clxxxii Monthly Council , November 1, 1893. 
much this year as compared with last. There 
have been sixty-fire cases in forty-two weeks 
this year, as compared with twenty-three in 
the corresponding period of last year. 
The question of experiments into 
the disease of abortion in cattle had 
come again under consideration, and 
the Committee recommended that a 
letter be written to the President of 
the Board of Agriculture to call his 
attention to the serious losses which 
are caused by contagious abortion in 
cattle, and to urge that the Board of 
Agriculture would, without delay, 
take up the question of inquiry into 
this disease, as it was understood 
that the investigations into tuber- 
culosis had now been concluded. 
The committee recommended that 
prizes be given for horse- shoeing com- 
petitions at Cambridge upon the same 
lines as last year, but that the horses 
to be shod be Roadsters in Class 1 
and Agricultural Horses in Class 2. 
They proposed that a lecture on 
horse-shoeing should be given during 
the time of the show, as in previous 
years. The Committee recommended 
the appointment of Mr. R. S. Rey- 
nolds, M.R.C.Y.S., of Municipal 
Buildings, Dale Street, Liverpool, as 
the Society’s Provincial Veterinary 
Surgeon for the South-Western 
Division of Lancashire. Professor 
McFadyean reported that he had 
paid a visit to Northumberland for 
the purpose of investigating the out- 
break of louping-ill in that county, 
and that the investigation was still 
proceeding. Professor McFadyean 
had also presented the following 
reports (a) upon the employment of 
“tuberculin” as an aid to the dia- 
gnosis of tuberculosis in cattle, and 
(b) upon an investigation into deaths 
of animals upon Lord Cawdor’s estate 
in Pembrokeshire : — 
(n) “tuberculin” as an aid to the 
DIAGNOSIS OF TUBERCULOSIS. 
Oil October 3 a visit was paid by Professor 
McFadyean to Altliorp Park, Northampton- 
shire, to inspect a herd of Jerseys belonging 
to Lord Spencer. A few cases of tuberculosis 
had recently occurred in the herd, and, with 
a view to discovering which of the remaining 
animals were affected, they were tested with 
“tuberculin.” The result indicated that 
every animal in the herd, with one doubtful 
exception, was the subject of tuberculosis. 
To test the accuracy of this indication a 
yearling heifer and a cow were killed, and 
the post-mortem revealed tuberculous disease 
in eaoh. Since then twenty other animals, 
being all the remaining members of the herd, 
with the exception before mentioned, have 
been killed, and in every instance tuberculous 
lesions were discovered in some part of the 
body. 
(b) OUTBREAK ON LORD CAWDOR’S ESTATE 
IN PEMBROKESHIRE. 
On July 26 last Professor Penberthy 
proceeded to Pembrokeshire in order to 
investigate an outbreak of disease among 
the cattle on a farm belonging to the Earl of 
Cawdor. From the tenant of the farm and 
from the Society’s provincial veterinary 
surgeon it was ascertained that five or six 
young cattle had been lost from quarter-ill 
during the spring, and that between June 3 
and July 26 twenty-four other animals 
(cattle) had died from a disease of an unusual 
type. Professor Penberthy, on the occasion 
of his visit, had the opportunity to make a 
post-mortem examination of a two-year-old 
steer which had died from this disease on the 
farm in question, and of several animals that 
died after a similar illness on other farms in 
Pembrokeshire. The post-mortem examina- 
tion in these cases agreed with the descrip- 
tion of the symptoms exhibited during life 
in indicating that the disease was neither 
anthrax nor quarter-ill, while microscopic 
examination and experiments went to prove 
that it was not infectious or transmissible 
by inoculation. Professor Penberthy came 
to the conclusion that these animals had 
died from vegetable poisoning, but the parti- 
cular plant that was to blame for this was 
not discovered. Similar cases occurred about 
the same time in various parts of the country, 
and in several instances the owners of the 
animals had independently formed the 
opinion that the deaths were due to the 
animals having eaten bracken owing to the 
scarcity of grass. Experiments since made 
at the College with bracken gave negative 
results. Professor Penberthy advised 
removal of the surviving cattle from the 
pasture on which the deaths took place, and 
no similar cases have since occurred. At 
Professor Brown's request, Mr. Smart, vete- 
rinary surgeon of Birkenhead, visited a 
number of farms in Pembrokeshire on which 
cattle had died suddenly. In one of these 
cases the disease was ascertained to have been 
anthrax, but on the other farms the illness 
appears to have been of the same nature as 
that which prevailed on Lord Cawdor’s farm. 
Cases apparently similar to the above oc- 
curred in numerous parts of the country 
during the summer months. In many cases 
the disease was supposed to be anthrax, and 
there is some reason to believe that such 
mistakes may have swollen the antlirax 
returns during the present year. There is 
no doubt that, owiugto the scarcity of grass, 
cattle have eaten various injurious plants, 
which have flourished vigorously owing to 
the extreme heat. 
The Committee gave notice that at 
their next meeting they would ask for 
a grant of 600 1. for the coming year, 
of which 500Z. is to be given to the 
Royal Veterinary College, and 100/. 
to be reserved for general purposes. 
