378 Diseases of the Genital Organs 



penetrating the chorion and are then swallowed by the em- 

 bryo in the constant physiologic process by which the fetus 

 swallows its amniotic fluid. When the ingested amniotic 

 fluid is absorbed, the contained bacteria, with cellular de- 

 bris, remains as a filtrate to constitute the meconium. Nor- 

 mally the bacteria, once imprisoned in the meconium, re- 

 main so permanently and are expelled as a component part 

 of it by the new-born calf. Aborts, which commonly suf- 

 fer from dysentery prior to their death and expulsion, are 

 subject to general bacterial invasion. The heart blood of 

 the fetus may contain the same bacteria as the utero-chori- 

 onic space of the mother. This also appears to be true at 

 times of prematurely born calves or of very sick calves born 

 at the completion of the normal duration of pregnancy, but 

 these ordinarily succumb to disease (calf sepsis, calf scours, 

 calf pneumonia) . The infection probably occurs most fre- 

 quently soon after birth, while the digestive or respiratory 

 epithelium is damaged or destroyed as a result of dysentery 

 or pneumonia, or in the presence of a lesser degree of diges- 

 tive or pulmonary disturbance. 



The condition presents an interesting problem in the 

 ethics of the sale of pedigreed bull calves for breeding pur- 

 poses. I have not known a breeder to recognize the defect 

 prior to sale and believe that he would not ordinarily see it 

 until his attention is attracted to the condition by the ster- 

 ility. The sale of such animals is, therefore, usually honor- 

 able. When the bull fails to breed and the disease is recog- 

 nized, the breeder is usually equally honorable in making 

 prompt retribution. In one instance, however, where a 

 young bull was sold at a very high, perhaps exorbitant 

 price, the seller refused to make restitution. The case was 

 brought into court. There was no written warranty, but 

 the statutes of the state where the sale was made hold that 

 the purpose for which an article is sold carries with it an 

 implied warranty of fitness for the use for which the article 

 is purchased. The contention of the defendant was that the 

 shipment of the bull from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast 

 in a common box-car had caused a degeneration of the tes- 



