EDITOR! A r.. 
149 
fermentation only, but even a putrid one as well. In other cases it is alleged that 
it contains chemical agents of a more or less pernicious nature, that have been 
introduced with the object of securing a more abundant yield of alcohol from a 
given measure of grain ; and in all such cases the milk cannot fail to be injurious 
in exact ratio with the baneful nature of the fermentation products, or of the 
chemicals introduced by the brewer. The question cannot, I think, be settled by 
a mere general statement of the effects of swill-feeding, but it must have refer¬ 
ence to the condition and ingredients of any particular specimen of swill fed. 
I can easily understand two different observers experimenting at the same time 
and reaching diametrically opposite results, because due regard has not been paid 
to the varying condition of the swill as it was fed, and the different conditions 
of life of the animals consuming it. 
[D. E. Salmon, M.D., Chief of Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of Agriculture? 
Washington, D. C.] 
As I have not the exact data at hand which would be needed to answer your 
questions properly, I prefer to write you a short letter on the subject. In my in¬ 
vestigations of animal diseases, I have frequently had occasion to observe the 
manner in which cows are stabled in sheds where distillery refuse is fed, and I 
also have quite a clear idea of the way in which the milk is handled. In a gen¬ 
eral way I have watched the discussions of sanitarians in reference to the whole¬ 
someness of milk produced in this way. In some cases, at least, chemists have 
reported that milk from cows fed upon swill w T as equally rich, and, from chem¬ 
ical tests, was as good as, and even better than, milk produced from cows fed 
upon country pastures. It is extremely doubtful whether such tests as these in¬ 
dicate in any degree the wholesomeness of such milk. From the nature of the 
food, stables where swill is fed are much more difficult to keep clean, and the 
milk produced in them is contaminated with more filth and foreign organic mat¬ 
ter than ever should be the case in properly kept milk stables. This would indi¬ 
cate that such milk would undergo changes from Ihe multiplication of micro¬ 
scopic organisms more rapidly than other milk, and that dangerous germs would 
be more apt to find their way into it. Some sanitarians contend that the albu¬ 
minoid constituents of swill milk coagulate more firmly than in other milk, and 
that consequently it is much more difficult to digest. I have made no personal 
observations in regard to this, and therefore can give no personal information of 
value. The question is certainly an important one, and I hope you will be able 
to collect information which will clear up some of the^ disputed points. 
[L. McLean, M.R.C.V.S., Brooklyn, N. Y.] 
I have frequently made post-mortem examinations on the carcasses of such 
animals. The digestive organs of cows so fed are, as a rule, in an ansemic and 
atrophied condition. 
Veterinary Societies. —Not very many months ago, a notice¬ 
able and promising movement seemed to have been initiated 
among the veterinarians of the United States, and we were hear- 
ing news from every quarter of the organization of societies for 
mutual edification, discussion, and the like; and occasionally it 
