the Royal Veterinary College. 
433 
attack animals in such vast numbers that even oxen often suc- 
cumb to the continued irritating- and exhaustive effects of their 
attacks. Specimens of the skin of lambs, thickly covered with 
these epizoa were sent from Kent by a veterinary surgeon who 
had been consulted on the case. In his communication he 
writes that " they " — the ticks — " had attacked the sheep 
and lambs both on uplands and marshes, and one farmer 
found a large quantity of them on some colts which were at 
pasture near to the sheep." There are few parasites more tena- 
cious of life than ticks ; but experiments having shown that they 
could easily be destroyed by carbolic acid, it was recommended 
that a trial should be given to dipping the sheep and lambs in a 
diluted mixture of this agent. This treatment proved most 
eniective in the destruction of the ticks, and thereby prevented a 
further loss of lambs. 
Another circumstance may be mentioned in connection with 
these cases. Some of the fully matured or old ticks were placed 
in a box, chiefly for the purpose of determining the length of 
time they would survive without a supply of food, it being known 
that the young parasites will often live for many weeks under 
such conditions. 
On examining the box shortly afterwards it was found that the 
ticks had deposited many brown coloured masses of a size equal 
to themselves, which proved to be an enormous quantity of ova, 
held together by a glutinous substance. The ova were subjected to 
artificial warmth, and in about three weeks a batch of young ticks 
was obtained. The young ticks were next placed on different 
animals, and although the greater part of them wandered from 
the places on which they had been deposited, and could not be 
found, others were seen to attach themselves to the skin and begin 
to feed upon its fluids. It is not improbable that these further 
investigations of the natural history of the tick are without a 
parallel in this country. 
The chief event of the year in connection with cattle diseases 
has been the remarkable outbreak of the malady known as the 
" mouth and foot disease." Few parts of Great Britain have 
escaped, and in one instance, at least, the disease was ascertained 
to have been introduced into Ireland by cattle exported from 
England. In Ireland, however, the malady has been kept far 
more in check than elsewhere by sanitary regulations, as the 
Executive of the Government in that country was enabled to 
enforce the orders of Council through the medium of the con- 
stabulary. 
D uring the first part of the year little was heard of this 
disease beyond the existence of it in its ordinary form in a few 
