896 
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. 
those of bronchial disease and lung consolidation. Post-mortem exami¬ 
nations were made of two animals, one of which was exhumed and the 
other destroyed for the purpose. The lungs in both instances pre¬ 
sented extensive areas of consolidation, and parasites in large numbers, 
or their debris , were found in the bronchial tubes leading up to the 
patches of hardened lung. The mucous layer of the alimentary canal 
throughout showed signs of congestion, more or less intense; but this 
was quite a secondary matter, and consequent upon the vitiated con¬ 
dition of the blood from deficient aeration. I had the pleasure to confer 
with Mr. Kittle, veterinary surgeon, of Market Drayton, who was in 
attendance on the stock ; and the course of treatment adopted by him I 
thought eminently adapted to do all that could be done to arrest the 
progress of the disorder. 
As to the origin of the malady, there can be but small doubt that 
the larvae of the lung parasites were in some way or other connected 
with the pasture. The very exceptional season just passed has been 
abundantly favorable to the life and development of these destructive 
creatures. Both in regard to lambs and calves we hear from all parts 
of the country of the most alarming losses arising out of parasitic lung- 
disease, the so-called “ husk” or “hoose.” 
J. Wortley Axe, Professor. 
Report upon an Outbreak of Diphtheria in a Herd of Pigs , the Property of 
the Rev. H. R. Peel, Abbott's Hill, Hemel Hempstead. 
In accordance with instructions received, on the 19th October I visited 
Abbott’s Hill, and investigated the facts relating to an outbreak of 
diphtheria in a herd of pigs, the property of the Rev. H. R. Peel. The 
herd were of the Berkshire breed, and consisted originally of 24 pigs, 
of various ages and of both sexes. They were divided into nine lots, 
and occupied three sheds. Each lot had a separate compartment. 
Shed No. 1 contained a sow and five pigs in one compartment, one 
sow in another, and a boar in a third. Shed 2 contained two sows and 
one boar, in separate sties. Shed 3 contained one sow, and two lots of 
young pigs, three and eight months old respectively, also in separate 
sties. 
Shed No. 3 formed one side of an open yard, into which the three 
eight-months-old pigs had access. These animals had also the range of 
a small paddock adjoining. 
Sheds No. 1 and 2 were detached, and situated a small distance from 
each other, and also from No. 3. 
The disease was first noticed on the morning of the 18th of Septem¬ 
ber, in one of the three pigs last referred to, and located in shed No. 3. 
In the course of the same day it also appeared in four other pigs, situated 
in sheds Nos. 1 and 2, and in a sow occupying No. 3 shed. The pig first 
affected died on the day of the outbreak, and a sow far advanced in the 
disease was slaughtered at my request on the following day for the pur¬ 
pose of a post-mortem examination. It was pointed out by Mrs. Peel in 
the course of the investigation that the open yard and paddock referred 
to, as well as No. 3 shed, were flooded in July last, in consequence of 
the overflowing of an adjoining river ; but a detailed inquiry into all the 
circumstances of the flooding threw no light on the origin of the 
malady. The lapse of time between the flood and the outbreak of the 
disease, taken together with the fact that the malady appeared almost 
simultaneously in parts of the farmstead where the flood did not reach, 
and which had no connection with it, are points strongly opposed to any 
