112 GOOSE SEPTICEMIA 



to have " the characters of the fowl cholera type." It killed 

 rabbits when they were inoculated with 0.2 cc. of a bouillon 

 culture. 



^ 96. Symptoms. The symptoms are indefinite. In 

 the outbreak described the geese were often found dead. The 

 description of the disease by Curtice is appended. 



" Few symptoms of disease were seen, those noted pertain- 

 ing mainly to the death struggles. Very few that died were 

 noticed to be sick more than an hour or two before death, 

 and, as the experimental investigation demonstrated, the dis- 

 ease could not have lasted, in the majority of the geese, more 

 than thirty-six hours. An uncertain gait, a burrowing of the 

 head in the dirt, twisting it around, or actions indicating 

 spasms of the throat, were the earliest symptoms. Some 

 geese were observed to die within five minutes or after the 

 first seizure." There are few chronic cases and recoveries 

 are not recorded. Some show no other symptom than being 

 slower in action, and separating themselves somewhat from 

 the flock. However, this sign is quite important when the 

 wild nature and gregarious habit of the goose are taken into 

 account. 



§ 97. Morbid anatomy. The tissue changes, as given 

 by Curtice, are as follows : 



" There was considerable mucus in the throat and mouth, 

 and a very tenacious mucus in the nose. The veins ot the 

 head were usually congested, as though the animal had died 

 of asphyxia. This, together with spasm of the throat, indi- 

 cates a spasmodic closure of the glottis. The digestive tract 

 was found to be full of food in nearly all stages of digestion. 

 In some cases the catarrhal products of the intestines contained 

 petechiae. Sometimes these points were collected in more or 

 less extensive patches. Perhaps more than half of the livers 

 showed yellow spots of from a pin point to a pin head in size. 

 These discolorations were found on section to extend into the 

 substance of the liver, and were evidently dead tissue, or 

 necroses. In one example the heart di.sclosed severe inflam- 



