734 
ANAEMIA IN BEASTS. 
attended by an unqualified practitioner, who bad administered 
purgative agents — which, in my opinion, was adding fuel to 
the fire, as four of them had died, and two more were in such 
an emaciated condition that they died a few days afterwards. 
From the owner I elicited the following particulars con- 
cerning them. In the early part of the summer they were 
turned out (in good condition) into a lowly situated meadow, 
having a brook with a sandy bed running through it. As 
the weather became hot and the flies troublesome (for a 
greater number has not been known for some years past) 
these beasts would stand in the water for hours together 
during the day, their excretions becoming deposited in it, 
and from their constantly moving about, and thus stirring up 
the bed, when they drank they would necessarily take large 
quantities of organic and inorganic matter into their stomachs. 
This I consider to be the primary cause of the disease, as 
prior to this they had done well, but now commenced to fall 
off in condition. 
When first brought under our observation, the following 
indications of disease were apparent : The animals were in 
an extremely emaciated condition, with a staring coat and 
harsh tense skin ; diarrhoea existed to a considerable extent, 
the fseces being of a very offensive character ; the appetite 
was poor, and rumination suspended ; the tongue, buccal, 
conjunctival and nasal membranes were pallid, and also ex- 
hibited a slight yellow tinge ; the pulse was quick, weak, 
and irregular, and easily increased in frequency by excite- 
ment ; the joints, more particularly the carpus and tarsus, 
were in an oedematous condition, and some of the beasts had 
an opaque condition of the cornea. 
We made a post-mortem examination of one of the dead 
beasts, which made patent the following appearances ; but it 
being late in the evening we could but do so in a very im- 
perfect manner. Proceeding to inspect the thoracic viscera, 
we found the heart healthy, as was the left lung, but one 
lobe of the right lung evidenced marks of disease, exhibiting 
a marbled condition greatly resembling the morbid appear- 
ances of pleuro-pneumonia ; but during life I detected no 
respiratory murmur or the husky cough which are the known 
accompaniments of this affection. The rumen, reticulum, 
and omasum were apparently healthy, but the tissues of the 
abomasum were evidently weak and flabby, as were the coats 
of the intestines. Portions of the liver were softened, and 
darker in colour than natural, and easily broken up. The 
spleen was in a remarkable atrophied condition, being com- 
paratively dried up, and externally of a dirty white colour. 
