gether with the
peritoneum, they may be inflamed, and the lungs are usually the seat of an
edema. The spleen, liver, and kidneys retain their normal appearance, in
marked contrast with anthrax.

_Differential diagnosis._--Unlike blackleg, this disease never appears as
an epizootic but in isolated cases. It may also be differentiated from the
former by the history of a recent parturition or surgical operation, by the
presence of an external injury at the site of the swelling accompanied with
a fetid liquid discharge, and the gangrenous appearance of the tumefaction.
Man is susceptible to malignant edema, but not to blackleg. Malignant edema
may also be easily differentiated from anthrax in that the blood and spleen
are normal in appearance, while in the latter disease the blood is dark and
of a tarlike consistency, and the spleen appears swollen, injected, and
softened. The local tumor in malignant edema contains gas bubbles, which
are absent in anthrax swellings. Inoculation experiments of guinea pigs,
rabbits, and chickens will also disclose the differences among the
above-mentioned three diseases, since all these species are killed by the
germ of malignant edema, only the first two species by the anthrax
bacillus, while the guinea pig alone will succumb to the blackleg
infection.

_Treatment._--Treatment is chiefly surgical and consists in laying the
infected areas wide open by free incision, followed by a liberal
application of a 30 per cent solution of hydrogen dioxid and subsequently a
5 per cent solution of carbolic acid. Usually the disease when observed has
advanced to such an extent that medicinal interference is without avail.
Preventive treatment is by far the most desirable, and consists,
essentially, in a thorough disinfection of all accidental and surgical
wounds, the cleansing of the skin, and the exclusion of soil, filth, and
bacteria during surgical operations of any nature. Sheds, barns, and
stables should receive a thorough application of quicklime or crude
carbolic acid wash after all rubbish has been removed and burned. All dead
animals should be burned or deeply buried and covered well with quicklime.

SOUTHERN CATTLE FEVER (TEXAS FEVER, TICK FEVER).

[Pls. XLIV-XLIX.]

This disease, which is more commonly known as Texas fever, and sometimes as
splenetic fever, is a specific fever communicated by cattle which have
recently been moved northward from the infected district; it is also
contracte