50 



birds could be picked up by hundreds. Some were 

 very fat and some were extremely emaciated. In the 

 throat, especially near the orifice of the wind pipe, 

 there was always to be seen a condition described as a 

 thick coat of lumps of matter like crystalised honey, 

 but of a brighter colour, and, as might be expected, 

 " there was a considerable unnatural fullness in their 

 necks and throats." This coating in the throat is also 

 spoken of as "waxy matter." 



From even these few particulars those readers of 

 this Magazine who have carefully followed " The 

 Story of Bird Death " will have no difficulty in placing 

 the disease from which the Woodpigeons suffered. Its 

 epidemic nature, its virulence, and the presence of 

 the caseous deposits in the throat are sufficient indica- 

 tion of its having been an instance of an acute avian 

 septicaemia, due to infection with the microbe attach- 

 ing to this disease. It will be remembered that among 

 the special examples which I adduced, I noted one as 

 occurring in a Woodpigeon shot by Mr. Gladstone 

 and sent to me through Mr. Pycraft for examination, 

 while among the domesticated species of the Dove 

 family it is familiar enough to all pigeon fanciers under 

 the names of " canker," " roup," " wing disease," and 

 what not. And the reason why the same disease 

 .should be more or less sporadic and relatively much 

 less virulent in the latter birds, while it is violently 

 epidemic and violently fatal in the Woodpigeon, will 

 have been gathered from an attentive perusal of the 

 chapters devoted to the question of comparative 

 immunities. 



In such an epidemic as the one under notice the 

 channels of infection are easy enough to recognise. 



