Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-11-30

animals, 21S los In animals aged years, 2.45
| lbs. In year animals, ? IS lbs.
Il the animals reported in Chicago were 3, 4
given for those ages, the veight of the spleen
should have averaged "a lbs.
The spleen farther appears, according to my
| observation, to vary with the weight of the
| animal generally. From Fort Ringgold, Texas,
l have quite full data from "a animals killed
| for beef, and take this place because every
animal reported from there Is fully reported.
OF all these beeves the average net
OF S8. the weight of whose spieens was
between and tbs., average weight
OF s7, the weight Of whose spleens was
between and lbs ................34 346 fbs.
OF 9, the weight of whose spleens was
| between - and IDS. Ds...................312 lbs.
Before inferring, then, from the weight of
| spleens as to the health or disease of the ami
NAL it certainly may be demanded that the
weight and age Of the suspected animal also be
given. There is abundant reason from the fig
ures and statements of this report to believe
| that the spleens of COWS in this climate are
| heavier and larger than those of Northern cat
tie. The average weight OF all the spleens
here reported was / SO pounds (almost exactly
2pounds) and the reports are from all over the
| State. There is no part of the State where
there is less reason to believe that dis
the vicinity Of Forts McKavett or Mason;
yet in DR.. Waters report from there
| he says that ''only three or four (spleensl
|
where the spleen weighed 211 lbs and upwards,
| the observer has distinctly said that all the
other organs seemed healthy, or that the ami
NAL appeared in good health Our knowledge
Of the functions Of the spleen is still quite i'm
| perfect. The numerous observations of DR..
| Rauch, that where the spleen was of unusual
size, the liver varied inversely- being unusually
| smalL-Would at least give ground for suspicion
| that in these cases the functions of the two
gans might be complementary.
Certainly the DarWinian can see no difficulty
In Rtrxafr hat IL, ka
normal organ in Texas, and a lM lb. spleen
normal organ ia Illinois,
Prof. Gamgee made number Of post NOR
tenn examinations Of cattle in this State. His
exact language am unable to quote, as have
| no access to his report but only TO that version
| of 1t on page ia Special Report No. %. Depart
| ment of Agriculture 1880. From this it ap-
pears that Prof Gamgee found an abnormal
weight OF the spleen, coupled with
gastric redness. erosius. pale blood,
II f5s the OF
mails were diseased, and these pathological
| appearances so prove The citation does not
state that these animals were not recognized
as sick before this revelation by the post NOR
tenn knife, but the context makes this the
natural conclusion With my present expert
ence with diseased cattle, it does not appear to
before death would have discovered the ILL
health Of these animals Observations as to
the weight of healthy spleens will be continued
by me during the coming year.
A few words in reference to the temperature
| observed in cattle:
Before beginning my study of this subject,
| my ideas Of the temperature of cattle were
| quite vague, and the first reports received
from Corpus Christi, where the average tenn
perature appeared as over 1O3 degrees stag
| gered me-
Could their natural temperature be so much
higher than that of the human body? But not
only were the next reports conrormable to
this first one, but all received were to the
same effect, and the average temperature of
forty-five cattle, as reported to me by five diff
ferent observers, was 1902 SO degrees.
know of no observations made for the pur
pose of determining the normal temperature
of these animals.
In looking over the volume of Researches
Physiological and Anatomical, by John Davy,
published in London, 1885, l found some eX
perimentS reported by him.
He states that the temperature Of the blood
of an OK flowing from the caroiids, was 100
degrees in summer, at Edinburg, and that the
temperature of an OK ascertained the same
way in Handy Nay 49, was 102 degrees, the
atmosphere at the same time being so degrees.
When further saw the temperature of fever
in these animals as observed by Professor
Gamgee, given as from 106 to 10 degrees,
came to the conclusion that the normal
temperature of cattle exceeds the human
temperature four or five degrees.
Further observations in this direction will be
made during the ensuing year.
/ must again repeat that in this report. and
the one on this same subject made to the
association in December, 1876, have been toy
ing to ascertain whether the cattle of Texas
are habitually unhealthy or diseased; whether
any such disease prevailed among them as
made them dangerous as sources of infection
if driven to Northern markets. and 10 find out
whether it ever occurred that these cattle,
being themselves healthy, could nevertheless,
communicate. not only once, but habitually,
disease to healthy catte with whom they
came in contact. The Texas or Spanish fever,
pleuro pneumonia, and other diseases have
from time to time been investigated and de-
scribed by competent observers. From DIR.
| Rauch'S full report on Texas fever, made to
the Chicago Board of Health, for 1868, make
few extracts as bearing on the subject am
pursuing Page 203 DR.. kauch says: This dis
ease is undoubtedly transmitted by native to
native in the same manner as by Texas to ma
tive," and he cites a case on the same page
where native cattle were purchased at Chi
cago in August and taken to Lebanon county,
Pa and that a short time after they died, and
that other native cattle on the same farm and
neighborhood died; and that no Texas cattle
had been nearer the place where these animals
died than the railroad while in transit to New
York and Philadelphia, which must be at le asst
three miles distant" DIR. Rauch further says:
''The assertions that native cattle die OF This
disease, and do not communicate it to other
native cattle; that Texas cattle are perfectly
healthy, and still cause disease that is fatal to
native CATTLE and that they do not die of this
disease, are such anomalies in the history of
contagious diseases that, on general principles,
we could not believe them"
The legitimate deductions from the reliable
facts and statements contained in this present
report are entirely in harmony with the views
enunciated by DR.. Rauch.
Then followed report submitted by the
New Orleans Sanitary Auxiliary Associa-
tion on
A REPORT OF THE EXAMINATION OF HOGS
AT THE NEW ORLEANS ABBAToIR DURING
THE SUMMER OF 1881.
The following is full report of this pa
per;
In the year 1871, by the direction of the
writer, a number of hogs were examined by
DIR. q. p. Ames, Sanitary Inspector of the Board
of Health, now deceased, to ascertain whether
the inhabitants of New Orleans were exposed
to much practical danger from the presence of
trichinR The number of specimens examined
was about four hundred, and represented about
two hundred animals.
In 1874 and 1875 DIR. Gustavus Devron, then
Sanitsry Inspector to the Board of Health,
made frequent inspections of the abattoirs, and
on such occasions examined for trichin8 all
the hogs ready for market
No trichiDs were ever found, and as danger
from this source was evidently not threatening,
further investigation at that date ceased. An
examination in March, 1880, of the records of
the abattoir, which showed that more than two
thousand hogs were consumed from the public
markets each month by the citizens of New
Orleans, led the Sanitary Association to make
a methodieal and complete investigation of the
subject. The report of DR.. Jansen T. Payne,
to whom che work was committed, follows as
the results of all Investigations widely diverge
from all published East, North and West, 1t is
|
by DR.. Devron and myself from some hundreds
of animals, that if deemed necessary we should
be able to certify to the accuracy of the work
REPORT OF DR.. JANSEN T. PAYNE.
began my Investigations at the slaughter
house adjoining the lower limits of the city,
on the 9TH of April, and finished my labors
October 8, 1881
The method of conducting the researches
was as follows went to the slaughter house
nearly every afternoon at three O'Clock and
obtained from the hogs as they were slaught-
cred as many as four specimens of the mus
cular fibre from each animal to be examined,
and placed them small walls properly Ia
belled. The examples procured one afternoon
were examined the following day by the aid of
a good microscope, capable Of magnifying OBJ
jects two hundred diameters. A low power
was found to give greater satisfaction than a
higher one could have done, and observers ia
this field will do well to bear this fact in mind.
The parts examined were from the pectoral
diaphragmatic abdominal and ham muscles. A
record was kept OF each hog examined, and
the following facts were noted as far as pos
sible:
The condition of the hog, the locality from
whence he came, his food, and other facts
when known. were recorded.
The whole number or hogs slaughtered from
September 1st, 1880, to September 1st 1881, was
q, ,034. examined 81 800 specimens taken from
5,40o hogs. When IL is taken into account that
each of the specimens had to be separated into
| minute shreds before they were placed upon
the stage of the microscope, and a considera-
| BILE number of fbres examined in each case, so
as to ascertain whether the meat was or was
not infected with trichin@, it will readily be
perceived that it is impossible to make any
thing like an accurate guess as to the whole
number of pieces of muscular fibre examined.