HEREDITARY DISEASE. 35 



an important service to his country, and to rural 

 economy in general, who may show, by incontes- 

 tible evidence, that those organic diseases (farcy 

 and glanders) are very often hereditary. I knew a 

 mare whose body on dissection presented every ap- 

 pearance of glanders ; her filly died at the age of 

 4i years of the same tuberculous affection. The 

 other ofispring of this mare inherited her particu- 

 lar conformation, and her propensities to bite and 

 kick." The Professor produces three similar in- 

 stances of inherited disease, all of which, he says, 

 were too evident and well-marked to admit the 

 possibility of any serious mistake, and were attest- 

 ed by the professors of the Veterinary School at 

 Alford. Similar observations follow in relation to 

 the diseases of oxen, cows, sheep, and swine, as also 

 of ophthalmia in horses, all of which are transmit- 

 ted from one generation to another, the effect of 

 hereditary influence. " These considerations," con- 

 tinues the Professor, "to us are of the greatest 

 moment, since we have it in our power, by coupling 

 and crossing well-known breeds, to lessen the num- 

 ber of animals predisposed to these diseases. Act- 

 ing up to such ideas, our line of conduct is marked 

 out. We must banish from our establishments, 

 designed to improve the breed, such animals as 

 show any signs of tuberculous disease, or any ana- 

 logous afiection. Above all, no stallion should be 

 allowed to remain in a wet or cold situation, in con- 

 sequence of the evils likely to result therefrom." 



In consideration of the preference given to the 

 stallion over the mare, in the propagation of racing- 



