3o8 Diseases of the Genital Organs 



Under the circumstances, it seems perfectly clear that 

 the nodular venereal disease has not been proven to be the 

 direct cause of sterility or abortion in cattle or in other do- 

 mestic animals. Whether it does or does not directly cause 

 sterility or abortion, clinical evidence indicates clearly that 

 it is a disease which merits the respectful attention of in- 

 vestigator, practitioner, and breeder. 



The avenue and date of infection are not clear. In large 

 dairies, rich in genital infections, the evidences of the pres- 

 ence of the nodular venereal disease are well established at 

 thirty to sixty days after birth. This shows clearly that the 

 primary infection is not due to coitus. Careful observa- 

 tion also indicates that the infection is not generally refer- 

 able to intermediary bearers such as attendants or stable 

 equipment. Neither can it be ascribed to ordinary cohabi- 

 tation with other calves or cattle, since calves confined in 

 isolated stalls suffer the same as other animals. Experi- 

 mentally I have kept calves in close proximity to diseased 

 cattle, all cared for by the same attendant, with no special 

 precautions, without any evidence of transmission. My 

 experiments indicate with great emphasis that the infec- 

 tion which appears so uniformly in the young calf is blood- 

 borne from the alimentary or pulmonary tract, and its de- 

 velopment may be accelerated, controlled, or prevented at 

 will by the method of feeding. When the grade beef cow 

 nurses her calf in the open field, it does not so promptly 

 nor so markedly develop evidences of infection. The higher 

 the intensity of calf scours and pneumonia in a stable, the 

 more prompt and intense are the evidences of the nodular 

 venereal disease. When the health of the calf is better, but 

 there are adhesive feces, a rough lustreless coat, pot-belly, 

 and a hacking cough, the advent of the genital catarrh is 

 later and less marked. If the calf is born in good health, 

 and diarrhea, indigestion, hacking cough and general un- 

 thrift are avoided, the evidences of the disease do not ap- 

 pear for several months. 



While it has not been proven that the nodular venereal 

 disease is the cause, or an important cause, of sterility or 



