THE DISEASES OF CATTLE. 289 



sunk in their orbits, and she had a frequent and troublesome 

 cough. Her skin, likewise, had lost its pliancy, and she was 

 sadly out of condition, but no yellowness of the mouth or eyes 

 was present. I first examined her abdomen externally, by 

 percussing the right side, with a view of determining her preg- 

 nancy ; but the body my hand came in contact with was too 

 large for, and had not the feel of, a foetus. As the cow had 

 occasionally been observed to strain, I was now induced to ex- 

 amine her per vaginum, when I found the os uteri to be indu- 

 rated and unyielding. I could also distinctly feel a round and 

 hard substance, about the size of a large cricket ball, and which 

 I supposed to be the right ovary ; the other one, however, I 

 could not find. I told the owner that the cow was not in calf, 

 unless it were extra uterine, and that in all probability the 

 mass we could feel from the outside was a tumor within the 

 abdomen. I also added that medicine could do no good in such 

 a case. He at once decided on having her killed, which af- 

 forded me the opportunity of making a post mortem examina- 

 tion. All the viscera were healthy, with the exception of those 

 I send. The liver, as you will see, is the organ principally 

 affected. It weighed, when first removed, one hundred and 

 forty-six pounds. Its great size led to its encroaching on the 

 space occupied by the other viscera, all of which were more 

 or less compressed. It did not adhere to the side of the abdo- 

 men, but was firmly attached to the diaphragm, and also, in 

 places, to the intestines. In my examination I had the assist- 

 ance of Mr. Hearn, M. R. C. V. S., who was recently your 

 pupil, and who has, I believe, also written to you on the sub- 

 ject. The cause of the enlargement of the liver is evident 

 enough, being produced by hydatids, but I leave to you to 

 describe the variety to which they belong. I have attended 

 post mortem examinations of many cattle since 1828, but never 

 met with any thing like this before. 



[" The description given by Mr. Gregory leaves us but little 



to say respecting this extraordinary enlargement of the liver, 



as stated by him. The sole cause of its increase in size was due 



to the presence of an immense number of hydatids in the sub- 



25 



