Sept. 16, 1886] 
NATURE 
a7t 
outburst in the Yellowstone Park of a geyser which has 
been quiescent for four years. 
All the evidence so far published tends to show that 
the earthquake was a true seismic disturbance, which was 
probably transmitted along certain lines of great rock- 
masses, or along lines of weakness; but details to enable 
us to determine these points are not yet to hand. 
DR. KLEIN’S REPORT ON MILK 
SCARLATINA 
[NX arecent Report to the Local Government Board, “On Certain 
Observed Relations between Scarlatina in various Districts 
of London and Milk supplied from a Dairy Farm at Hendon,” 
Mr. Power has related the circumstances (NATURE, vol. xxxiv. 
p- 393) under which I became associated in inquiry at the farm 
in question ; and, while briefly indicating certain provisional in- 
- ferences of my own as to the nature of the malady discovered 
among the cows there, Mr. Power goes on to promise an 
account by me of the special features and pathology of the 
disease. This I now proceed to give. 
The cows (I. and II.) which were the first subjects of my 
investigations had on the teats and udder several flat irregular 
ulcers, varying in diameter from } to { of an inch ; some ulcers 
were more or less circular, others extended in a longitudinal 
direction on the teat. The ulcers were covered with a brownish 
or reddish-brown scab, which, when scraped away, left exposed 
a granulating slightly indurated base. The margin of such ulcer 
was not raised, nor was there any perceptible redness of the skin 
around. But where I afterwards got the opportunity of watch- 
ing the earlier stages (especially in animal LV.) it was noticed 
that a small vesicle made its appearance on a greatly swollen 
and red teat, in the course of a couple of days assuming the 
character of the above ulcers. In another cow, an ulcer about 
%inch in diameter, was becoming covered in its central part with 
ascab, while at its margin vesiculation was still distinctly visible. 
As arule, z.e. in most animals, the disease affected the teats, 
but in some there was also on the lower part of the udder here 
and there an ulcer. In such animals, patches denuded of hair 
were noticed on various parts of the skin, the tail and back par- 
ticularly. In these patches the epidermis was scaly, and the 
cutis more or less thickened. The animals looked thin, but not 
strikingly so, except in one or two cases of animals that had 
only a few weeks ago been admitted to the place, and which 
therefore had calved comparatively recently (see Mr. Power's 
Report). As regards the feeding capacity of affected animals, 
their milking power, and their body temperature, nothing ab- 
normal could be detected. 
Two animals (to be referred to as cow III. and cow IV.) 
became the special subjects of study after they had been removed 
from the farm to the stables of the Brown Institution. 
The temperatures (Centigrade degrees) of cow III. were as 
follows :— 
Morning temperature Evening temperature 
January 4 38°8 38-7 
cr ane 38°9 38°9 
» 6 388 38°3 
” 7 389 al 
oy 39 39 
» 9 - 388 38°7 
The temperature afterwards remained as above without 
alteration. 
The temperatures of cow 1V. were :— 
January 6 38 "4 560 38°3 
ay VES Tepe cee Shy oS — 
Op) eke ees foe SEA 38 8 
» 9 38°6 38°5 
In animal IIT. the ulcers were present, and on January 4 were 
at their full development and covered with crusts. They 
gradually died away, and subsequently healed up by January 10, 
leaving, however, a whitish indistinct flat scar. 
When this animal was received there were noticed on its coat 
several patches where the hair was gone, and the epidermis was 
rough and scaly. 
Animal IV. when received showed several scabs in the skin of 
the back ; it had also muco-sanguineous discharge from the 
vagina (the animal was in the third month of pregnancy) and 
redness and excoriation of the mucous membrane of the vagina. 
One teat, which was much swollen and inflamed, presented in 
several places brownish crusts. These when taken off left an 
infiltrated firm sore, from which, when squeezed, a thickish 
lymph oozed out. Similar crusts were found on other teats and 
on the udder. The greatest development of the sores in this 
cow was on January 7. On January 9 the cores were decreas- 
ing ; the animal was then killed. 
On opening the chest it was found that both lungs exhibited 
in the upper posterior lobes numerous petechiz under the pul- 
monary pleura, the peripheral lobules of these parts being much 
congested. There were numerous adhesions by recent soft 
lymph between the lower lobes of the lung and the costal 
pleura, particularly laterally. In the liver there were several 
reddish streaks and patches, reaching from the surface of the 
organ to a depth of about a quarter of an inch. In these patches 
the liver tissue was much softened. ‘The spleen and kidneys, 
with exception of slight congestion, appeared normal. In the 
placenta there were numerous petechiz. 
Cow ILI. was killed on March 12. For some clays previously 
the animal had been getting very thin, notwithstanding its 
ravenous and excessive eating. On post-mortem examination 
the following appearances were found :— 
In the lungs there were numerous lobules, especially in the 
peripheral parts, which showed great congestion ; there were in 
addition pleural adhesions; the cortex of the kidney was con- 
gested, but its medulla was pale. 
Experiments were now made with the matter of the ulcers, 
with a view of ascertaining whether or not the disease was 
transmissible to other animals. 
On January 7, when the ulcers of cow IV. had reached their 
maximum development, I took scrapings from some of the ulcers 
on the udder and teats, having first removed the crust, and in- 
oculated in several places the skin of groin and inside of ear of 
two calves (I and 2). For inoculation a superficial small in- 
cision (not longer than about a quarter of an inch) was made, 
passing in an oblique direction through the superficial part of 
the corium, and into this pouch a particle of the scraping was 
rubbed. 
On January 9, with scraping of ulcers of the cow before she 
was killed, I inoculated two calves (3, 4), introducing the 
matter as before into the corium of the groin and of the inside 
of ear. 
Calves 1 and 2 showed during the first three days after inser- 
tion of the matter no change at the seat of inoculation. 
Four days after inoculation :—There was in calf 1 one place 
in the groin which promised to become an ulcer. Calf 2 showed 
on the ear one promising place, the other places of inoculation 
having nearly healed.—At the same distance of time after in- 
oculation calf 3 showed two promising places on the ear, and 
calf 4 showed two promising places in Loth groin and ear. 
Calf 3 also showed a kind of vesiculation at the margin of the 
spot inoculated and commencing formation of a crust in the 
centre. What I call promising places of inoculation were spots 
that had become swollen and tender, the other and not 
promising places were spots that seemed healing or were already 
healed and dry. 
On the sixth day :—Calf 1 showed four successful places in the 
groin; the places had become swollen and enlarged with im- 
perfect vesiculation at the margin and formation of crust in the 
centre. Calf 3 had four successful places on the ear, and calf 4 
had the same number in the groin. 
On the seventh day :—In calf 1 all places except one in the 
groin had nearly disappeared. This place was now a distinct 
ulcer covered with a crust, on removing which a granulating 
infiltrated base was exposed. In calf 2 all places of inoculation 
were decreasing, covered with small scabs, easily detached. In 
calf 3 the sores on the ear had enlarged to about half an inch in 
breadth, each of them covered in their whole extent by a brown- 
ish crust. In calf 4 all except one place on ear were healing. 
On the eleventh day :—Calf 1 had still one ulcer in groin not 
yet healing. Calf 2 had one ulcer on ear not quite healed up. 
Calf 3 had four big ulcers still progressing; crusts thick, and 
corium much indurated. Calf 4 had one ulcer on ear much 
diminished in size. 
By the eighteenth day :—The ulcerations in calf 3 (one ulcer 
had been cut out for microscopic examination) had all healed up 
and become converted into flat scars. In the other animals the 
healing vas completed at an earlier date. 
