CONTAGIOUS PLEURO-PNEUMONIA 437 



existent in this country, and not being an indigenous 

 disease, will not appear again until re-imported, but 

 as the importation of cattle, except for immediate 

 slaughter at the port of debarkation, is prohibited, 

 there is little chance of it again ravishing our herds. 



In stamping out the disease (which many asserted 

 would never be achieved), two methods were advocated. 

 The first, by slaughter of all the cattle on the farm or 

 premises where the disease was found to exist ; and 

 second, the slaughter of all affected animals, and the 

 inoculation of all the other cattle in the country. 



The last method being the more humane, was 

 the most popular, but it was not supported by the 

 members of the veterinary profession who advised the 

 Board of Agriculture, and for various reasons, some of 

 which we will now refer to : — 



I. Cattle are subject to two forms of inflammation 

 of their lungs, one of which is non-infectious and 

 curable, the other infectious and generally fatal. 



II. In the living animal the two diseases cannot be 

 differentiated by veterinary skill, or by inoculation or 

 any other method known to the veterinary profession. 



III. The undoubted existence of infectious pleuro- 

 pneumonia, as distinguished from simple pleuro- 

 pneumonia, can only be affirmed after a post-mortem 

 examination of the lungs has been made. 



IV. Granting that the existence of contagious 

 pleuro-pneumonia has been correctly diagnosed in one 

 or more members of a herd, and all have been 

 slaughtered which exhibited the slightest symptoms 

 of a lung affection, and all the remaining animals have 

 been most carefully and apparently successfully in- 

 oculated, where is the guarantee that not one of the 

 inoculated animals was labouring under pleuro- 

 pneumonia at the time of inoculation? 



