38 
The Bulletjn 
Transmission of the Disease. 
a. By Milk and Milk Products 
In sections where milksickness prevails, it is firmly believed the 
disease is acquired through the use of milk from cattle affected with 
trembles. There seems, moreover, to have been little doubt of this fact 
in the minds of early settlers in the Middle West and more or less evi¬ 
dence has been presented in published accounts by McCall (1822), 
Lewis (1829), Barbee (1840), Logan (1849), Yandell (1852), Philips 
(1857), Cosby (1866), Hichols (1876), Woodfin (1878), Sykes (1891), 
Beck (1905), and McCoy (1907), in the several medical journals. 
An instance of an apparent exception came under the observation of 
Jordan and Harris (1909) during the summer of 1908. Four cases of 
milksickness in a family of ten developed near Altamonte, Ill., on a 
farm which had “long been known to give rise to milksickness.” In 
discussing the occurrence, they state that “The cows were to all appear¬ 
ance entirely healthy, and showed no signs of disease before or after the 
outbreak; a six-to-eight weeks old calf whose mother was one of the 
animals providing the milk used in the family also seemed in the best 
of condition. A cat that was being fed on the milk from these cows was 
itself well, but lost all of its eiglit-weeks-old kittens, five in number, dur¬ 
ing the outbreak in the family. A dog receiving milk from the same 
cattle showed signs of illness and was noticed to vomit repeatedly.” 
This case does not entirely agree with the claim quite commonly 
advanced in “milksick” sections in the State to the effect that so long 
as cows are being milked or their calves are suckling, they show no 
signs of trembles. The calves, however, may sicken and die or persons 
who use the milk may be affected with milksickness. In due time, how¬ 
ever, the milk is suspected and in consequence, the cows are left to go 
dry and then develop the disease. This peculiarity furthermore finds 
support in the writings of Drake (1841), Graff (1841), and Kimmel 
(1891). It is further strengthened by the common observation among 
farmers that in the herd of cows, heifers, and steers, the heifers and 
steers become affected earlier than cows in lactation. 
To Lambs.—Experiment 22 .—The present experiments bearing upon 
the acquisition of milksickness through the milk deal with suckling 
lambs whose mothers were fed white snakeroot as previously recorded 
in Table III. The mothers of the lambs, the data on which lambs are 
recorded in Table YI, were also well advanced in the period of lactation 
as were those reported in Table IY. This fact is believed to be the po¬ 
tent factor in determining the small number of cases of milksickness 
which developed. 
