No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 481 



were sick were killed by a butcher, who bought the hides 

 and carcasses to be sold to a renderer. ]\Ir. Dennen sug;- 

 gcsted that the animals showed symptoms of lead poison- 

 ing, and thought, if some of the organs had been analyzed, 

 instead of examined for bacteria, lead might have been 

 found. In this instance ten animals out of twenty-two died. 



Boston, April 5, Dr. C. A. Keene of Fitchburg notified the 

 Cattle Commission of a supposed outbreak of a contagious 

 disease in Westminster. The chairman of the Board at 

 once went to Fitchburg, and with Dr. Keene visited the 

 farm where the sick animals were. Six cattle had died, 

 four were sick and eight were in a lane back of the barn, 

 apparently well. These animals presented much the same 

 symptoms as those in Saugus ; there was no rise in tem- 

 perature, the animals staggered and stood pressing forward 

 in the stanchions, and finally seemed unable to stand, fell 

 down and could not rise again. Post-mortems were made 

 on three, but no well-marked lesions were found. One 

 animal, which was nearly dead, was killed, and specimens 

 were taken, consisting of a bit of heart muscle, bit of liver, 

 bit of kidney and a piece of the spleen, and were sent to 

 Dr. Frothino^ham for examination. Remembering the su<r- 

 gestion that the animals in Saugus might have lead 

 poisoning, part of the contents of the third and fourth 

 stomachs, bit of small intestine and a portion of the lungs 

 were taken from the one that was killed and the one that 

 died in the morning, and sent to Dr. Chas. Harrington of 

 Boston, to be analyzed, in order to see whether the animals 

 had been poisoned in any way. Dr. Harrington was unable 

 to detect any of the common poisons in the specimens sent 

 him, and Dr. Frothingham found no pathogenic germs in 

 the material sent him. The causes of these two outbreaks 

 of disease, which appeared to be identical in character, are, 

 therefore, mysterious. If any similar cases are reported 

 another winter or spring, it is hoped that some reason for 

 their occurrence may be discovered. 



July 30, a farmer in Weston found a cow dead in the past- 

 ure, and on the 31st two died in another pasture. The chair- 

 man of the Board made post-mortems on the two that died 

 July 31, but all that could be found was an inflammation of 



