66 
D. E. SALMON. 
It was not until the 13th of May, 1881, that my methods of 
investigation were sufficiently perfected to allow the inauguration 
of a series of experiments by inoculating with dilutions of a stan¬ 
dard virus. The inoculations always consisted of a single lancet 
puncture, and as much of the virulent liquid as would adhere to 
the grooved lancet was inserted between the skin and the muscles 
beneath the wing. 
It will be necessary for me to refer here to some symptoms 
of this disease, in order that the reader may better appreciate the 
results of these experiments. Owing to some anatomical and 
physiological peculiarities of birds, the secretions of the kidneys 
are added in the cloaca to the faeces. The kidney secretion of 
birds is of a semi-solid consistency. It is in health perfectly white 
and is seldom intimately mixed with the bowel contents. This 
white secretion of the kidneys, which for convenience I call the 
urates, is easily seen and examined in the droppings. The very 
first symptom which is seen after inoculation with strong fowl 
cholera virus is a slight yellowish discoloration of the urates, due 
very probably to disturbance of the liver, as this organ is the one 
most constantly and most intensely affected in the disease under 
consideration. A day or two later, the droppings are more fre¬ 
quent and consist almost entirely of the yellowish urates mixed 
with an increased proportion of liquid. The fleshy parts about the 
head now become pale and bloodless, the temperature rises four 
or five degrees, the appetite is lost, the bird becomes dull, stupid, 
sleepy, and finally dies within two or three days from the first 
symptoms. 
May 13, 1881, I inoculated four fowls with diluted virus; 
for one the]dilution was 1 to 50 ; for the second, 1 to 500 ; for 
the third, 1 to 2,500 ; for the fourth, 1 to 5,000.* With the first 
one the urates were slightly tinged for a day or two; with the 
second the urates were deeply colored, and there was a loss of ap¬ 
petite for a few days ; with the remaining two the urates showed 
no signs of coloration, nor was there any apparent change in the 
perfect health of these birds. The most important result of the 
* Details of these experiments will be foundjn the Report of the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture for 1881 and 1882, p. 285, 
