Diseases of the Respiratory Organs. 25 



"The disease showed itself during a remarkably cold 

 spell; indeed, for the first three weeks of the epidemic the 

 thermometer jWas almost constantly below zero. It was 

 first observed in two or three pups of four conples which 

 were kept by themselves in a separate room, 14ft. by 8ft. ; 

 the floor being covered with straw, which was changed 

 every week. There was a cupboard in the room, and in 

 this the pups slept. This room was on the exposed side of 

 the house, and, according to the keeper, was always very cold. 

 The rest of the animals were kept in tolerably roomy 

 quarters, though at night, with the doors closed, I do not 

 think the ventilation would be sufificient. During the day 

 they had free access to a large yard. The food consisted 

 of porridge and cooked horseflesh, which were given either 

 separately or boiled together. They got nothing else. 

 The oatmeal was of good quality, nor did I find in portions 

 of the food removed from the feeding-pans anything which 

 afforded the slightest clue to the origin of the disease. 



" Pathology. — Post-mortem examinations were made in 

 eight cases. The following notes were dictated at the 

 time : 



" Case i. — Autopsy eighteen hours after death. Body 

 that of a well-nourished, half-grown, fox-hound bitch. On 

 opening the thorax the lungs only partially collapse ; the 

 lower borders of the lobes are firm to the touch and dark in 

 colour. The vessels in the lower mediastinum look 

 full, and the tissues in that region are blood-stained. 

 Pericardium natural ; heart appears of normal size ; 

 right auricle filled with dark grumous clots, which extend 

 into the vessels and are here decolourised. Right ventricle 

 distended with dark, semi-coagulated blood ; the conus 

 arteriosus is filled with a perfectly decolourised clot, which 

 passes into the pulmonary artery to the third and fourth 

 divisions. The left auricle contains a small coagulum. The 

 left ventricle contains no blood, but the whole cavity is 

 occupied by a firm milk-white thrombus, which is connected 



