116 
PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 
The first case I was called upon to visit was that of a herd belonging to 
Martin Beatty, of Lexington, containing thirteen or fourteen head, made up of 
cows and young cattle. This herd had been isolated some time previous by the 
order of the selectmen. The Commissioners had continued the isolation, and 
had, previous to my meeting with them, agreed to kill one cow belonging to 
Mr. Beatty, and an ox which had been kept for some time in the barn with the 
diseased cow, owned by Carroll and Nevils. Both of these animals had been in 
low condition, but for two weeks or more had gained in flesh rapidly. An 
examination proved that each had what is called contagious pleuro-pueumonia. 
That they would have fattened readily was believed on all hands, and their im¬ 
provement for the two weeks previous to their being killed seemed to warrant 
that conclusion. Where either of these got the disease, we could not learn. The 
cow was kept with the rest of the herd, (thirteen, I think, in number,) till some 
days after she showed that she had the disease, probably till after the time it is 
generally supposed those affected with contagious pleuro-pneumonia will com¬ 
municate it to others, aud yet no one of the herd with which she was kept had 
the disease that we are aware of; and perhaps it is proper to state that we kept 
the remainder of the herd isolated for some time, and Dr. Thayer made a num¬ 
ber of examinations before we thought it prudent to take off the restriction. 
The herd of Levi Smith of Ashby was the next I visited, from which any 
tacts were elicited than bear upon the qnestions under consideration. Smith 
had a herd consisting of eight cows, two bulls, and a calf. There had been kept 
a pair of oxen belonging to one Willard with this stock, which oxen were 
purchased in Marlow, N. H., and were kept one night at the Box Tavern with 
some other cattle which were supposed to have pleuro-pneumonia. I say sup¬ 
posed because no evidence came before us that any one who had any knowledge 
of the disease had ever examined them, and had it not been for the breaking 
out of the disease in Smith’s herd probably none would have suspected the 
cattle at the Box Tavern. Some forty days after the above supposed exposure, 
one of these oxen was taken sick. Dr. Thayer and Mr. Preston had the yoke 
appraised, killed the sick one and found that he had pleuro-pneumonia. The 
other ox was taken to Brighton, where he afterwards died, but an examination 
showed to Dr. Thayer’s satisfaction, that he had never had the above-named 
disease. Some two weeks after the ox was killed, the Commissioners were 
called to Mr. Smith’s again and found one of the cows quite sick. We had the 
whole herd.appraised, killed the sick cow, (she had pleuro-pneumonia.) ordered 
Mr. Smith to isolate his herd by building a double fence on the side of his pasture 
where other herds were kept. One of Smith’s bulls had been with the cows of 
Mi. Asa Walker till it showed symptoms of the disease, coughing and the like, 
and the Board directed these cows to be kept isolated. On the fourth of July 
two of Smith’s cows were brought to Newtonville to be placed with four cows 
brought from Maine to try the effects of an exposure; both these cows were 
killed on the thirteenth of July and found to have had pleuro-pneumonia Of 
the experiment I shall speak hereafter. The remainder of Smith’s herd was 
killed in August; all except one cow and the calf were diseased. What this 
herd would have been worth to have kept it of course would be presumptuous 
to say. for there was no pains taken with the milking; the calf which was 
nearly three mouths old went with, aud of course drew his milk from, as many 
of them aud at such times as inclination led him thereto. Smith considered 
