Scientific Intelligence. — Zoology, 431 



the Koran requires ? May not these circumstances, connected 

 with the observation made at Paris, and with the not less im- 

 portant one, that the disease scarcely ever oripjinates in large 

 kennels, direct us to the prevention of the malady among dogs, 

 and consequently among men ? For it is to the 'prevention of 

 this complaint that we should apply all our energies, since the 

 unsuccessful results of the experiments which have been made 

 in the Hotel-Dieu during the last twenty-five years, almost lead 

 us to despair that we shall ever discover any remedy whereby we 

 may arrest its fatal result.**' — At the next meeting of the Aca- 

 demy, M. Larrey supplied the following note : — " Hydropho- 

 bia, though common in hot climates, is not seen in Egypt, and 

 but rarely upon the northern shores of Africa. So far as 

 Egypt is concerned, the absence of the disease, undoubtedly 

 depends upon the peculiar variety of the dog which prevails in 

 that country, and upon its habits and modes of life. In all 

 these particulars it is very nearly allied to the fox; and hence 

 it is remarked that they appear always in a state of inaction. 

 The truth is, they always remain quiet in the shade during the 

 day, close to the cisterns of cold water, which are filled every 

 twenty-four hours, and preserved in great order by the inhabi- 

 tants. During the nights again, these animals are all alive ; 

 they are also but seldom in heat, and but for a short time. If 

 we found a vast number of these animals on our arrival in 

 Egypt, this was owing to their being tield in so much re^ct 

 in the country, as are many other animals, and to their never 

 being destroyed. They never enter into any of the houses. 

 During the day they lie quiet, as stated, in the confines of the 

 street, and during the night they range into the country, and 

 devour the carcasses of those animals which have not been in- 

 terred. They are gentle and peaceable, and seldom fight anx)ng 

 themselves. It is possible that all these circumstances raise 

 these animals above the attacks of hydrophobia. Another re- 

 markable circumstance, however, is this, that the camels in 

 Egypt, as M. Magendi has observed of the dogs in Paris, are 

 subject to a variety of the complaint during the rutting season. 

 They are then liable to a copious thick white discharge ; they 

 bellow unceasingly, they do not drink, and appear to have a 

 horror for water ; they then, too, pursue other quadrupeds, 

 and even man, for the purpose of biting ; they become very 



