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MEETINGS OF SOCIETIES. oy 
by Mr. Buchanan on “‘ Some diseases of sheep and cattle in New 
Zealand.” These diseases were propagated by the development 
of certain minute forms of animal life, and the symptoms ought to 
be studied by the different flock-owners in the Colony, and the 
results communicated to the Society, or to some person engaged in 
these investigations, for the purpose of comparing results. The 
progress of these diseases had been studied to a remarkable degree 
of late. As had been stated in one of these papers, there were 
already signs of our acquiring the means of warding off these 
diseases, and protecting animals from their inroads in the same 
way as we now—very imperfectly here—protected the community 
from the attacks of smallpox. This important matter was well 
worth the attention of all members of the Society who took an 
interest in scientific researches which had a direct bearing upon 
the welfare of the human race. With reference to smallpox, the 
apathy displayed as to the best means of protecting ourselves from 
the scourge appeared to him to be almost criminal. We were 
naturally protected against the incursion of a vast number of 
diseases, but an outbreak of smallpox here would be disastrous, 
In the first place, comparatively few of the people of New Zealand 
realised the horrible nature of this disease, and vaccination was a 
matter in which a very partial interest was taken. If the matter 
were brought more prominently before the public by proper means, 
aided by compulsory vaccination, he thought it quite possible that 
we might get rid of the necessity for the quarantine system. We 
might then take our chance of the small number of cases which 
might occur in the community. There had been a great cry raised 
of late in favour of what was called animal vaccination—that was, 
vaccination with lymph taken direct from the calf, instead of 
with lymph taken from the arm of an infant. In his opinion there 
was a good deal of misapprehension in this matter. Vaccination 
was really sowing the seed of smallpox in the system in the same 
way that carrots or turnips were sown in a garden.- These germs 
of disease lost power by passing through a certain diluting process ; 
and some time ago a proposition was made to dilute the virus with 
milk. There was no doubt that lymph could be passed through a 
calf and then used; but in any case everything depended on 
having pure seed. Those who advocated animal vaccination must 
take care that the body of the animal selected did not contain the 
seeds of other diseases; and those who were in favour of human 
vaccination said that their dread of other diseases arose from 
careless vaccination, and the taking of lymph from the arms of 
unhealthy children. In both cases it was necessary to take great 
care that the seeds of any other form of disease were not intro- 
duced by vaccination; and for his part he did not see any 
difference in the risk attending arm-to-arm vaccination and what 
was called animal vaccination. The Government had been put to 
great expense in providing the means of vaccination, and it was to 
be hoped that an unreasonable prejudice against it would not exist 
much longer. He had been led to make these observations be- 
cause he had been thinking the subject over a great deal of late. 
It was a subject open to much discussion and calm thought, for 
the purpose of getting rid of the cobwebs of prejudice which sur- 
_rounded it in the public mind. Another interesting paper is one 
by Mr. Travers upon the effects of certain floods. In arranging 
