216 
.T. P. KLENCH. 
quire less water for daily use, and why their muscles and tis¬ 
sues are more dense, more hard, more tenacious and resisting. 
It also tells us why the blood of the mule is less deprived of 
its impure deleterious elements, and, therefore induces me 
to consider this impure condition of the blood as a possible 
cause of this disease. 
Symptoms .—They are regular in their expression and ef¬ 
fect but two modes of eruption. The disease might break out 
on the legs and the body, or in the upper passages of the res¬ 
piratory organs. The first indication of the disease will be 
dullness, loss of appetite and falling off in general condition, 
which might take place two or three weeks before any other 
symptoms appear. Swellings will then be noticed on one or 
several legs, causing lameness, or on any other part of the 
body ; sometimes they affect the upper parts of the limbs 
more than the lower parts, and generally send out one or sev¬ 
eral cords to the nearest ganglion. They are painful, more or 
less oedematous, of firm, but not hard resistance, and will be 
covered in a few days with numerous lymphatic cords, espec¬ 
ially when they are located over the muscular regions of the 
hind legs, neck and breast. In a few days more these cords, 
soft on pressure, become knotty : every lump becomes soft, 
opens and forms a wound, giving exit to yellow-whitish fluid, 
resembling thick coagulated lymph. Those abscesses located 
on the lymphatic vessels, evacuate a great amount of fluid, 
coming from two, four or six more buttons, situated on the 
same vessel. After the opening of the abscesses, the lymphatic 
vessels retract, remain soft so that they can hardly be felt. 
Such buttons as are located on hard underlying tissues, like 
joints or bones, are small, and situated in the derm of the 
skin, containing only a little fluid. The tumors on the mus¬ 
cles are located deep, cause a great deal of pain when the 
animal contracts the muscles, and take eight to ten days to 
reach the skin. They are large and form a regular cavity. 
It is noticeable that when a great many abscesses have opened, 
the animal shows relief, his appetite improves and his move¬ 
ments are easier. 
The sores resulting from these abscesses are red, rough, 
