576 
W. F. WEESE. 
lactation militates against, if not disproves, its scrofulous or 
hereditary origin. 
The eminent pathologist Bollinger made a series of inves¬ 
tigations as early as 1870, and his opinion, founded on clinical 
observations and post-mortem appearances, merits the greatest 
consideration, not that I believe his etiology is correct in de¬ 
tail, but his observations suggest something of the life history 
of the germ which is undoubtedly the cause of the affection. 
The result of his observations led him to believe that there 
was a complete analogy between this disease and omphalitis 
occuring in maternity hospitals. He thus attributes the pa¬ 
thological processes to an inflammation of the umbilicus, sep¬ 
tic in origin ; there is inflammation of the umbilical vein, the 
decomposed and softened thrombus communicates with the 
vena portas and forms a source of metastatic septicaemia or 
pyaemia, affecting synovial membranes and involving at times 
the pleura, pericardium and choroid coat of the eye. The 
lungs and other internal organs become affected from the 
same source. Walley does not adhere to Bollinger’s view as 
to septic infection taking place at the umbilicus, but insists 
that the primary cause of the disease is the imbibition of milk 
from the dam which is septicasmic or pyasmic. In an article 
treating on the disease in lambs he says, “ that it is due to and 
must be associated with an altered condition of the mother’s 
milk is proved by the fact that it only attacks young animals 
while sucking the dam ; that ewes coincidentally die from 
malignant parturient fever, though it must be borne in mind 
that it is not necessary that the ewe should exhibit any exter¬ 
nal symptoms of a diseased condition of the blood.” 
Roloff’s observations led him to believe that the disease 
was at times congenital. I have witnessed the advent of this 
malady in such a manner that I have thought the idea worthy 
of consideration. An autopsy of a colt fifteen days old, which 
had succumbed to this disease, revealed the parts approxi¬ 
mating the urachus in a healthy condition, and showed no 
trace of former inflammatory action ; upon examination of the 
liver it was found soft and friable, and containing a cavity as 
large as a walnut, filled with inspissated pus which was so 
