70 ROBERT GRAHAM AND HERMAN R. SCHWARZE 



of the symptomatology of the disease under investigation is 

 given. A differential diagnosis based upon clinical symptoms 

 and gross anatomical findings at death may perplex the clinician 

 and autopsist in many outbreaks. As noted to date in several 

 affected animals, an acute and chronic symptom-complex of food 

 or forage poisoning may be recognized in cattle. In the latter, 

 weakness, local paresis, emaciation, muscular stiffness and 

 decumbency are noted in varying degrees. Clonism develop- 

 ing without premonitory symptoms, terminating in sudden 

 death, or followed by complete relaxation and recovery, marks 

 the acute form of the disease. The nervous manifestations may 

 be of a vicious character resulting in violence to feeding troughs, 

 mangers or fences. Noticeable symptoms are not observed in 

 the peracute disease preceding the agonal clonic spasm. Ani- 

 mals may remain decumbent for two or more days before death, 

 during which time dyspnea, opisthotonus, coryza, lacrymation 

 and catarrhal conjunctivitis often develop. One fatal spon- 

 taneous case delivered to our laboratory suffered from a second- 

 ary bronchial pneumonia, disclosed at autopsy. Several unsuc- 

 cessful attempts to administer medicine by the mouth to the 

 animal before death were probably associated with the develop- 

 ment of the pneumonia, which was clearly of medicinal or 

 mechanical origin. 



In the more chronic cases animals may display visual dis- 

 turbances. An estranged or frightened attitude on being 

 approached, or a staring expression of the eyes, is noted. Ema- 

 ciation and weakness contribute to an ill nourished cachectic 

 appearance. Contraction of the flexor tendons in the posterior 

 limbs, resulting in an extension of the metatarsalphalangeal 

 articulation (''cock ankle"), with incoordination of movement, is 

 not an uncommon complication, and animals may appear stiff, 

 with a noticeable nervous attitude, and even loss of control in 

 the anterior limbs, on being suddenly approached. Restraint 

 or excitement of animals suffering from the chronic disease, 

 accompanied by running or violent exertion, may terminate 

 fatally from cardiac failure. In the acute type of bovine botu- 

 lism partial or complete pharyngeal paresis is not uncommon, 



