Grayiular Ve?iereal Disease of Coivs 1091 



Herd 7. A herd consisting of 12 cows and i yearling heifer. 

 No definite record of abortions and failures to breed. Owner 

 estimates loss by abortion in 1907 at 20%. In 1908, 10% of 

 herd was sent to butcher because of sterilit}'. The original herd, 

 all common cows, have been sold recently, except 4 aged cows 

 and the yearling heifer, and in their stead 8 pedigreed Holstein 

 cows introduced. Of the four original cows, 2 are slightly af- 

 fected, 2 apparently well. The yearling heifer is affected. The 

 8 new cows are affected mildlj- to moderately, the lesions in these 

 animals being apparently old. 



Examination of the genital organs of the 8 Holstein cows re- 

 vealed I pregnant, 3 wath enlarged persistent yellow bodies in 

 ovaries, 2 with cystic degeneration of ovaries, i with enlarged 

 uterus and cystic ovary, and i normal, non-pregnant. 



Herd 8. A herd of high-grade Jerseys, consisting of 53 

 females. The herd has been kept unusually isolated. Few new 

 cows have been added during the entire history of the herd ; 52 

 of the 53 females were born on the farm ; and the one remain- 

 ing cow was introduced into the herd some years since. 

 New^ bulls, or rather bull calves, have been added from time to 

 time. Eight or ten years ago a breeding bull was hired tempo- 

 rarily from Herd 3. Owing to the continued comparative isola- 

 tion of the herd and a history of virtual freedom from abortion 

 for half a century, it was hoped to find a sound herd. An in- 

 spection revealed 3 animals so near parturition that the presence 

 or absence of the granular lesions of the vulva could not be de- 

 termined. Of the other 50 females, 33 or 66^ w^ere affected, 

 and 17 or 34% were apparently well. Among these 50 females, 

 6 were heifers, 6 to 12 months old, which had not been bred. 

 They were kept in the same stable, but fairly well isolated. They 

 w^ere carefully and plentifully bedded, but not groomed at all. Of 

 these 6 heifers, i or 1673% was diseased, and 5 or 83^/3% .sound. 

 This is in marked contrast with Herd 2, where the heifers were 

 regularly groomed with infected utensils. 



The other 12 sound animals were mostly aged cows, which 

 may have spontaneously recovered. 



On the whole, the percentage of affected animals is the lowest 

 we have yet observed in a large herd. The lesions in the vulva 

 are also less severe, the granules less numerous and less promi- 



