TUBERCULOUS DISEASE. 909 
their calves until they (the cows) were reduced^ to use a 
popular phrase^ to skin and bone.^^ 
These facts accord with the statement of Professor Brown 
in the July number of the Veterinarian, 1868, viz. ^^The 
abnormal deposit is the natural consequence of diminished 
tone of the system, induced by causes which tend to debili¬ 
tate the organism.’^ But I must hasten briefly to describe 
two cases in accordance with the heading of this communi¬ 
cation, chosen because the structures implicated are much 
more rarely affected than several other parts of the body. 
Case 1.—In the middle of the summer of 1866 I was 
requested by John Ledingham, Esq., Slap, to look at a one- 
year-old stot ” of his, at grass in a field with a number of 
other cattle, which had been observed to keep apart from the 
herd for several days. On examining the animal I observed 
a peculiar stiffness, with fixedness of the head and neck; the 
countenance somewhat dejected, and the coat unthrifty; an 
occasional but by no means severe cough: the appetite 
was moderate, and the food seemed well enough digested. 
Auscultation of the chest revealed little, and pressure on 
the windpipe elicited neither pain nor cough. The owner in¬ 
formed me that he had bought this animal, and therefore no 
antecedent history could be obtained. Thinking it was, 
perhaps, the commencement of the formation of a hydatid 
cyst in the cranium, and that medical treatment would be 
useless, I recommended a continuance at grass if the weather 
should prove favorable. 
I saw the patient several times during the following three 
• months, but no alteration of symptoms was at any time dis¬ 
cernible until the beginning of October, when he was noticed 
to have a difficulty in getting up, whereupon the owner had 
him housed, and again solicited my attendance. Being satis¬ 
fied that my former suspicion of an hydatid in the cranium 
had no foundation, I now felt certain that pressure on some 
part of the spinal cord existed, the exact nature of u'hich 
I was unable to determine. No particular treatment was 
advised, except stimulating the course of the spine, and 
afterwards placing a charge thereon. The difficulty of rising 
increased day by day for eight days, during which time he 
always required assistance. 
For forty-eight hours more he was able to lie in the natural 
position, but gradually the paralysis extended, and muscular 
power was lost, the head being last affected, until Oct. 25th, 
when he lay with head and limbs outstretched, in a perfectly 
helpless condition. Still the appetite and digestive powers 
remained, and he eagerly devoured any food placed within 
