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condition consisted in a more or less pronounced oedematotts 

 (watery) swelling of the fatty tissue surrounding the kidneys, 

 the lobes and lobules of fat being interspersed with sacks of 

 crystal-clear fluid varying in size from a pea to a hen's egg or 

 even larger. The kidneys themselves were somewhat enlarged, 

 extremely pale, looking as if boiled. On section this condition 

 appeard in the worst cases to extend throughout the entire organ, 

 but were in others confined to the cortical substance only. The 

 capsule was in all cases firmly attached to the organ, and no fluid 

 was ever observed between them. The condition must therefore 

 be diagnosed as acute nephritis and perinephritic oedema. No 

 smell of urine could be detected even when considerable quanti- 

 ties of the fluid was collected and kept for one to three days, nor 

 were any other lesions to be found anywhere else in the afl^ected 

 carcases. These were, on the other hand, all in the best possible 

 condition and were, in fact, the fattest prime steers ever seen 

 here, and this very fact proved to be the solution of the problem. 

 It should only be added that outside of the usual shipping sore- 

 ness and stififness, the animals in question showed no ante-mortem 

 symptoms of any kind, but looked bright and ate well. 



Acute nephritis, when not due to the presence of a specific in- 

 fectious disease, such as anthrax, tuberculosis or hemorrhage 

 septicemia, is generally caused by irritation of the kidneys in 

 their efifort to eliminate from the body toxic principles, whether 

 generated in the body .itself or introduced with poisonous plants, 

 fermented food, young shoots of trees containing resin or tannin, 

 but may be due to too highly nutritious food, rich in protein, such 

 as cowpeas, vetches, clovers and other legumes. Cold also seems 

 to be an important factor, especially cold driving rains, which 

 are bound to accelerate the tendency to the development of ne- 

 phritis if any of the previously mentioned irritating factors are 

 present. In order to come to a definite conclusion a visit was 

 made to the district where the cattle in question were shipped 

 from. Especial attention was given to the fattening paddock 

 out of which these animals had been selected, but, as already 

 stated, none seemed to be otherwise but in perfect health and 

 rolling fat. There had, however, been unusually heavy rainfall 

 all through the spring months, with the result that feed was 

 more than abundant, allowing the cattle to gorge themselves with- 

 out moving any distance in search of food and, as it rained every 

 day, they did not even have to go to the watering troughs, but 

 simply ate water. The pasture in question was very rich in 

 legumes, especially the sweet yellow clover and a variety of 

 highl)^ nutritious imported grasses. 



This condition was exactly what was expected and accounted, 

 in connection with the cold driving rains, fully for the afifected 

 kidneys as observed on the killing floor. The animals were 

 simply so loaded up with the rich albuminous feed that their kid- 



