Report on the Health of Animals of the Farm. 273 
pigs, and even the poultry, became affected in Twickenham and 
its neighbourhood. This afforded me the opportunity of testing 
the protective influence of my experimentally produced case of 
foot-and-mouth disease by placing the cow with affected 
animals. This was done and no ill consequences resulted. 
It may be here added, that cases of escape from secondary 
attacks had become so numerous during the first years of the 
existence of the malady, that in every part of the country the 
opinion was held that animals could not contract foot-and-mouth 
disease a second time. This opinion, however, has long since 
l>een disproved, and I may add that I have since had many 
positive proofs of cows being affected even a third time with the 
malady ; a notable instance of which I shall hereafter describe. 
Referring again to some original experiments of inoculation with 
the fluid contents of vesicles, carefully collected so as to be free 
from the admixture of any other matter, I may state that Mr. 
Ceclv, of Aylesbury — one of the best-known investigators of 
variolous diseases — inoculated two of his cows with fluid of this 
description in April 1840, and that no effects were produced. 
The late Mr. Lepper, veterinary surgeon of the same place, 
had also recourse to similar experiments. Two cows, belonging 
to himself, were inoculated within a few days of those above 
named — the property of Mr. Ceely — by making incisions on the 
posterior part of the mammary gland, and on either side of the 
labia pudendi, and placing within each a shred of lint saturated 
Avith the contents of vesicles. No effects being produced by the 
fourth day, some more fluid was introduced into the incisions. 
Slight constitutional disturbance followed very quickly, but 
lasted only a few hours, when the animals regained their ordi- 
nary health. These cows were, eighteen days afterwards, placed 
with a number of diseased cattle on a farmer's premises, w here 
they remained for a fortnight, but did not contract the disease. 
Whether their escape was due to the inoculation was not, how- 
ever, determined, for so rapidly did the disease spread in all 
directions, that no opportunities were afforded for additional ex- 
periments. Mr. Lepper attempted one, but was foiled by the 
experimental cow falling ill with the natural disease two days 
subsequently to her inoculation. 
I may here repeat the statement I have frequently made, that 
the attacks of foot-and-mouth disease were more malignant and 
more widely diffused in 1840-1 than at any time since then. It 
is also to be remembered that periodic outbreaks of the malady 
have occurred every few years since 1840-1. Thus, in 1845 a 
second malignant outbreak took place, and this was followed by 
others in 1852, 1861-2, 1869-70, 1871, and lastly by the well- 
known one of 1875. On each of these occasions, and even 
YOL. XII. — S. S. T 
