"GROUSE DISEASE" 155 



suggesting the appearance characterising the caeca in that 

 disease, and the victims were all piners. 



Again, Macdonald described the earlier stages of the epi- 

 demic as being much more virulent, the birds being found dead 

 and dying in numbers by the water-courses, " which latterly 

 was not the case." The plumage in the earlier attacks looked 

 different, the feathers were dirty and draggled an appearance 

 which was " latterly not seen in diseased birds." 1 And again, 

 quoting from " Land and Water " (1867), he says that 

 " one striking difference between the disease of 1867 and 

 that of former years was that the dead birds . . . picked 

 up this season were so plump and in such excellent plumage 

 that they had the appearance of healthy birds ; whereas in 

 former years the diseased birds were most characterised by 

 disordered plumage and attenuated bodies." 2 



In another place he writes : " We have ourselves frequently 

 picked up dead Grouse perfectly plump, and in excellent 

 plumage one season, and in the next season found diseased 

 birds with attenuated bodies and dull disordered plumage." 3 



From this the Committee surmised that the disease which 

 occurred in 1867 was Klein's pneumonia ; while in the previous 

 records the birds had been victims of Cobbold's Strongylosis. 

 This provisional view was again borne out by a letter written 

 by Mr Macdonald to the Times, May 12th, 1873, which ran 

 thus : "It seems that disease of an exceedingly virulent kind 

 prevails in all parts of the Highlands, and in a form hitherto 

 unknown. ... In 1847, 1856, and 1865 the infected Grouse 

 exhibited a ' dull disordered plumage and attenuated bodies.' 

 ... In June 1867 they showed good plumage, a , healthy 

 appearance, and were perfectly plump, although the liver was 

 soft and discoloured. This year (1873) they are beautiful in 

 plumage, but wasted to skeletons . . . and with full crops." 4 

 This occurred evidently in later autumn, since mention is made 

 of the large quantities of berries in their crops. 



1 Macdonald, " Grouse Disease," p. 127. 2 Ibid., p. 155. 



3 Ibid., p. 181. 4 Ibid., p. 155. 



