found in January very small oestrus larvæ in the heads of sheep, and he thinks the fly may appear at any time the temperature is not too low. These cases lead me to the same opinion.

As for treatment, my experience prompts me to think trephining and washing out with tepid water, after the larvæ have gained entrance to the sinuses of the head, is the only successful one, and that must be done before the sheep shows too much dulness or stupor. Where the larvæ are in the sinuses of the nose a solution of alum water injected into the nostrils seems to give them (the grub) most uneasiness. I have placed them in turpentine for half an hour, and they were as lively as ever. As for preventive treatment, smear the nose with a mixture of pine-tar and fish-oil, which can be done by salting from auger holes smeared around with the mixture. Also let the sheep in the cold dark basement of the barn during the heat of the day, tacking sticky fly-paper on the sides of the walls near the doors where the fly would naturally alight, thereby catching them before they deposit the little larvæ. This fly-paper can be very cheaply prepared by melting together two parts by weight of resin and one of castoroil and smearing upon thick paper while warm.

AN UNCLASSIFIED DISEASE FOLLOWING PARTURITION IN

COWS.1

BY O. VERSCHELDEN, V.S.,

ST, MARY'S, KAN.

TIME and again has my attention been called to a certain disease of cattle, especially during the fall and winter of 1897 and spring of 1898, when it prevailed as an enzoötic in my district. I have failed to see it mentioned in any works on cattle pathology at my disposal, and feel, therefore, justified in calling it "an unclassified disease," notwithstanding, perhaps, that many of you have met with it as well as myself. It is with that hope that I present this paper before you this evening. I will refrain from dealing with its probable etiology, leaving such to some of you who are, perhaps, better situated than I to study obscure diseases and go into orignal research. I will simply describe the symptoms as they present themselves to me, also my mode of treatment. I hope, however, to hear the experience of others and to have, by a

1 Read before the twenty-first regular meeting of the Missouri Valley Veterinary Medical Association.

thorough discussion, more light thrown on this, to me at least, obscure disease.

It attacks cows of all ages and conditions in from three days to as many weeks after parturition. The first symptom usually noticed is a peculiar gait of the hind parts-the animal walks with the hind legs sideways, not unlike the trot of a dog. The general health at this stage is not much altered; perhaps a capricious appetite, with a slight fever, are all the symptoms; sometimes, especially if put under proper treatment at once, no graver symptoms develop, but such is not always the case; too frequently in a day or two more the symptoms are aggravated to an alarming extent. In so short a time the flesh seems to have melted from the body which was sleek and fat; the coat is rough and staring; the appetite is entirely gone, and with it rumination ceases; pulse is about 70 or 80, and temperature elevated two to three degrees; feces are hard and covered with mucus. What is peculiar in most cases is the surprising amount of milk secreted, considering the condition of the animal. In all cases which came under my observation the animal was able to get up without or with very little assistance; it would, however, have been an easy matter to push her over after she was up, so weak was she. The predominating 'symptoms are the incoördination of the hind parts and the rapid emaciation.

My mode of treatment consists in first administering a full dose of physic: Sulph. magnesia, 1 pound; gamboge, 3j. No matter how weak the patient is this is followed by powders two or three times a day, consisting of sodium bicarb., gentian radix pulv., āā and strychnine sulph., grs. iij, combined or alternated in very bad cases with arsen. ac., grs. v. All of my cases so treated recovered in from ten days to two weeks, and once convalescence was established they gained quickly their former condition.

Now, what factor brings about these phenomena in the parturient cow? Has anyone seen it in the non-parturient animal, or in other females beside cows? These are questions which interest me very much, and I would like to hear you, gentlemen, on the subject.

Discussion.

Dr. Moore: Dr. Verschelden's paper is certainly a very interesting one, and he has described a series of cases which are certainly not commonly met with, though possibly I may have seen some such. The symptoms are somewhat similar to those found in cases which I have met, and which I attributed to septic intoxication; but in the cases described the lesions were developed too long after parturition to be ascribed to septic infection.

As you are aware, there often remains after parturition small portions of placenta in which putrefactive changes occur, producing a series of symptoms similar to those described, such as elevation of temperature, staggering gait, general weakness, and rapid emaciation. The treatment employed in cases described in the paper would be quite likely to be beneficial in cases of septic intoxication.

Dr. Bennett: I do not remember to have seen any cases like those described in the paper, and I should be pleased to hear what Dr. Verschelden thinks was the cause in his cases.

Dr. Verschelden: I have not been able to make a careful and satisfactory study of it. I have considered it a species of nervous disease, possibly resulting from stomach troubles. It does not seem possible that it was due to septic infection, as in many cases the deliveries were very easy and the membranes came away promptly. Some cases occurred as long as three weeks after very easy delivery, and one thing peculiar about it, there was a very slight diminution of the milk-supply; there were no vaginal discharges and no straining. It is peculiar that these cases were all seen during the fall of 1897 and spring of 1898. Fully 50 per cent. of the cows in St. Mary's, where I practice, suffered from the malady. I did not see any cases in the country. My treatment, as you will note, was nerve

stimulant and tonic.

Dr. Wright: Dr. Verschelden asks if any of us has seen similar cases. I will say that I saw something similar in a bitch I owned. I noted her one morning having a staggering gait and disinclination to move about. This condition was ascribed by me to fright, as the dog-catchers had endeavored to secure her. She rapidly emaciated thereafter, being reduced to skin and bones. She was finally given a good purgative, which operated promptly, and after which she made rapid recovery.

Dr. Milnes: I understand from the paper that the essayist thought there was some relation between the case of crotalism of which he read and these cases described, and I would like to know if that is his idea.

Dr. Verschelden: Yes.

Dr. Milnes: As I understand crotalism, it is a disease of the horse only, produced by the poisonous weed crotalia sagittalis in the food.

Dr. Verschelden: I was led to believe from the symptoms that there was some poisonous element in the food of these cattle.

Dr. Moore: I can readily see how the train of symptoms given in these cases would indicate that there was a toxic element in the food, but it seems from the paper that only parturient cows were affected, whereas other animals are likely also to be influenced by poisonous food.

Dr. Milnes: Perhaps it is possible that females in the parturient state are more susceptible than males.

Dr. Moore: That may be the case, but we must not forget that in these animals symptoms developed two or three weeks after parturition.

Dr. Milnes: The symptoms are somewhat similar to those in horses suffering from crotalism, in which there are staggering gait, enfeebled eyesight, emaciation, and loss of appetite, which condition extends over a period from three months to eighteen months. I have known cases to die at the end of three months. Crotalaria sagittalis grows in the Missouri River bottoms, in western Iowa and is acquired by the animals both from feeding in the pastures and from hay.

Dr. Verschelden: All of these cases that I saw were in the town of St. Mary's, being dairy cows. No cases were seen in the country about, and the home cows were fed on slops and refuse of the city mills.

Dr. Ernst: I will state that in Leavenworth some of the people feed mill stuff, consisting of the imperfect kernels of corn, and the chaff, the cob, etc., to the horses and cattle, and it produced a condition called stomach staggers in the horses. I never saw anything of the kind in cattle. __ It was so well understood that this stomach staggers was produced by this mill stuff that the people no longer feed it to horses, but still use it for feed for the cattle.

STATE CONTROL OF GLANDERS IN MINNESOTA.1

BY M. H. REYNOLDS, D.V.M.,

ST. ANTHONY PARK, MINN.

(Concluded from page 742, December number, 1899.)

Our glanders placard when signed and posted constitutes in most cases the official written order of quarantine. It reads as follows:

GLANDERS EXISTS UPON THESE PREMISES.

All persons are forbidden to remove from these premises, without written permission from the State or Local Board of Health, any animal or thing whereby glanders may be conveyed.

No quarantined horse or mule may under any circumstances be placed in any other stable; or tied to any public hitching-post or rack; or be watered in or from any trough or vessel to which other horses or mules have

access.

No horse or mule, except those hereby quarantined, may under any circumstances be allowed in these stables or in any stables that have been quarantined on these premises.

The owner or keeper of these premises will be held responsible for the unauthorized removal of this card.

By order of

Dated

18-.

CHAPTER 233, Laws of 1897.

Health Officer.

Section 1. Authority is hereby given to the State Board of Health and to the several local boards of health of the towns, villages, and cities of this State to take all steps they may severally deem necessary to control, suppress and eradicate any and all contagious and infectious diseases among any of the domestic animals in this State, and to that end said boards are hereby severally empowered, within their respective jurisdictions, to quarantine any domestic animal which is infected with any such disease or which has been exposed to infection therefrom.

Section 9. Any person violating any provision of this act, or any rule

1 Read before the American Veterinary Medical Association, New York, September, 1899.

or regulation made by the State Board of Health, or by any Local Board of Health, or any order made by any such board under the authority hereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five (25) or more than one hundred (100) dollars, or by imprisonment for not less thirty (30) or more than ninety (90) days.

The following is our "Notice to Destroy."

(This part to be retained by the local board.)

Always fill out as early as possible, for each outbreak of glanders, one of the blanks for reporting infectious diseases among animals and return to Dr. M. H. Reynolds, St. Anthony Park, Minn.

NOTICE TO DESTROY ANIMALS HAVING GLANDERS-FARCY.

189 Given by local Board of

Owner's or keeper's name and address.

animal.

To

Notice served by

Name and description of

(For the owner.)

189 You are hereby notified that there is now on your premises the animal (give name, age, color, etc.) . . . suffering from glanders-farcy, which disease is contagious to man and animals. You are hereby ordered to have said animal killed within twenty-four hours after the service of this notice and to have the stables and things occupied and used by said animal disinfected in accordance with the following regulations:

REGULATIONS FOR DEALING WITH GLANDERS-FARCY.

By authority of law, Chapter 233, approved March 12, 1897.

The slaughter of condemned animals, their burial and disinfection of stables, etc., as herein prescribed, must be done under the supervision of the health officer or chairman of local board.

When any local board of health has satisfactory evidence that any horses or mules are affected with glanders-farcy, such horses or mules must be killed within twenty-four hours of the service of this notice.

Each carcass must be covered with quicklime before filling in any earth, and each carcass, after slashing the hide, shall be buried so that the entire body shall be at least four feet below the surface of the ground.

No sales to rendering establishments or other disposition of the carcass than as above provided shall be permitted.

Parties who attend the killing and burial should be warned that the disease may be readily contracted by them and the disease is very fatal to human beings. Such infection may occur through the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, or mouth, or through any cut or abrasion of the skin. After disposing of the carcass, the next step is cleaning and disinfection of the stable and articles used by the condemned animals.

Remove and burn all litter, including hay in the mangers, and bedding. Scrape the floor clean as possible, and burn the manure and dirt that may be scraped from the floor.

Close the stable tightly as possible, filling up the holes and cracks; place in the stable from one to five washtubs of boiling water, the number to be used depending on the size of stable. On stones or bricks in each tub of