932 
FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE. 
exudation which existed in the mucous membrane of the 
mouth, pharynx, trachea, and bronchial tubes. 
Examples of milk taken from animals in different stages of 
foot and mouth disease afforded very interesting results. At 
the commencement the specific gravity fell to 1024-5, and 
continued to range between the two numbers until the 
animal was convalescent, when it rose to 1026-7, which 
standard was not exceeded for two months after recovery. 
The granular masses and pus-corpuscles decreased in 
number as the affection subsided; but in all the specimens 
examined after the animals had recovered they were found 
scattered here and there among the milk-corpuscles ; and 
even in specimens which were examined a month after reco¬ 
very, they were detected. The granular masses were not 
found in milk from the same animals two months after 
recovery, but even in these specimens a few pus-like corpus¬ 
cles were present. 
Two examples of milk taken from cows on the fourth day 
of the disease were found to be highly charged with granular 
masses ; the milk, however, was remarkably rich in quality, 
having a specific gravity of 1034, and yielding a large pro¬ 
portion of cream. Diminution of the quantity of milk is 
invariably observed during the progress of any febrile disease; 
and in foot and mouth complaint the loss is sometimes con¬ 
siderable. Cows, when suffering from the worst form of 
disease, lose nearly all their milk; but when the attack is mild 
in character, the decrease will not be more than one-third of 
the usual yield. The average loss in a large dairy while the 
disease is going through the sheds will vary from one-third 
to two-thirds, according to the number of severe cases. As 
all the milk obtained is mixed, the worst milk will be to some 
extent modified by the addition of that which is less highly 
charged with morbid elements, and the whole is further 
diluted by the addition of water, which, judging from some 
specimens obtained from an establishment where the disease 
was known to exist among the cows, is sometimes added to 
the extent of 40 per cent. 
Boiling the milk has been recommended for the purpose 
of preventing or lessening its injurious action ; but as a matter 
of fact it may be stated that boiling does not alter the appear¬ 
ance of the morbid elements, nor does it arrest the movements 
of bacteria in the fluid. 
No changes of a specific kind have been observed in the 
blood of animals affected with foot and mouth disease. The 
blood-discs, when examined immediately after the blood is 
taken, will be seen to be covered with projecting points'; but 
