ECZEMA CONTAGIOSA. 191 



Calves occasionally die quite suddenly after sucking cowa 

 affected with the malady ; and fatal effects have followed the 

 administration of the milk to young pigs. It has been alleged 

 that there is not any direct evidence of injurious consequences 

 arising from the consumption of the milk by human beings; 

 but it must be remembered that the fluid is very rarely taken 

 immediately from the cow, and still more rarely in an undiluted 

 form, and it may be not altogether an unfortunate circumstance 

 that the decrease of the secretion during the prevalence of the 

 disease necessitates a large admixture of water in order to keep 

 up the quantity which is required for daily consumption. 



" In the early stage of the disease the milk presents few 

 abnormal characteristics, the specific gravity falls to 1024, and 

 the milk corpuscles are always found to be arranged in clusters. 



" Minute moving specks are also seen under the quarter-inch 

 objective, and those under the sV^^i ^^'^ resolved into bacteria 

 and spherical bodies. 



" When the disease is fully developed, about the third day 

 from the first appearance of vesicles, the milk invariably con- 

 tains morbid products of a very pronounced character, viz., 

 large granular masses of a brownish yellow colour, numerous 

 pus-like bodies, bacteria, vibriones, moving spherical bodies, and 

 a few milk corpuscles. It is particularly worthy of remark that 

 these morbid elements were found in specimens of milk winch 

 in their physical character presented no appreciable peculiarity. 



" In some specimens which were viewed with the micrometer 

 eye-piece the milk corpuscles varied in size from -o^Vo^h to 

 j-j5--^~jpjth of an inch in diameter, and the granular masses from 

 •g-^th to T-oVs"^!^ of ^^ inch. Milk from animals affected with 

 cattle plague, and also with pleuro-pneumonia, was also found 

 to contain an abundant quantity of the granular masses and pus- 

 like bodies ; and in cases of cattle plague similar elements were- 

 distinguished in the curdy exudation which existed in the mucous 

 membrane of the mouth, pharynx, trachea, and bronchial tubes. 



" Examples of milk taken from animals in different stages of 

 foot-and-mouth disease afforded very interesting results. At the 

 commencement the specific gravity fell to 1024-5, and continued 

 to range between the two numbers until the animal was con- 

 valescent, when it rose to 1026-7, which standard was not 

 exceeded for two months after recovery. 



