906 
MELANOSIS. 
health, and which are feeding well, in the hope that he will see 
reason to modify his views ? 
MELANOSIS. 
By Neil Barron, Y.S., Turriff. 
I now send a short history of the case which furnished the 
morbid parts forwarded to you a day or two since. The 
animal was a grey cart-horse, twelve years of age, and be- 
longed to Mr. Mair, a farmer in this locality. He exhibited 
a tendency to melanotic deposit when very young, by the 
formation of a tumour on the left hip, which soon acquired 
the size of a common fowl’s egg, but remained without further 
increase the rest of his days. He was a spirited animal, and 
worked actively until within a week of his death. About 
two years ago another tumour appeared in the left side of the 
scrotum. This increased gradually, so as to acquire a weight 
of 8 lbs. (it is the largest inclosed with the spleen which 
I send). This tumour had become very pendulous latterly, 
and on different occasions was surrounded by a great amount 
of watery effusion, extending along the under surface of 
the abdomen, which quickly yielded, however, to a pur- 
gative and diuretics with fomentations locally. On Mon- 
day, 10th October, a more than ordinary amount of swell- 
ing had taken place in the parts indicated. His pulse 
was feeble and his appetite lessened. He had a staggering 
gait, had not urinated for many hours, and was unable to 
take the position usually assumed in that act. Examination 
per rectum revealed a distended bladder, enlargement of the 
kidneys, and the presence of a hard tumour in the psose 
muscles. 
Suspecting the presence of internal deposition similar in 
kind to that visible externally, I advised the owner to have 
the animal killed, as no remedial measures would now avail. 
He concurred, and as the horse was not suffering acutely, 
and still eating a little, I drew off his urine and deferred the 
slaughter until I should have convenience to make a proper 
inspection post mortem. By the 13th he had fallen and lost 
nearly all power of his hinder quarters. On same day he 
was therefore slaughtered, and I made an examination of the 
carcase, and found as follows : 
Externally . — Besides the large tumour in the scrotum there 
were a great number of small ones in the same region, and 
