124 THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 



The normal colour of quite fresh healthy lung is a very clear pink, almost 

 a whitish pink until the organ is cut into when it is found to exude bright red 

 Lung quite blood, and the cut surface therefore immediately becomes bright red. 

 diseased'" "^^^ appearance of fresh lung in bad cases of Strongylosis does not, 



birds. according to our experience during the past six years, vary at all from 



the appearance of the lung in health, and there is no sign of solidification or 

 of the earlier stages of pneumonia, congestion, or infiltration in the lung as 

 a symptom of the disease. 



Pneumonia proper must be an exceedingly rare disease in the Grouse, and 

 probably ninety-nine out of every hundred diagnoses of it are the result of a 

 failure to realise that post-mortem staining and infiltration give an appear- 

 ance which may be mistaken for pneumonia. But it is exceedingly difficult to 

 find even a very small piece of this so-called pneumonic lung which will not 

 float in water, and this is a fairly reliable rough - and - ready test for 

 consolidation. 



In Grouse No. 1260 small caseous masses were found in several portions of 

 the lung, and also adhesions to adjacent parts, but it was found on examination 

 that two ribs had been broken on each side and had reunited, showing that a pellet 

 or two of shot must have been the cause of the damage to the lung, which (apart 

 from the remains of a small localised abscess here and there) was of a typically 

 healthy colour and appearance. The condition of some very much enlarged veins 

 ramifying over the surface of the proventriculus in this bird, which were probably 

 taking ujdou themselves the duty of vessels previously damaged and obliterated 

 by the accident which broke the ribs, are described elsewhere {see p. 166). 



In one or two rare cases (Grouse Nos. 899 and 900), as the result of a 

 continued search under high power amongst the debris and fluid procured from 

 Parasites a crushed piece of lung, a living larval nematode has been discovered 

 found 'in*^^ in active movement. This was in a lung which had every appear- 

 "°^' ance of perfect health both in colour and consistence, and yet was 



taken from a bird so sick of Strongylosis that flight was impossible. A lung 

 such as this, which is a bright, normal, pink colour when the bird quite 

 recently dead is opened (in the case in point the bird died in the hand 

 and was at once examined), may yet in twenty - four hours be so much 

 altered as to have a very deep gelatinous, patchy redness throughout. Later 

 still some parts will turn almost black, while others remain pale ; and the observer 

 who then sees the lung for the first time is almost certain to suspect some 



