324 THE DISEASES AND DISORDERS OF THE OX. 



In the year 1882 a pigeon was brought to Dr. Turner, who 

 found the whole of the wind-pipe covered with a well-marked 

 consistent membrane, hanging loosely in the tube like a wind- 

 sail, just as one may see it in the body of a child who has died 

 of croup. A person inoculated pigeons in the fauces with this 

 membrane, and the result was that a similar disease occurred, 

 and extended up into the eye of the pigeon through its nostrils. 



In 1883 an epidemic of diphtheria broke out in the village 

 of Braughing. The first cases were connected with a farm, 

 whereat the fowls were dying of a disease apparently identical 

 with this disease of the pigeons. Diphtheria made its appear- 

 ance also on other farms, where it was also preceded by a 

 similar affection among the fowls. 



Dr. Turner noticed the same association in other instances, 

 and during the summer of 1886, while he was making inquiries 

 for the TiOcal Government Board into an outbreak of epidemic 

 diphtheria at Farnham, he found that the fowls had been affected 

 at the same time as human beings at Aldershot, at which place 

 a veterinary surgeon dissected some chickens, and noticed the 

 presence of a membrane in the trachea. It had occurred, 

 too, among turkeys and fowls at Ash, and also very prevalently 

 at Long Eaton, in Derbyshire; while at Tongham, and near it, 

 the disease had caused great havoc among chickens and 

 pheasants. At Tongham a game-keeper clearly described the 

 white crusts round the beaks, the patches in the throats, the 

 affections of the eyes and nostrils, and the absence of strangles 

 {Sclerostoma syngamus) . As a matter of fact only the very 

 young chickens usually succumb to the animal parasite, while 

 numbers of the older birds die from this other disease now in 

 question. 



A man bought a chicken at a low price at an infected farm 

 at Tongham, the bird being thought likely to die of this 

 diphtheria-like disease. He took it home, and diphtheria itself 

 broke out in his house shortly afterwards. This was the first 

 case in that village. Dr. Turner mentions that he has also seen 

 chickens and pigeons which had been inoculated with diph- 

 theritic membrane from a child's throat, attacked as if with 

 natural fowl-diphtheria. Similar accounts are received from 

 abroad (vide British Medical Jovr?ml, October 6, 1884, 

 also Journal d^ Hygiene^ 1884, p. 411). The same observer 



