92 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



oughly burned over in order to destroy the spores of the germs 

 which have considerable resisting power. 



Cryptogamic, or Mould Poisoning in Ruminants. — The 

 growth of mould on grain, hay, potatoes and moss have at times 

 rendered these substances, when fed to ruminants, dangerous 

 poisons. 



Mouldy and musty grains and fodder have long been notori- 

 ous for producing diarrhoea, extreme emaciation, weakness and 

 death. Paresis of the hind limbs is a common manifestation, 

 suggesting lesions of the spinal cord, and in other cases there are 

 general paresis and delirium suggesting cerebral lesions. We 

 have seen numerous cases of fungus poisoning in caribou from 

 eating mouldy moss during the summer months. 



The duration of the disease is very uncertain. In mild cases 

 in which diarrhoea is the only prominent symptom, recovery 

 may take place within a few days. On the other hand we have 

 witnessed death within twenty-four hours and again it may be 

 prolonged for one or two weeks before terminating fatally. In 

 all such forms of poisoning there is the history of the ingestion 

 of the toxic matter, and in any suspicious looking cases a careful 

 examination of the food should be made. 



Symptoms. — In all the cases of fungus poisoning observed 

 by us, the symptoms have been well marked and fairly constant. 

 The following symptoms have been noted in a number of cases 

 in our collections : — Loss of appetite and suspended rumination ; 

 considerable abdominal pain, manifested by uneasy movements, 

 as walking around in a circle, lying and getting up almost im- 

 mediately; dilated nostrils and hurried breathing (pain breath- 

 ing) ; the walk becoming weak, unsteady and staggering; eye- 

 balls injected (whites of eyes blood-shot). 



The bowels soon show a foetid diarrhoea; marked irritation 

 of the urinary organs, urine being passed in small quantities, 

 and at frequent intervals, later total suppression of urine. In 

 some very acute cases a marked narcotic action was shown, with 

 paralysis and stupor, but without any manifest disorder on the 

 part of the digestive or urinary functions. In other cases symp- 

 toms of delirium were present and the animal threw itself vio- 

 lently about and against the wall, death taking place in convul- 

 sions. In cases which assumed a chronic course, the symptoms 

 were those of chronic indigestion, death finally terminating from 

 emaciation and weakness. 



