52 Report of a Series of Outbreaks of Splenic Apoplexy 
It is in the former of these pastures that the chief interest of 
this inquiry centres, inasmuch as on each occasion the malady 
has first appeared in one of them. All the cases having 
originated on those pastures which immediately surround the 
decoy, some suspicion was naturally excited as to the pro- 
bable implication of the latter in determining the disorder. In 
this connection, however, it was elicited that at no time have 
cattle been known to enter the decoy ; the fact of their having 
done so could hardly have escaped notice, inasmuch as it is 
surrounded on all sides by a considerable open drain, beyond 
which there grows a large quantity of brushwood, and in the 
decoy itself the trees are closely packed, and the branches low 
and spreading. 
Prevalence of Antlirax. — In endeavouring to account for the 
origin of these several outbreaks and the peculiar localisation 
of the disorder, attention was first directed to a consideration of 
the prevailing diseases of the district. In this regard I had an 
opportunity of conferring with Mr. James Wright, Veterinary 
Surgeon, of Burnham, to whom I am indebted for much 
valuable information. This gentleman has conducted an 
extensive mixed practice in Norfolk for the past thirty years, 
and is well informed as to the nature and extent of prevailing 
diseases in the neighbourhood of Holkham. In this respect he 
assured me that splenic fever was of rare occurrence in the dis- 
trict, and both he, Mr. Doggett, and Mr. Shellabear agreed in 
the statement that, excepting on the four pastures immediately 
surrounding the decoy, anthrax had not been known to exist 
on any part of Holkham marshes, excepting in one instance, 
which was clearly an offshoot of the outbreak in 1874, and 
had been caused by the transference of diseased flesh from 
Mr. Doggett's farm on to one of his neighbour's. 
Management of the Decoy Marshes. — In the circumstances of 
the four marshes contiguous with the decoy there is one feature 
in point of management that seems to me worthy of being 
recorded, and especially so since I am informed that it distin- 
guishes them from all the others in Mr. Doggett's occupation, 
as well as from those in the occupation of other persons. It 
appears that the farm which Mr. Doggett now holds was for a 
long period prior to his tenancy in the occupation of his uncle, 
who adopted and carried on for many years a system of cake- 
feeding on the four marshes in question, and I understand that this 
practice has since been continued by Mr. Doggett himself. In 
what relation, if in any, this circumstance stands to the origin 
of the disease at Holkham I am not in a position to state. 
Past experience, however, has shown in numerous instances 
that land rich in the resources of vegetation is especially prone 
