COMMISSIONERS' COMMENTS. 241 



the lower simpler creatures, or that of man and ani- 

 mals at an early period of development, or had only 

 cursorily glanced at that which can be seen and studied 

 so readily in the developing textures of a young 

 embryo, or in an inflamed tissue, or in a rapidly grow- 

 ing morbid growth, as cancer, would have been quite 

 prepared for the observation that the living bioplasm 

 of contagious disease presented nothing more remark- 

 able than was to be observed in connection with any 

 other kind of living germinal matter. 



In my Report to the Cattle Plague Commissioners 

 these arguments were set forth, and the observations 

 were illustrated with numerous drawings. The con- 

 tagious material was represented in several of these, 

 and some general conclusions were arrived at, which it 

 is believed were fully justified by the facts and obser- 

 vations recorded. I was therefore disappointed when 

 I read the comments of the Commissioners, and I 

 believe that any one who reads the observations in 

 my Report, and then refers to the remarks of the 

 Commissioners, will come to the conclusion that the 

 writer of this part of the Report was either prejudiced 

 against my conclusions, or that he had not read the 

 observations on which they were based. Although 

 the living poisonous germinal matter had been de- 

 scribed and figured, the public were told that I had 

 " found no definitely formed substance that can cer- 

 tainly be said to be the cause of cattle plague," 

 and that I had discovered "granular matter." Not 



