Inoculation for Pleuro-Pnmmonia in Cattle. 2G^ 



an animal previously inoculated, in the presence of Professors 

 Simonds and Morton, who made a note of it, have contracted the 

 disease ; thej were placed among the other cattle in the stable. 

 Two days after the insertion of the virulent matter the small 

 wounds were suppurating.' 



" We here insert the declaration of M. Willems' father, which 

 we refrained from inserting in the minutes of the Hasselt Com- 

 mission at p. 145. This distiller informs us, and hegs us to make 

 mention of it in the present Report, that some cases of failure 

 which the delegates of our Commission have been enabled to 

 prove in two animals coming from his stables, furnish him with 

 a new proof of the system of inoculation adopted by his son. 

 ' These two beasts,' says M. Willems, ' were operated on by the 

 Professor of the Royal Veterinary College of London, icitli matter 

 resembling pus, taken from another inoculated beast, ichich he con- 

 sidered improper. The phenomena of inoculation succeeded 

 quickly upon the operation, and went through the various stages, 

 in eight days.' 



The Commissioners further observe that, " in our sincere 

 desire to arrive without prejudice at the discovery of the truth, 

 we have contented ourselves with the simple statement of facts,, 

 refraining entirely from discussing them. We have said, at 

 the beginning of this Report, that all the uncertain cases have 

 been passed by in silence, or have been presented icith a character 

 of doubt attached to them. We also give M. Willems full credit 

 — 1, for reporting, even to the minutest circumstance, all facts, 

 which have appeared favourable to inoculation ; 2, for placing 

 under the head of ' Faits contestes ' everything which the phy- 

 sician of Hasselt assumes has resulted from an improper opera- 

 tion, and also the two cases which occurred in his father s stables. 

 Having made all these concessions, we have still fifty-five- 

 animals in which inoculation has failed to prevent the invasion 

 of exudative Pleuro-pneumonia. The facts observed at Niony 

 Maisieres, a focus of the epizootic, are of great importance."* 



We will first observe, with regard to this accusation, that 

 rumours of it had reached us some weeks since, which, however, 

 we refrained from taking any notice of at that time, not believing- 

 it possible that any person would have had the temerity to pub- 

 lish such an incorrect version of the facts of the case. W ithout 

 multiplication of words we will at once say, and we challenge 

 proof being produced to the contrary, that w^e neither suggested 

 the experiment, selected the material, nor performed the operation. 

 That two cows were inoculated on the 1st of September, with 

 some viscid serum obtained from deep incisions made in the tail 



* The italics in the foregoing extract are our own. 



