TRANSLATIONS FROM CONTINENTAL JOURNALS. 609 
peculiarity be explained by taking into account the irritation 
on the organs of generation consequent on the non-expulsion 
of the afterbirth, and the necessary manipulations resorted 
to in difficult parturitions? This irritation constituting a 
sort of revulsion, always followed by a sero-purulent suppura¬ 
tion, forming thus an excreloire which eliminates the infecting 
principle. To him, the author says, of this there is no doubt, 
experience having sufficiently confirmed me in this opinion. 
The causes of this affection are likewise little known ; they 
are generally attributed to a plethoric state of the animal; 
but this is far from being indispensable to the appearance of 
it, for it has been observed in animals in middling condition 
only, and even in those who were in bad condition. On the 
other hand, if this circumstance were the only cause of the 
malady, would it not also prevail in the bad milkers ? 
Experience proves, on the contrary, that, unfortunately, good 
milkers alone have this sad privilege. The author also 
asserts that he has never observed it in animals with their 
first calf, nor even in those with their second. It attacks 
only animals of a certain age, and when they have the 
greatest aptitude for the secretion of milk. We are, there¬ 
fore, forced to admit a predisposition in the animal economy, 
the result of a peculiar organic disposition, and at the same 
time an abundant secretion of milk is, in a manner, the best 
qualification, and seems to be inseparable from the conditions 
which generate the evil. It has been before remarked that 
the malady is much more frequent now than formerly. This 
is perfectly in accordance with the improvement of the breed 
of cattle, and particularly with their milk-giving qualities. For 
this purpose cattle have been imported from Holland, which, 
in general, are good milkers, and if we consider that these 
imported animals are more subject to the malady, might we 
not attribute to them an ample share of the cause of the fre¬ 
quency of vitulary fever? Another point which has fixed 
the author’s attention is that this malady is also greatly 
influenced by general causes, in the same manner as other 
diseases which affect the circulatory fluids; in fact, the 
number of cases in his district have surpassed greatly the 
average of former years ; the disease has also been of a more 
acute form, as the greatest number of animals were carried 
off before the therapeutic means adopted had time to act. 
Several times he had observed this peculiarity where these 
general influences seemed to direct the course of the malady. 
Thus, in J859 all the cases that occurred in the beginning of 
the year terminated favorably, while towards the end of the 
same year those attacked all died, although they had been 
xxxv. 39 
