PREFACE. 



This work ought to have been piiljllshed in the 

 autumn of 1872. Delay arose from no fliult of 

 the author, hut highly cletrmiental to him from 

 an author's point of view, as a season was thus 

 lost at a time when the subject of his work, and 

 matters therein discussed, were awakening a wide 

 interest, and creating a demand for an explanation 

 of the author'^ practical positions. 



With regard to one important subject treated 

 of in this work, much mischievous inconvenience 

 has arisen from my having deemed it a civil 

 duty to reply to questions asked me in weekly 

 papers. Upon the appearance of those ^^ replies 

 to correspondents" there arose much vitupera- 

 tion, of course from anonymous writers, having 

 apparently little faith in the respectability of 

 their real names. 



In the body of this work I have explained 

 that even after vaccination a dog may have 

 common distemper, either by contact or inocula- 

 tion, a second time ; but always, in that case, 

 in a very mitigated form. 



