THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



29 



one," — a sentiment which ha was sure they would all res- 

 pect and thank him for— "I here send j'ou a statement of 

 my mode of treatment, which I have followed for the last 

 thirty years with the most extraordinary success, having 

 never known it fail in any one instance, if properly carried 

 out, as a preventive of that fatal disease. The disease is 

 generally mosl prevalent in the Autumn, caused no doubt 

 by the atmosphere, and foggy and hoar- frosty air. I there- 

 fore in October give all our neat stock Stockholm tar and 

 salt, two or three times, let them be well or ill. It has an 

 immediate effect upon the mucous membrane of the throat, 

 which is the first seat of the disease." In consequence of 

 stock lost in their district, a very able surgeon and practi- 

 tioner, Mr. Martin, of Holbrook, took rather an interest in 

 this matter, and got a butcher to shew him some of the in- 

 sides of animals that he had slaughtered ; and that gentle- 

 man informed him he had a very strong suspicion that as to 

 several of them the disease was not what was called pleuro- 

 pneumonia, but bronchitis— that is, inflammation of the 

 bronchial membrane passing down to the lungs. On their 

 being attacked, no doubt, if the inflammation was not at- 

 tended to and subdued, it would descend to the lungs ; 

 therefore it would be found that the disease in the animal 

 commenced with bronchitis, and ended in pleuro-pneumonia 

 and death. This letter said that the membranes of the 

 throat were the first ones attacked, and it went on to state 

 that he gave to a full-sized bullock or cow, of Stockholm tar 

 and salt a half-pound of each, and half a pound of linseed 

 oil. " To a year-old half that quantity; at the same time 

 rub some tar up the nose. Thus have I saved all the stock I 

 ever had anything to do with ; and I have recommended 

 the remedy to many neighbours, who have found it to 

 answer well." Then the writer alluded to having published 

 a letter on January 17, 1859, but said he supposed as it 

 came from a poor bailiff it was not noticed. Now, if this 

 person should see the report of their proceedings that 

 day, if he should re.id the Mark Lane Express, he 

 would find that the poor bailiff was not altogether 

 overlooked. He himself was more convinced than ever 

 that if it should please the Almighty to continue 

 this scourge amongst them — sometimes these mur- 

 rains came for a time and went for a time, just as thej' saw 

 insects infest their trees; whether the intention was to make 

 people exert themselves was a subject too high for them to 

 enter upon, but there was certainly no reason why they 

 should not be free agents in this respect — they should do all 

 in their power to discover a remedj\ It was an old saying, 

 "God helps those who help themselves," and they would 

 never, so long as this disease continued —unless it happened 

 to leave them like the cholera— they would never, he be- 

 lieved, get to the bottom of it, so that it should not scsre 

 them out of their propriety, till they had fathomed the dis- 

 ease by really scientific means (applause). To do this ex- 

 perience must be largely imported. It was no use to ask a 

 scientific man about a disease he had never seen. They 

 knew that persons employed in the metropolis of London 

 and other great cities took up one particular department, and 

 became the more successful when they had greater expe- 

 rience and knew the character of a disorder. As he had 

 said on a former occasion, he should like to see their Agri- 

 cultural Society doing something to forward this object ; or 

 he had no objection if the Chancellor of the Exchequer 

 could spare a few thousands upon it. He knew not if their 



hon. friend Major Parker would second this or not ; but if 

 he did so he did not think he would deserve ill of them ; and 

 he did not say this in joke, for, if they remembered it, when 

 this pleuropneumonia first came to us, like cholera, a great 

 many men were sent abroad and a great deal of money was 

 spent to investigate the disease in every part of the Conti- 

 nent. The gentleman he himself sent for was sent at great 

 expence to try to ascertain what this great scourge was ; but 

 now people seemed to think that it did not deserve further 

 notice, they had become familiarized with it, and were to 

 meet it as best they could. He would suggest that some ani- 

 mals should be killed directly they \^ere affected, and even 

 where an animal recovered he would suggest haviug it killed, 

 to ascertain how far it was diseased. In fact, he thought 

 animals ought to be killed in various stages of the attack, in 

 order that the investigation might be more complete (ap- 

 plause). He had that morning eaten a steak from a very 

 good rump of beef, off a bullock which had an attack of the 

 disease, and was blistered, and recovered ; and he never 

 wished to eat a better piece of beef. He saw the animal's 

 lungs ; one was quite shrivelled up — the one that lay nearest 

 the blister. Whether the animal recovered from the blister- 

 ing he could not say, but his bailiff would confirm him iu 

 saying that the only remedy tried in this instance was the 

 blister and one of Cupiss's balls. He had some drinks from a 

 man in the north of England, which were very successful, 

 working by thinning the blood very much — some people 

 adopted bleeding. Perhaps he had detained the Meeting 

 rather longer than he ought to have done, but he knew the 

 importance that this matter must be, and he thought it well 

 worth their consideration whether anything could be done be- 

 fore the next season (he thought it was about the end of 

 August or in September that the disease began to make its 

 appearance) to see if they could not attack the disease and 

 find out a way to treat it (applause). 



One or two other observations made at the Meeting also 

 call for reproduction. Mr. Joseph Rand, in responding 

 to one of the toasts, said he remembered very well when the 

 farming in that neighbourhood was very different to what it 

 now was : they knew it was greatly and constantly on the 

 improve, and where bushels once were grown within his me- 

 mory he might say those bushels were doubled in number on 

 some occupations, and he had no hesitation in saying this was 

 in a great measure owiug to such societies as theirs (applause). 

 As far as the breed of their stock went, as they all had the 

 pleasure of viewing that day, it was so much improved that 

 he was quite sure that they profited by it who bred and 

 grazed. A few years ago they were always advocating the 

 breeding of stock with a view to early maturity. It might be 

 to their interest to do so, but was the consumer of meat to 

 pay dearer for it, that they, the graziers and breeders, might 

 profit ? There was a time when they never thought of selling 

 a sheep under two years old, and it weighed perhaps ten 

 stone. Now it was the fashion to kill year-old hoggetts. This 

 was all very well, but they were diminishing their numbers. 

 They did not breed sufficient to meet the loss of the extra 

 weight, while there was an increased consumption of meat by 

 more people being in a situation to obtain it, which was a 

 happy thing to know : it was certain that our labourers, 

 mechanics, and the whole community perhaps had meat now 

 every day, when before they seldom got it more than once 

 a week. Under these circumstance?, it was necessary for 

 thoae who filled the occupations of breeders and graziers to 



