390 
EDITORIAL. 
can originate spontaneously, while most interesting—as the above 
writer suggests—is not as yet determined. The symptoms of the 
disease are said to have been most characteristic. <v The illness 
was invariably ushered in by shivering. This was quickly fol¬ 
lowed by swelling of the throat. At first the enlargement was 
soft and pitted on pressure, but soon became hard and resisting. 
The breathing was quick at first, aud afterwards became em¬ 
barrassed and was performed with difficulty. Each act of respi¬ 
ration was accompanied with a wheezing sound, and the voice 
was thick and harsh. In this condition the mouth was opened 
and the tongue protruded. The gait was stiff and unsteady, and 
in the more advanced state of the malady dulness and stupor 
were more or less intense. The eyes and nostrils discharged a 
mucous or muco-purulent fluid, and the general indications of 
fever were strongly marked. The lesions observed at post mortem 
were essentially those of diphtheria, and consisted more especially 
of infiltration and swelling of the tissues of the neck, tumefac¬ 
tion of the tonsils, and the presence of a dirty-grey granular- 
lookinsr false membrane on the internal surface of the throat. 
O . 
It would have been interesting to know whether the exudation 
was in patches, involving not only the epithelium but also the 
submucous tissue, and whether or not there was deep sloughing 
with proportionate loss of tissue and consequent ulceration. A 
microscopical examination of the exudate and blood for bacteria, 
might not have been barren of instructive results. The treat¬ 
ment adopted by Prof. Axe was “ the administration of saline 
aperients followed by antiseptic agents. A complete change of 
food was also ordered to be made, and the whole of the sties and 
fixings to be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected. After my 
visit, the animals all quickly recovered and no further extension 
of the malady has since occurred.” 
PUNCTURING IN FLATULENCE OF THE INTESTINES. 
In the last number of the Veterinary Journal appeared a 
very interesting article from Prof. Walley of Edinburgh on 
“ Special Forms of Torsion and Displacement of the Colon in 
