regulating the Vital and Physical Phenomena. 353 



duced by a physical agent is evidently the cause of the loss of vital proper- 

 ties. 



34. Our general conclusions, then, from the foregoing argu- 

 ments, are, — 



1. That ihe properties of any aggregation of matter depend 

 upon the method in which its ultimate molecules are combined 

 and arranged. 



2. That the simplicity of our notion of the properties of in- 

 organic matter depends upon the facility of our becoming ac- 

 quainted with them through the command which we possess 

 over the agencies by whose operation they are manifested. 



3. That the vital properties of organized tissues are not less 

 the result of their material constitution ; but that, whilst the 

 materials of an organized tissue may be prepared by the ope- 

 ration of the ordinary laws of affinity acting under peculiar 

 conditions, the tissue cannot be constructed without the agency 

 of a previously existing vitality ; and that hence man is debar- 

 red from the most advantageous means of becoming acquainted 

 with the laws of physiology. 



4. That vital properties are not added to matter in the pro- 

 cess of organization ; but those previously existing, and hither- 

 to inactive, are called out or developed. 



Observations on Rabies or Madness in Dogs, Oxen, Horses, 

 Pigs, and Sheep. By Dr Wagner, Medico-Forensic Cen- 

 sor of the Schieben District. 



The following observations are interesting and valuable, on 

 account of their authenticity. We particularly recommend 

 them to the notice of gentlemen practising in the country, who 

 may have opportunities of witnessing similar cases. We are 

 firmly convinced that medicine is destined to derive no shght 

 advantages from observations made on the diseases of animals ; 

 and, on this account, as well as others, we are gratified in ob- 

 serving the gradual, but still too slow, improvement in the 

 pathological knowledge of our veterinary surgeons. 



1. In the Dog. — A dread of water is not a symptom invari- 



