CONTAGIOUS DISEASES OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. 59 



«r8, the following spring, he heard general complaints in regard to thi; small number 

 of the young fowls. But few eggs were produced, and the hens did not sit. Nothing 

 of the kind occurred in the villages which had been exempt from ergotism. Two 

 fowls were sent him which presented the spasmodic symptoms; these birds, placed 

 upon their feet, fell to oue side, allowed the head to hang, and agitated the limb?. 

 When they arose of themselves the phalanges were contracted spasmodically; they 

 lived four weeks; no autopsy was made (Geschichte der Eriebelkrankheit, 1782, pp. 

 13 and 15). 



It is seen that in these epidemics the couvnlsive form predominates, while in France 

 the gangrenous form is almost exclusive. The last exteusive epidemic from which 

 this country suti'ered occurred in 1750, and the ravages at this time recalled those of 

 the Middle Ag^. It commenced in Sologne, Us traditional center, and extended 

 through Landes, Flanders, and Artois. The ergot formed a third of the threshed rye ; 

 animals which were fed upon it contracted the same gangrenous accidents as man 

 (Salerne). 



Toward the last third of the eighteenth century the epidemics of ergotism were 

 no longer so frequent; the perfection of agriculture may claim a part in this happy 

 result, but the greater part is iucontestably due to the generalization of the culture 

 of the potato in the North and of maize in the South. In spite of these alimentary 

 guarantees ergotism was not extinguished. In the present century it was mentioned 

 by Ccnrhaut and Bordot, in 1855; Barrier observed the gangrenous form in the de- 

 partments of Isere, Loire, Haute-Loire, Ardeche, and Rhone. Ergotism has reap- 

 peared in Russia, Finland, Sweden, and some cantons of Germany. In the epidemic 

 described by Wagner (1831) the hogs which ate ergoted rye presented the same symp- 

 toms of the disease as the human species, and Helm saw in Pomerania 12 hogs whicli, 

 a few hours after having consu:ned a ration of rye mixed with ergot, were taken with 

 vertigo and convulsions. They moaned and uttered anxious cries ; the posterior parts 

 ■were paralyzed, and the animals manifested their sutferings by singular contortions 

 The last epidemic occni-red in 18.55; it appeared in Hesse, and concurred with that 

 mentioned in France by Barrier. 



A peculiarity worthy of remark was connected with the Hessian epidemic ; the 

 younger Heusioger, who recorded it, says that his father, professor at the University of 

 Narbourg, who was charged by the Government to examine the harvests of the year, 

 accomplished his mission before the threshing. In the sheaves of the cereal he found 

 a large quantity of Broniiis secaliniis [common chess or cheat] rich in ergot, though 

 the heads of the rye were exempt from it ; and as this ergot presents all the physical 

 characters belonging to that of rj^e, it be-;omes certain that this cereal is not always 

 to be blamed as much as has been generally believed. Rye harvested on lands badly 

 cultivated was infested with Bromus ; wlien properly cultivated but little was pro- 

 duced. This fact demonstrates the great induence of agricultural progress on the 

 extension of ergotism and its cause. In countries where agriculture is in an ailvanced 

 condition, as in Belgium, ergotism, either in the gangrenous or convulsive form, is 

 unknown. The oljservation of Heusinger is not the only one; in two communes of 

 the principality of Waldeck the ergot of chess also caused an epidemic (R(erig). 



This fact is not without interest for the veterinarian, since straw makes up part of 

 the food of the domesticated herbivora, and the plants mixed ill the sheaves, with the 

 nature of their productions, merits more attention than is generally bestowed upon 

 it. During the continuance of the epidemic in Hesse, T. O. Heusinger collected in- 

 fonnation in regard to the diseases which affected domestic animals. He learned that 

 in the commune of Roda, where the most peoiile suti'ered, and where convulsive 

 ergotism was most violent, the sheep presented sym])toms which conld be referred 

 to poisoning by ergot with the mort; reason as these animals were fed with rye straw 

 and received the screenings of the grain. The inhabitants complained of the great 

 mortality among the sheeji ; the shei)herds reiiorted that several had jumjted the in- 

 closures of the pastures, that they were then taken witii convulsions and turning in 



