introduced. It generally attacks the animals standing at the walls
first. The breath is driven by different currents through the building
to the walls, where it is stopped; it rebounds, and hence the beasts at
the walls generally fall the first victims--so, at least, I have found
it in my experience. I had forty beasts divided by a stone-and-lime
mid-wall to the level of the side-walls; up to the roof there was a
strong and close division of wood. Unfortunately there had been a small
aperture about two feet square left open. I made an observation to the
cattleman that I should not be at all surprised if the disease came
from the infected byre through the opening to the byre where the cattle
were sound. The first or second day thereafter the animal standing
below the aperture was seized, and got down in the disease.

In treatment I have no confidence, having tried everything that could
be tried and completely failed. I would, however, recommend that
neither hay nor straw be given to animals labouring under the disease.
I lost a valuable bull, after he was recovering, from this cause. He
was allowed to eat too freely of hay, which he could not masticate; and
when opened after death, an ordinary bucketful of hay was found in his
stomach, as dry as when it was eaten. I have come to the conclusion
that no animal should be allowed hay or straw while unable properly to
masticate its food. It is well ascertained that when the poison is
lying dormant in an animal, it will infect the other cattle before it
is visible in itself. As a confirmation of this fact, I had a sale of
breeding stock after the Dumfries show, on Thursday, 30th August 1860.
The cattle seemed to be in perfect health on the day of the sale; about
three-fourths of them were removed on Friday. The day following--viz.,
Saturday--a cow was taken ill. I entertained fears that it might turn
out pleuro-pneumonia; and circulars were sent to the parties who had
removed their cattle. The buyers isolated the cattle bought at the sale
from their own stock. Two of the beasts that had been removed died,
other two took the complaint and recovered; but fortunately it did not
spread amongst the buyers other stock. The cow first taken ill
recovered, and another that was left over took the disease and
recovered. But, further, a bull was withdrawn from the sale and sent
home to Tillyfour from Dorsell the night of the sale, to all appearance
in perfect health, though he afterwards d