H. C. Hovey—Rabies Mephitica. 481 
Feliflae and Canidae and other families of animals. And then, 
if it could be proved experimentally that the characteristic 
mephitic secretions contained an antidote for the virus of the 
sgh we should have the whole subject arranged very beau- 
tifully ! 
I am favored by Dr. M. M. Shearer, surgeon in the 6th U. 
S. Cavalry, with notes from his case-book, of four cases in 
which persons have died from the bite of the skunk; and he 
also mentions additional instances reported to him by other ob- 
servers. He thinks there is a marked difference between the 
symptoms of their malady and those of hydrophobia. I shall 
refer to his testimony again, but pause for a moment to notice 
his final conclusions, from which, original and interesting as 
they are, I must dissent. He says: ‘ this virus as be- 
img as peculiar to the skunk as the venom of the rattlesnake is 
to that creature ; and not an occasional outbreak of disease as 
the aestus veneris of the wolf or the rabies canina.” Singular 
1. The period of incubation is alike in Rabies canina and 
bies mephitica, That is, it is indefinite, ranging from ten 
