PROFESSOR SIMONDS’ LECTURE. 
519 
preceded by a dry and husky cough, which lasted for a week or 
so. In the second stage, the animal lost its appetite—the secretion 
of the milk was diminished, with increased cough, nasal discharge, 
weeping eyes, pulse hard, body hot, and the respiration very 
difficult and laboured. In the latter stage of the disease there was 
a gradual increase of the above symptoms; purging likewise came 
on, and sometimes continued for a week or more, and this diarrhoea 
was often accompanied with the swelling of the paunch. If the 
cattle swelled, and their flesh became cold, it was a certain sign of 
approaching death. Now, this similarity with pleuro-pneumonia 
was important, because the disease appeared to be new to the 
present generation; if, however, his opinion was correct, and it was 
not new, it then followed that the disease must have died out or 
become lost to us from some cause, and consequently that which 
had occurred once might occur again, and pleuro-pneumonia might 
disappear entirely from among our cattle. He (the Lecturer) had 
remarked that the disease described by Dr. Barker exhibited 
similar symptoms to that of pleuro-pneumonia. Dr. Barker went 
on to state that, in making a post-mortem examination, “ all parts 
of the animal were found sound except the lungs. In these the 
bloodvessels were stuffed up, and distended with coagulated 
blood : they were so much distended as to make the lungs look 
larger than usual.” In 1760, an outbreak took place in England 
amongst the cattle, which was described by Dr. Layardasa putrid, 
malignant, and inflammatory fever. In 1763, England experienced 
another heavy loss. The digestive organs were the chief seat of 
the disease—the animals had intestinal worms and flukes in the 
liver. He had already stated that pleuro-pneumonia was preceded 
by a disease which was termed the old epidemic or eczema, and 
that the present disease was regarded as the sequela or conse¬ 
quence of it. He was of opinion that they were two separate and 
distinct affections, and in no way depended upon each other. It is 
true that animals that had been affected with the former were 
sometimes attacked with the latter; but it was also true that many 
animals which had fallen a sacrifice to pleuro-pneumonia had not 
been previously affected with eczema. Then, again, it was true 
that the two diseases existed on the same farm independent of each 
other. It was also true that eczema attacked the horse, the sheep, 
poultry, and so on, while the pleuro-pneumonia was confined 
almost entirely to the ox. Undoubtedly the disease came from 
abroad, but not by direct importation of infected cattle. It was 
said that it had been long observed on the continent, whence it 
extended to England, and shewed itself like Asiatic cholera, and 
other diseases of a similar kind. It was believed that the atmo¬ 
sphere was the cause; but then came the question, How is the 
vitiated condition of the atmosphere to be ascertained ! They 
