172 DR. C. G, SELIGMANX OX DEATHS [Feb. 19, 



meshed oecleniatous tissue ; so that probably cardiac failure is the 

 direct cause of death of many of these birds, the condition perhaps 

 being due to lack of exercise. One case of particvilar interest as 

 beai-ing out this view has occuri-ed during the past year. While 

 some Zebras were being moved into the new enclosure in the 

 neighbourhood of the Seal pond, an Emu [Dromceios novce-hollandice), 

 so placed as to be able to see what was happening, became 

 extremely excited, and running round its paddock either struck the 

 railings and collajDsed against these or else collapsed and fell against 

 the railings. In any case it could hardly have been injured by the 

 blow, since its feathers were not damaged or its skin toi-n. On 

 picking it up it was found to be quite dead, but at the post-mortem 

 examination no sign of disease could be found in the brain, 

 or abdominal oi-gans, nor was the heart notably flabby. 



Arterial Disease. — The aorta showing many aneurysms of an 

 old Tigress, which had lived in the Gardens for 13| years, was 

 shown at one of the evening meetings of the Societj^, and a brief 

 note upon the condition appeared in the ' Proceedings ' *. An 

 illustration has since been prepared which is reproduced in text- 

 fig. 61, and shows the unusual condition of the vessel, the previous 

 description of which may be quoted here: — "The aorta shows 

 advanced ai'terial disease, most pronounced in the descending- 

 aorta, where there is mai-ked atheroma and where, in a length of 

 about 180 mm., there are 14 aneurysmal swellings varjdng in size 

 from that of a pea to that of a fair-sized plum. The two largest 

 swellings, the walls of which are of stony hardness, occur close 

 together on opposite sides of the artery." Arterial disease, though 

 not common in the animals in confinement in the Gardens, cannot 

 be said to be rare, whereas in wild animals this disease is generally 

 considered to be very rare. Perhaps an interesting parallel may 

 be drawn in this respect between man under civilised conditions 

 and animals in confinement. In the former arterial disease is of 

 course common, but there is considerable evidence against its 

 occiuTence among certain people but just emerging from the Stone 

 Age. 



Gastric Ulcer. — The experience of this and last year seems to 

 show that if gastric ulcers are not entirely confined to the 

 Carnivora and Mai-supialia, they are at least most common in 

 these orders, since of a total of nine cases four occurred in 

 Carnivora and five in Marsupialia. A young Ocelot [Felis |:)«r- 

 dalis) presented the lesions of this disease in a particularly 

 interesting form. On opening the belly, part of the colon looked 

 dail<;er than usual, and it was found that this and the rectum 

 were full of dark semi-digested blood ; there were many small 

 recent hsemorrhages in the stomach, over some of these the mucosa 

 was destroyed but the ulcers had not penetrated deeply. In the 

 duodenum there were, however, sixteen orifices, all more or less 

 circular, and varying in size from that of the head of a large pin 

 to that of a threepenny-bit. One of the largest of these extended 

 * P. Z. S. 1906, p. 634. 



