238 
ANNUAL  REPORT  FOR  1904  OF 
THE  PRINCIPAL  OF 
THE  ROYAL  VETERINARY  COLLEGE. 
Research  Laboratory. 
During  tlie  year  1904,  054  morbid  specimens  were  forwarded 
for  examination  to  the  Laboratory,  established  at  the  Royal 
Veterinary  College  in  1890,  for  research  in  Comparative 
Pathologj’  and  Bacteriology,  and  to  which  the  Royal  Agri- 
cultural Society  has  since  made  an  annual  grant.  This  is  the 
largest  number  of  specimens  forwarded  in  any  year  since 
the  Laboratory  was  established,  and  the  fact  is  evidence  that 
its  usefulness  is  now  widely  appreciated.  As  in  previous 
years,  the  great  majority  of  the  specimens  were  sent  with 
a view  to  diagnosis  in  suspected  cases  of  anthrax,  glanders, 
tuberculosis,  and  other  contagious  diseases. 
Anthrax. 
The  following  Table  shows  the  number  of  outbreaks  of  this 
disease,  and  the  total  number  of  animals  attacked  in  these 
during  the  past  year,  and  also  allows  a comparison  to  be  made 
between  1904  and  each  of  the  preceding  five  years  : — 
Year 
Outbreaks 
Animals  attacked 
1899 
...  534 
986 
1900 
571 
956 
1901 
...  651 
971 
1902 
678 
1,032 
1903 
767 
1,143 
1904 
1,053 
1,570 
As  will  be  seen  from  the  Table,  in  respect  of  the  prevalence 
of  anthrax  in  Great  Britain  the  past  year  has  been  considerably 
worse  than  1903,  and  that  was  the  worst  since  anthrax  was 
scheduled  as  a contagious  disease.  It  cannot  be  regarded  as 
otherwise  than  very  unsatisfactory  that  the  average  w'eekly 
outbreaks  of  this  disease  have  nearly  doubled  during  the  last 
five  or  six  years,  in  spite  of  the  precautions  which  are  now 
generally  taken  to  prevent  each  outbreak  from  becoming  a 
source  of  reciirriiig  mischief. 
In  the  preceding  Annual  Report  this  subject  was  dealt  with 
at  considerable  length,’  and  reasons  were  there  given  for 
' Journal  R.A.S.E.,  Vol.  64,  1903,  page  202. 
