540 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions 



cnougli now to seciu-e a sum payable on a man's deatli ; and if the 

 payment at dcatli were regulated by pneumonia, consumption, or other 

 affections, much more easily distinguishable in men than in cows, it 

 would be found to be utterly impracticable. That was one reason 

 why all the local offices had broken down during the height of the 

 cattle plague. 



Dr. Crisp : If Dr. Farr had submitted to the meeting statistics 

 connected with human mortality, he should not presume to differ from 

 him ; but unfortunately, his data were necessarily so imperfect that 

 it was impossible to draw anything like positive or even proximate 

 conclusions from them. The loss of cattle in this country. Dr. Farr 

 estimated at 210,000 ; but if he doubled that number he would be 

 nearer the mark, for a vast number of cattle had been affected by the 

 plague that were not included in these returns. In his neighboiu-hood 

 (Chelsea) a cowkeeper had twenty cows. One was seized with the 

 rinderpest ; and the others exhibiting symptoms, the man had them 

 killed whilst they were in tolerably good condition, and sent them to 

 market. These cows, therefore, were not included in the returns. 

 Another man, in the country — and he coiild mention numerous 

 instances of the sort — had a number of young beasts, lean and not fit 

 for the knife ; but because a neighbour had the rinderpest on his farm 

 he at once sent them to market, and sold them at an immense sacrifice. 

 In this way thousands and tens of thousands of animals had been 

 killed throughout the coimtry. True, it might be answered that they 

 were used for food ; but it should be borne in mind that they had not 

 one-quarter of the amoimt of flesh upon them that they would have 

 had in case they had been kept. 



As to Dr. Farr's scheme of insurance, he believed it to be utterly 

 impracticable, and that it would only be adding one more to the vast 

 number of clubs which already existed in this country, where, indeed, 

 there was nothing but clubism. In his opinion, the only good and 

 usefid plan would be for the Government to take the matter in hand, 

 and, if deemed practicable, establish a national insurance, without 

 entrusting the duty to companies or voluntary associations. That, at 

 all events, was his impression ; for he did not think that Dr. Farr was 

 quite correct in his estimate that one-half the owners of cattle would 

 join an insurance company. If they looked at Norfolk, Cheshire, and 

 other counties, where insurance societies had been established, they 

 would find that not a fourth of the owners of cattle had joined those 

 institutions ; and he judged from experience, therefore, that the scheme 

 proposed was really impracticable. There was yet another difficulty. 

 Dr. Farr said he would include all diseases. But to whom were they 

 to look in this country for a definition of disease ? What occurred a 

 night or two ago in the House of Commons with special reference to 

 this subject ? Sir Jervoise Jervoise asked Mr. Bruce, the Minister of 

 Education, if any means could be taken to arrest that direful disease 

 which had decimated so many of the London dairies — pleuro-pneu- 

 monia; and the answer this elicited from the Minister was, that pleuro- 

 pneumonia was not like the cattle plague, but was a chi'onic disease 

 that had no relation to the cattle plague : therefore, we could take no 



