Report to the General Meeting. 
IX 
2nd. To provide for experiments being made in the treatment 
of diseases. 
3rd. To the scientific investigation of the causes and nature 
of diseases of animals belonging to the farm. 
The Council then communicated with the Committees of the 
Rojal Agricultural College and the Brown Institution, the latter 
being an establishment in London, governed by a Committee of 
the Senate of the University of London, which was founded for 
the purpose of facilitating investigations into the diseases of 
animals useful to man. After considering the report of a meeting 
between the Veterinary Committee and the Committee of the 
Brown Institution, the Council have resolved to place a sum 
not exceeding 500Z. for the year 1876 at the disposal of the 
Veterinary Committee for general Veterinary purposes, and for 
special scientific inquiries into pleuro-pneumonia and foot-and- 
mouth disease, to be carried out by Dr. Burdon Sanderson, the 
Professor-Superintendent of that Institution. The Veterinary 
Assistant of the Institution will also be authorized to act as the 
Society's Veterinary Inspector, in cases where Members of the So- 
ciety require Veterinary aid, on the same terms as have hitherto 
been paid to the Professors of the Royal Veterinary College. 
The past autumn has again been characterised by an exten- 
sive outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, which was doubtless the 
result of causes that are every year in operation at that season, 
when farmers generally are buying in their winter supply of 
store-cattle. These cattle in many cases have been in contact 
with affected beasts, either in fields, lairs, trucks, or steamboats, 
or upon markets ; and have thus been made vehicles for the dis- 
semination of the disease. The Council have repeatedly repre- 
sented to the Government the measures which, in their opinion, 
are necessary to restrict the dimensions and importance of these 
annual outbreaks. These suggestions were framed upon the 
conviction that the outbreaks are mainly brought about by the 
movement of animals during the autumn, being from fair to fair, 
and so from fairs to farms, instead of, as at other seasons, from 
farm to slaughter-house. The scientific knowledge of this 
disease and of pleuro-pneumonia appears to the Council so im- 
perfect, that they have thought it desirable to initiate further 
inquiries as to their physiological character, in the hope thereby 
to guide their own Members and the officials of Government in 
carrying out both preventive and curative measures. 
