24 



admitted during these 14 years was hydatid. This is a rather 

 lower proportion than that of Dr. Jackson's seven years, but 

 still the difference is not very great. Xow, Mr. Varley has 

 recorded the places of residence of these hydatid cases, and 

 this is very important. He states that " all the cases except 

 one are from the South-East, and nearly all from swampy 

 country." This is more than a complete answer to Professor 

 Tate's objection, for Dr. Jackson had a very high reputation 

 as an oculist, and cases of eye diseases came far and wide to 

 reap the fruits of his skill. So that if we eliminated cases of 

 eye diseases that did not come from the South-East, the pro- 

 portion of hydatids would rise even higher than the figures 

 quoted. Dr" Whittell objected that I had omitted to take 

 corresponding years into account when contrasting the propor- 

 tional numbers of cases of that disease treated at the Adelaide 

 and Mount Gambler Hospitals. I have now done so, and the 

 results are as follows for the years 1878 to 1880 : — Mount 

 Gambler Hospital, one hydatid out of 53 in-patients ; Adelaide 

 Hospital, one'hydatid out of 144-6 in-patients. So that hydatids 

 were in proportion three times (nearly) as numerous in the 

 Mount Gambler as in the Adelaide Hospital during the seven 

 years in point. 



Ten dogs were examined at different places, viz., Millicent, 

 Mount Gambler, and Penola. In each place the parasite was 

 found. In all, four dogs were actually found to be m tested, 

 and a larger proportion may have been so. As regards both 

 Adelaide and the South-East, 40 per cent, of the stray dogs 

 have Taenia Echinococcus. Of course this is a very serious 

 matter, and it quite explains the frequency of hydatids in man 

 and animals in this country. Even in Iceland Krabbe found 

 only 28 per cent, of the dogs thus dangerous to man and beast. 

 Of ten dogs examined in i\relbourne, five contained Toenia 

 Echinococcus, viz., No. 2 contained hundreds, No. 3 thousands, 

 No. 4 only a few, Nos. 9 and 10 a very few; but in all cases of 

 doubt the specimens were identified by microscopic examina- 

 tion. So that Melbourne dogs appear to be quite as dangerous 

 in this respect as those of Adelaide. The Dog Act is virtually 

 in many parts at least of Victoria a dead letter, for during my 

 recent visit to Melbourne I had the curiosity on two or three 

 occasions to count the dogs provided with, and also those not 

 possessed of, collars. The figures were — "Without collars, 59 

 dogs ; with collars, 4 dogs. The dogs counted were wandering 

 about the streets of Melbourne and Kichmond. It was much 

 the same at Casterton, Hamilton, and Ballarat. In many of 

 the country towns of Victoria the source of infection of the 

 dogs is evidently the same as in South Australia — i.e., the 

 easy access of stray dogs into slaughterhouses and butchers' 



