FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE IN CATTLE. ' 439 



'heads ' of the medical profession, that there is something more 

 than mere probability in favor of the inferences which, we think, 

 may fairly be deduced from the whole history of the experiment. 

 It has a rival in carbolic acid, the virtues of which are, within 

 certain limits, incontestible, but for the purpose at present under 

 consideration, the one is, from its intrinsic condition, as circum- 

 scribed in its operation as a caged lion, whereas the sphere of the 

 sulphur agent we believe to be boundless ; and it possesses the 

 unique attribute of being always ready with the command of 'go 

 and he goeth,' in discharge of the benignant errand which it is 

 not less fully competent to accomplish." 



The reader of the above quotation should not be misled by the 

 comparison of carbolic acid to a " caged lion " to underrate its effi- 

 ca,cy. It is true that, while it cannot penetrate every crevice so 

 easily as the sulphurous acid gas can, it is perfectly effective to 

 the full extent to which it can be applied, and it can be applied as 

 easily as any liquid whatever ; consequently its scope is very 

 wide, and wherever it can be easily obtained, it may be used to 

 good advantage especially to disinfect clothing, cattle cars, yards, 

 floors, excrements, &c.* 



Having devoted some pages in my last report (1869), to the 

 agricultural uses of carbolic acid (see pp. 301-8), it needs here 

 only to be added, that caution must be used in its employment, 

 that is to say, it should be greatly diluted. I may also add, that 

 Dr. Thayer informs me that he has a high opinion of its virtue as 

 a curative agent (when pfoperly diluted, using for a mouth-wash 

 a solution of one ounce in a gallon of water) in the malady now 

 under consideration. 



It is matter for rejoicing that veterinary science has made so 

 much progress as it has, through the labors of eminent patholo- 

 gists and therapeutists, towards the prevention and mastery of 

 the diseases to which our domestic animals are liable. Most of 

 the diseases which are epizootic are also zymotic in their nature ; 

 and all such are, to a very large extent certainly, if not wholly, 



* I am informed that manufacturers now supply a crude article, containing forty per 

 cent of carbolic acid, for a dollar a gallon or less, at wholesale. One gallon, of the 

 strength named, would be sufficient to mix with forty gallons of water for disinfecting 

 purposes; consequently it is a cheap as well as an effective agent for the purpose, and 

 possesses a decided advantage over chloride of lime, chloride of zinc, copperas and other 

 efficient disinfectants. 



