To the Editor:
—Peterson, Spalding and Wildman published in The Journal, July 19, 1930, the report of the autopsy observations in a case of human psittacosis. These showed "an unusual type of pneumonic consolidation, lobar in distribution, more uniform than bronchopneumonia, but less dense and uniform than lobar pneumonia, with less fibrin and pus cells and with a cellular alveolar exudate consisting predominately of large mononuclear cells." Gorham, Calder and Vedder reported several cases of psittacosis in The Journal, June 7, 1930, and commented on the type of pneumonia that has occasionally been found in autopsies of cases of this disease. The pneumonia has been said to be poor in fibrin, red cells and leukocytes but rich in desquamated alveolar epithelium. The authors wonder "whether it is justifiable to consider these changes pathognomonic of human psittacosis."In 1912, Francis Carter Wood (Arch. Int. Med.10:478 [Nov.] 1912) reported a