312 Amund Ee^mi of the lioyal Vefcriit'irij College on iheir 
Inquiries into Outbreaks of Disease among Cattle, Sheep, 
AND Swine, conducted by the Officers of the College 
IN different parts of the country. 
In February 1888 an outbreak of a fatal disease occurred 
among the experimental animals at "Woburn. Prof. Axe in- 
vestigated tlie case, wliicb is thus stated by Dr. Voelcker, under 
whose direction the feeding experiments at Woburn were con- 
ducted : — 
Among four beasts in an open yard riiigwoim broke out, one beast 
suft'ering- in particular. This made them rather low, and they did not all 
feed well. While in this condition, two of thera, Nos. 14 and 16, were at- 
tacked on February lii by an illness, the nature (if which could not be found 
out. They lingered for a considerable time, refused their food, and appeared 
to be in great pain. On February 20 the tirst one (No. IG) died, and, the 
local veterinary surgeon not being able 1o state tlio cause of death, parts of 
the animal were sent to the Itoyal Veterinary College for examination by 
Prof. Wortley Axe. Some long time had, however, elapsed before they 
could be examined, and they were then too stale. Prof. Axe himself visited 
tlie farm on Febviiiiry 22, and ordered tlie second bullock to be carefully 
watched, and, should it die, parts of it lo be at once sent to him. The poor 
beast suft'ered greatly, so much so indeed that the humane feelings of the 
attendant induced him on February 20 to give it relief from its pain by a 
friendly blow, and the necessary parts were forwarded for investigation as 
before. It may be mentioned that it was feared that anthrax had broken 
out ; but whether tliis was the case could not be ascertained, for it transpired 
that the humane blow struck had prevented the appearance of the very 
organisms which v/ould have been recognisable in the case of anthrax had 
the animal been allowed to die naturally. Thus the outbreak, whatever it 
was, was not ti'aced to its cause. AMiether the food was unsuited to the 
animals or not is also uncertain ; under ordinary circumstances the best 
thing to do would probably have been to change the food, but this was not 
possible in an experiment. 
As Dr. Voelcker suggests, the considerate act which deprived 
the beast of life in all probability prevented the detection of the 
anthrax organism, if anthrax really existed — as the bacilli are 
not found as a rule till after an animal has died of the disease, 
and it appears from careful experiments that they are not de- 
veloped until a short time before death in any case. No further 
outbreaks occurred among the remaining bullocks, and they were 
fed up to the time of slaughter. 
In April, a member of the Society requested advice in regard 
to an obscure form of disease in his herd. Prof. Axe was in- 
structed to visit the place and investigate the outbreak. He 
reported that the disease was actinomycosis, an affection which 
is very prevalent in certain districts, as will be explained in 
the course of this report. I'rof. Axe advised that the remaining 
animals, which were liealthy, should be removed from the park 
and disposed of as soon as possible. 
