the other. The experiments conducted in three of
the stations showed that the animals of the experimental groups had better bloom and
fleshing than those in the control groups, that there was a definite advantage of about
0.6 to 0.7 lb. live weight increase per head per day for the straw pulp fed animals, and
that the predigestion of straw resulted in a marked improvement in palatability and
its feeding value (S. E.) from about 13 to 40. In two of the centres, however, the treated
straw was unpalatable to and reluctantly eaten by cattle. According to these trials
soda treatment did not materially improve its nutritive value.