500 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL, [1 Nov., 1901. 
“Trampled” was the term applied to the condition of an animal which: 
had “ gone down” in a crowded wagon on the way to a sale, and was naturally 
most common amongst sheep. There was generally extensive bruising, and. 
the animal was all but suttocated. Much depended on the length 
of the interval between the occurrence of the injury and arrival in the 
slaughter-house. All such carcasses should be hung for thirty-six hours until 
completely set, they should then be cut into butchers’ cuts, and if the flesh was. 
firm and clear it should be passed, and if otherwise, condemned. Dealing: 
with parasites, Mr. McPhail said that the carcass of a pig suffermg from 
measles presented a pale, flabby appearance, had a slimy feel, was soft, and 
dropsical. The bladders were only distinguished on a careful inspection of the 
muscles. They were about the size of a small pea, and were quite numerous in 
the muscles, liver, spleen, and under the tongue. The carcass should be con- 
demned. ‘This condition was fairly prevalent in England, and consequently it 
would be well to avoid “ underdone” pork, that was, pork insufficiently cooked. 
to destroy the parasites. 
II.—‘ Accrpentan Brrr.” 
Mr. McPhail then described sixteen forms of what he called “accidental 
beef,” stating that this class claimed their special interest from the fact that 
the veterinary surgeon was as often called to see a dressed carcass as he was to: 
see a live animal before being slaughtered for food. He placed “choking” 
first, not because it was the most common, but because the carcasses were a. 
veritable trap to the veterinarian. Tympany set in very shortly after the act 
of choking, and owing to the enormous pressure of the gases, these were not 
only absorbed by the blood and conveyed into the flesh, but were also mechani- 
cally pressed into the tissues, where they remained, with the result that such 
meat decomposed with extraordinary rapidity. The general appearance of a 
“choked” carcass which had been properly bled and well dressed was quite 
calculated to deceive at first sight, but on being “ribbed” and cut up the 
extent of the damage was appreciated. The flesh was pale and slaty in colour, 
loaded withserosity, and having an odour of fermenting turnip or of intestinal gases, 
This odour was specially noticeable in the thighs and in the shoulder if an incision 
be made there. Such meat should be condemned, apart altogether from the 
interests of the consumer, owing to its liability to rapid decomposition. Carcasses 
of cows which had been slaughtered while suffering from milk fever might not 
show signs of alteration if the animal had been killed in the early stages of the 
disease, but if time was allowed to elapse before the animal was slaughtered the 
flesh was pale and soft; it did not “set,” and was undoubtedly unfit for food. 
Stomach and digestive derangements were very common in the animals they 
had to deal with, and the changes in the flesh were mainly due to the tympany, 
which acted in the same way asin choking, and to the medicines which had been 
administered, thus communicating a tainted smell to the flesh, which was often. 
the cause of the carcass being condemned. In grass disease and_ stomach 
staggers, when brain symptoms developed, there were very marked changes in 
the flesh, rendering it very dark, and preventing it ‘‘setting” properly, in 
which condition it must, of course, be condemned, but in the first stages the 
carcasses were generally passable. In constipation and impaction there was not 
much change observed, and the meat should be passed if the animals had been 
slaughtered in the early stages and the flesh was not tainted with volatile 
medicines, 
Traumatic pericarditis was a fairly common condition, and was caused by 
the passage from the stomach into the chest of some foreign body which had 
been ingested, such as pieces of metal, pins, needles, knives, &c. One of the 
chief characteristics of this condition was the almost unbearable odour evolved 
when the chest was opened, and on examination a track was generally 
found which could be traced from the stomach to the  peri- 
cardium. The carcass was always dropsical, and should be  con- 
demned, Speldring was caused by an accident, whereby animals in 
slipping had fallen and fractured their leg or legs. These animals were, as a 
rule, promptly killed and dressed. Such carcasses should hang for at least: 
