SOCIETY MEETINGS. 
295 
is a good microscopist, and with such a chemist as Dr. Goessmann, and with the 
buildings already built, there is a valuable nucleus ready for immediate work. 
The President said that Dr. Billings had warmed us up on a new tack, but 
that we are not very good as politicans to get such work done. An illustration 
of how useful a veterinary department at the Experiment Station at Amherst 
would be to the profession, and to owners of animals, Dr. Winchester cited an 
incident in his own practice. A farmer lost several cattle, and was afraid that 
he had some contagious disease among them, or that some malicious person was 
poisoning them. Dr. Winchester sent some of the viscera from animals which 
had died to Prof. Goessmann, who found that the trouble was due to acetic pois 
oning as a result of feeding too much ensilage. The food was changed, and the 
survivors recovered. 
Dr. Billings mentioned a disease in horses, fed upon ensilage, resembling 
cerebo-spinal meningitis, which was undoubtedly due to some germ formed 
during the fermentation of the food. 
Dr., Peters asked Dr. Billings if he thought Clark University would establish 
a department for the investigation of the infectious animal diseases, in case we 
failed to seenre anything at Amherst. Dr. Billings thought that Clark University is 
a great thing, and that Dr. Hall is willing to do anything he can to help him, but 
that he favored Amherst as the place. 
Dr. Stickney thought that the work at Amherst in feeding animals, and vege¬ 
table physiology, was about the only systematic work of any Importance done in 
this country, with the exception, perhaps, of a little work on rabies and tuber¬ 
culosis, which had been done at the Harvard Medical School. 
The conversation then turned to a discussion of Dr. Howard’s case of spring¬ 
halt at Ward’s Wharf. 
Dr. Winchester made the motion that the Secretary be instructed to write 
to Clark University, asking if they would like Dr. Howard’s springhalt case 
for purposes of autopsy, and if they would, that they be furnished with the results 
of both microscopic and macroscopic examination, and that the bones of the hind 
legs from the tibias down be returned to the Association. Seconded by Dr. 
Winslow. Carried. 
Dr. Winchester spoke of a case in his practice at Lawrence, of a dog bitten 
by another one last July, which showed no evidences of rabies until the other day. 
Dog, upon post-mortem by Dr. Winchester, was found to have foreign bodies in 
stomach, stomach congested, brain congested, and effusion in the ventricles. He 
had bitten other dogs. Query : Will they go ten months before showing symp¬ 
toms ? Dr. Winchester then spoke of a dog which had not been in contact with 
other dogs for twelve months. He shows rabiform symptoms, and was poisoned 
by him. On post-mortem the stomach showed erosions ; brain not examined. 
Diagnosis in this case, gastritis. 
Dr. Lee reported a case of hernia in a gray gelding. The animal was a 
young one which the owner had just bought, and the first night he was brought 
home kicked over the partition of the stall, the near hind leg hanging over the 
partition. After freeing him the owner found he had a large swelling above the 
left flank, but did not attach much importance to it. He did not seek profes¬ 
sional advice, but took the opinion of a friend, who told him it would be a 
