191 
however, presented the mottled, pinky appearance before described ; 
under the microscope many of the corpuscles were irregular in shape, 
and some apparently disintegrated. 
Birps. 
Of these I have dissected many hundreds, but I need not enter 
minutely into the nature of their diseases. Affections of the liver 
and of the alimentary canal are the most common, and those of a 
tubercular character greatly preponderate. Tubercle in birds, I be- 
lieve, is often very rapidly deposited, especially one form of it, viz. 
the nodular or albuminous. The liver, spleen, and intestinal tube 
often contain large masses of tubercular deposit, as shown in the 
specimens and drawings. This deposit in the Jungs of birds is com- 
paratively rare. In some of the Raptores I have found large 
tumours in the chest closely adherent to the ribs, and of a hard, 
fibro-tuberculous character. The viscera of some Wading birds 
(Gralle), especially the Storks and Cranes, have offered the most 
remarkable deviations from normal structure in the shape of tuber- 
culous and inflammatory products. In some instances I have been 
led to attribute the cause of death to the presence of a quantity of 
tough grass in the gizzard, which so interfered with the grinding 
process of the organ as to prevent a proper supply of chyle; 
hence the diseased state of blood and other derangements that fol- 
lowed. Nails, buttons, pieces of wood, and other extraneous bodies 
in the gizzard, are very common, but I have not been able to dis- 
cover any ill effects from them. In a Great Black-backed Gull 
(Larus marinus) that had been some time in the Gardens, a large 
fish-hook (by which probably the bird had been captured) was im- 
bedded in the proventriculus. 
Diseases of the kidneys are very common in birds, the weight of 
these organs in proportion to the body being greater than in any 
other class of animals,—a fact, I believe, never stated before ; but it 
serves to explain, in some degree, the prevalence of morbid changes 
in these viscera. The renal organs in birds in confinement are often 
enlarged, softened, fatty, and granular; in some cases tubercular: 
but one of the most remarkable changes in connexion with the kid- 
neys of birds is obstruction of the ureters, and occasionally a block- 
ing up of the cloaca with urate of ammonia in a hardened state. 
This I have often met with, and I believe, combined with diseased 
blood, it is a frequent cause of death. Pericarditis (inflammation 
of the heart-bag) [ have observed more frequently in this class than 
in any other; frequently complete adhesion of the pericardium to 
the heart from old or recent inflammation is found crippling the action 
of the circulating organ. The internal cavities of the heart, too, often 
bear evidence of inflammation and its consequences. 
Dropsy of the pericardium and of the thoracic air-cells, I have 
several times seen ; and the legs and feet of the long-legged birds, 
such as the Cranes, Storks, and Herons, are often cedematous. 
Hydatids (Zchinococci) of the liver and other viscera are of fre- 
