ruralijxU I'll //(n'.sr.s cnu/ Cuirs. 209 



dall's jurouiit ni' tin- s\ iii|itiiiiis, ami tlic (pl)srrvali<>ii> 1 \s ds able 

 to make throu^li liis courtesy, tallied generally with the symptoTiis 

 reeorded above, as did the posf-niorftni exariiinations, at only 

 one of ■which I was able to l)e present and personally secure speci- 

 mens. The cases did not seem to be those of ordinary poison, and 

 chemical examination of the stomach contents and of the fodder 

 gave negative results. Fortunately, however. 1 luul a ipiantity of 

 the fodder, consi.sting of ordinary mixed chaff, with l^ran and oats, 

 all apparently of good (juality, sent to the laboratory for experi- 

 mental purposes. The material collected was kept separate, and 

 labelled according to the place of collection. These samples were : — 



A. From the mangers of the horses that had died. 



B. From the nosebags of those horses. 



C. From the loft near the chute. 



I). From the bidk fodder in the loft. 

 (N.B. — C and D were similai-. with the exception that D was mixed 

 later by a few days than C.) 



Xo unmixed fee<i remained on the premises. 



With the above feed, certain experiments were conducted, t)ut 

 before detailing these it is necessary to record what may well be 

 termed an unpremeditated experiment. 



When the first horse died, the knacker was instructed to come for 

 the carcase, and his mail arrived with the cart sometime before 

 Mr. Kendall had finished his post-mortem examination. While 

 waiting, he espied a no.se bag half-full of feed hanging on a peg, 

 and fixed it on his horse's head. The knacker's horse, although fed 

 as usual only a few hours previously, partook of the chaff in the 

 nose bag readily enough, and in due course left. Five days later 

 Mr. Kendall was called in to see this animal, and found him 

 suffering from .symjUoms exactly similar to those manifested by 

 the original cases. Death occurred within 12 hours of the first 

 symptoms being observed. The carcase was brought to my 

 laboratory, and posf-mortein examination showed conditions similar 

 to the others. This horse had received no more than a few pounds 

 of fodder, and no symptoms were declared for at least five days. 

 Meanwhile our experiments were in progress. * 



Horse E. It. an aged animal, in fair condition, was fed about 

 o p.m. with 5 lbs. of chaff from the mangers. This he ate readily 

 enough. For the next five days he received a daily ration of 15 lbs. 

 of chaff from D, the bulk feed. On the morning of the 6th day he 

 ate his food as usual. In tlie evening at 5 p.m. he was again fed, 



1 



