No. 6. DEPARTMENT OK AGRICULTURE. 529 



though the shorlor period of incubation which is the rule in inanj 

 of them, makes it less sure, and the expense attending it has pre- 

 vented its general use. At the Veterinary Department of the Uni- 

 versity of Pennsylvania it has been successfully apfdied in several 

 instances, the "vaccine" having been furnished by the New York 

 City Department of Health. 



Prevention and Eradication of the Disease. As regards both 

 man and animals the only rational procedure is to attempt the 

 eradication of the disease, and since it is kept alive by the canine 

 race our measures must be directed to the control of dogs. Among 

 the respective measures which have been advocated may be men- 

 tioned a high tax, muzzling and the leash. During outbreaks which 

 excite terror in a community we see not unfrequently the enactment 

 of the most extreme measures, such as the destruction of all dogs, 

 which is totally unnecessary. The results obtained by strict en- 

 forcement of muzzlings seem to justify its recommendation. To 

 this measure is ascribed the eradication of the disease from Berlin 

 in the year 1854-1855, and the recent results obtained in Great 

 Britain are most striking. The official reports of Great Britain 

 show that in 1887 there were 217 cases of rabies; 1888, 160; 1889, 

 312. Owing to the alarm caused by this increase, muzzling was 

 adopted, with the result that in 1890, 129 cases were seen; in 1891, 

 79 cases, and 1892, 38 cases. There was much opposition to the 

 enforcement of the muzzling ordinance and it was relaxed, with the 

 result that in 1893 the number of cases rose to 93; in 1894, to 248 

 cases, and in 1895, 672 cases were seen. Owing to the alarm muzzling 

 was again enforced, resulting in a great reduction in the number of 

 cases, to 438 in 1896, 151 in 1897, 17 in 1898, and 9 in 1899. Prom 

 November, 1899, to January 1, 1901, not a single case of rabies 

 has been reported in England or Scotland, according to oflScial sta- 

 tistics just issued for the year 1900. 



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