10 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



It was then determined by the Board of Commissioners to select a 

 suitable place to experiment, (agreeably to the order of the honorable 

 Council,) they being confident that material could be obtained in the 

 herd of Mr. Smith. 



July 1st. — A piece of land, with a barn tliereon, belonging to Eenja- 

 min Sewell, Esq., situated in Newtonville, was selected for the purpose. 



The building was well adapted for the experiment, being situated on 

 high land, and thoroughly ventilated. 



July 2d. — On visiting the herd of Mr. Smith, to select an animal to 

 which others should be exposed, I found nearly all of them sick. One 

 was selected which was very sick, and as it was somewhat doubtful 

 whether she would survive a sufficient length of time, another, not as 

 severely affected, was ordered to be sent to Newtonville. All the 

 animals in Mr. Smith's herd, (excepting the cow slaughtered, and a 

 bull,) ten in number, appeared healthy on the 23d of June, yet on the 

 2d of July all but two were sick, and on the 3d of August, when 

 slaughtered, all but one were diseased. 



July Gth. — An examination of the two cows from Ashby was made — 

 the one most severely affijcted showed evidence of extensive disease in 

 the right lung. By auscultation no respiratory murmur could be heard ; 

 by percussion a dull, flat sound was elicited over the whole space 

 occupied by the lung. 



The rational symptoms were decidedly better, the appetite was partly 

 restored, the respiration slower and less painful, the eyes brighter, and 

 there appeared to be less debility. 



In the other, it was impossible to locate the disease, and if I had not 

 seen the animal when sick, I should not have suspected it at this time ; 

 the appetite was good, the pulse and respirations were normal. 



July 8th. — The cows (which had been purchased in Maine for the 

 purposes of the experiment,) four in number, arrived in Newtonville. 



It was voted that I should visit the hospital daily, and record the 

 results of my examinations. 



Each cow brought from Maine was placed between the two diseased 

 cows, and kept for twenty-four hours. 



July 13th. — The two diseased cows Avere slaughtered. In the one 

 most diseased, the pulmonary and costal pleura on the right side were 

 inflamed ; a thick coat of lymph covered tlae whole surface of the lung. 

 On cutting through the lung, nearly the whole of the large lobe was 

 consolidated ; otherwise, the animal was perfectly healthy. 



July 14th. — The Maine cows had been examined daily ; the number 

 of pulsations and respirations per minute for the five preceding days 

 averaged as follows : — 



