42 • BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



distinguished by the regular practitioner. In those cases wliere these 

 marvellous cures had been effected, the truth was, the disease had not 

 been present at all ; but the farmer was not sufficiently acquainted with 

 its early symptoms to be able to detect the deception of the man who 

 said that the affection he liad cured was this disease. Bring any of the 

 boasted remedies to a genuine case — one fully established to be such by 

 the testimony of competent persons — and they invariably failed. The lungs 

 were aerifying organs, and both in cattle and in man, nature is unable to 

 I'emove the deposits caused by the disease, and to substitute sound tissue 

 in the place of that destroyed. It ahvwjs was a fatal disease and ahvays 

 would he ; the more we know of it, the more positive we were of this. 

 In no one case has an animal ever been cured ; the disease is sometimes 

 arrested, but never cured. It often happens that cattle are sold appearing 

 well ; when slaughtered, the lung is found diseased. Sometimes, in the 

 centre of an apparently healthy lung, a diseased portion is &und which 

 is dead and insulated by nature from the living part, being surrounded 

 by a layer of lymph. In no case was the mischief done by the disease 

 upon the lung ever repaired ! 



When does its contagion cease ? is a question upon which there has 

 been much discussion, and which is still undecided. As soon as the 

 animal sickens, the disease is contagious. If it was arrested, it was not 

 easy to say how soon tlie animal might safely mix Avith others. Tlie 

 legislature might, with much benefit to the country, take .this matter up. 

 On tlie ct)iitinent, the measures taken by governments had done much 

 to stay the ravages of the disease. In some countries, if a herd were 

 affected, it was compulsory to separate it immediately ; the proprietor 

 was compensated by the government, whose otffcei's took possession of 

 the herd ; those badly diseased were slaughtered, and those that were 

 not aifected or had recovered were branded on the horn so as always to 

 be known. By the adoption of such measures as these, much had been 

 done to lessen the severity of this scourge. 



The principles of treatment : these could only be properly put into 

 operation by a veterinary surgeon. As a fai-mer himself, and addressing 

 farmers, he would recommend, when the disease was decided, to spend 

 notlmig in jjhi/sic. Get rid of the beasts as soon us jwssible ; the first loss 

 was the best. There were some preventive measures which might be 

 put into operation with advantage. When it entered a herd much might 

 be done to prevent its sf)read, by remembering the contagiousness of the 

 disease, and that a certain state of the system was necessary before it 

 was taken. Sometimes it was dormant in the system a long time before 

 it broke out. When this was the case the morbific matter might be got 

 rid of In this respect this disease ditFered from all others. The first 

 thing to be done w^to remove the healthy animals ; this was decidedly 



