302 Report on an Inquiry into the Nature, Causes, and 
blood of quarter-evil loses its peculiar properties when decom- 
position has become at all advanced, indeed that, as has been 
shown to occur in many cases, such blood may be inoculated in 
rodents without causing any deleterious effects at the time, 
though in some cases later effects are developed. 
Some blood taken six hours after death from the jugular vein 
of a cow which died of black-quarter on June 24 was received 
by me on June 28. The blood had been placed in a small 
stoppered bottle, completely filled and well secured ; neverthe- 
less when received it was highly offensive. It contained only a 
few common rod-shaped and other forms of bacteria. About four 
minims of the blood were injected under the skin of the thigh 
of a guinea-pig. It was gradually absorbed, the animal showing 
no symptons whatever. About one drop was similarly injected 
beneath the skin of the back of a mouse, and no results were 
produced. 
Another outbreak, which occurred near Cambridge, has given 
further opportunities for investigation of this disease. Two 
cases being reported on February 24, 1880, Mr. Banham went 
down to Cambridge to examine them and procure material. 
He found that a post-mortem examination had already been 
made, and only the affected quarters reserved for his inspection. 
Nothing abnormal was found in the internal organs. In both 
cases the affected quarter presented in the most striking manner 
the usual characters, which have already been described, the 
subcutaneous and intermuscular connective tissue being In- 
filtrated with blood-stained serum, and the muscles of blackish- 
purple colour mottled with spots of haemorrhage. 
Blood and serous exudation from these parts were secured in 
capillary tubes about twenty-four hours after death, the weather 
being cold and almost frosty in the interval. On examining 
these fluids about thirty-two hours after death I found no sign of 
decomposition. In the blood and the blood-stained serum which 
flowed from the quarter, the only striking fact was the entire 
absence of coagulation, the blood-corpuscles remaining entirely 
isolated. I was unable, with the highest power which I had at 
liand (-j^th oil-immersion of Zeiss), on prolonged examination 
to detect any bacteria of any form whatever, even micrococci 
being absent in the freshly-opened tubes containing only blood. 
No traces of Bacilli or their remains were discovered. It is the 
more remarkable that bacteria should have been absent, as it is 
not uncommon for the blood and tissues of the affected parts to 
be found In a state of decomposition directly after death, some- 
times even during life as we have already seen. 
Inoculation experiments were made with the blood and serum 
from the affected quarter, as in the preceding case. 
