Mettam — Malignant Tumours in Birds. 75 



that others who may have the opportunity of examining material from some- 

 what similar sources may control my observations. 



Since the above was written another case of sarcoma of the fowl has come 

 to hand. The bird was of the Indian Game variety, and was forwarded to 

 me because it was suspected of having died of tuberculosis. 



The liver was of enormous size, and weighed 307 grammes, and contained 

 numerous tumours. These were soft and brain- like in consistency, and of a 

 dull white colour. There was no evidence of necrosis or caseation, and 

 search for the tubercle bacilli in smears was negative. Sections made after 

 fixing in Flemming's solution, and in 10 per cent, formalin in water, showed 

 the same structure as in the previously described tumours. The tumours 

 had the structure of the small cell sarcoma. 



The spleen was also increased in size, nearly as large as a pigeon's egg, 

 and contained two new growths. There were also two new tumours, 

 subcutaneous in position, one on the right side of the abdominal wall, the 

 other on the left side in the axilla. That on the right had ulcerated. 



With all aseptic precautions I took portions of the liver-tumour and 

 broke them down in a mortar with sterilized normal saline solution, and 

 injected the coarser particles into the subcutaneous tissues of four fowls 

 about a year old. 



One of these fowls has developed two new growths, non-inflammatory, at 

 the site of inoculation ; one ten days after was the size of a grain of maize, 

 the other smaller and pea-like. There is no development in any of the other 

 three. 



I made an examination of the blood of the fowl with the liver- tumours, 

 with the view of controlling the results of the examination of the thrush's 

 blood. Films were made, fixed, and stained in the same way as with the 

 thrush's blood. In these films many irregular masses, diffusely stained red, 

 were found ; and in addition some of the red corpuscles showed changes in 

 the nucleus like to those described in the thrush. Many of the corpuscles 

 were circular in outline, with bluish-stained protoplasm (polychromato- 

 philia). There were also a number of non-nucleated corpuscles. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 



Plate V. — Figs. 1, 2, 3, 5, Blood of Thrush. Changes in nucleus readily 



observable. Fig. 1, very highly magnified, is the normal red 



blood-corpuscle of the bird. Fig. 4, Drawing of 'cell inclusions' 

 in Sarcoma. Fig. 6, Carcinoma of Thrush. 



Plate VI. — Fig. 1, Carcinoma of Thrush. Figs. 2, 3, 4, Sarcoma of Fowl, 

 Fig. 2 shows tumour invading muscle, 



