Annual  Report  for  1910  of  Royal  Veterinary  College.  295 
sheep,  and  three  swine)  to  be  slaughtered.  Three  cows  and 
three  calves,  which  had  recently  been  moved  off  the  farm,  were 
followed  up  and  also  slaughtered,  although  they  appeared  to  be 
healthy.  About  a week  later  the  disease  was  detected  in  a field  on 
the  adjoining  farm,  and  in  that  case  also  the  whole  of  the  animals 
on  the  place  (thirty-five  cattle  and  107  sheep)  were  promptly 
slaughtered.  It  is  eminently  satisfactory  that  at  a comparatively 
trifling  cost  the  country  was  thereby  saved  from  what  might 
have  proved  a widespread  outbreak. 
As  in  nearly  all  the  fresh  outbreaks  since  the  disease 
disappeared  in  1886,  the  precise  manner  in  which  the  virus 
was  introduced  in  July  last  could  not  be  traced.  In  this  case 
no  suspicion  attached  to  any  article  of  diet,  but  there  can 
hardly  be  a doubt  that  infective  material  from  the  scene  of 
an  outbreak  on  the  Continent  of  Europe  must  have  been 
brought  to  some  British  port  and  carried  thence  to  the  farm 
in  Yorkshire. 
It  is  very  much  to  be  desired  that  British  farmers,  and 
especially  those  in  the  eastern  counties,  should  possess  such 
a knowledge  of  the  symptoms  of  the  disease  as  will  enable 
them  promptly  to  recognise  or  suspect  it  should  an  outbreak 
occur  among  their  animals.  The  symptoms  in  cattle  which  are 
of  outstanding  importance  are  lameness  combined  with  slaver- 
ing at  the  mouth.  Even  when  only  one  animal  is  affected  this 
combination  of  symptoms  should  always  awaken  a suspicion  of 
foot-and-mouth  disease,  and  when  two  or  more  animals  are 
thus  affected  at  the  same  time  or  in  quick  succession  the  facts 
ought  to  be  reported  to  the  police  without  delay. 
Epizootic  Abortion  in  Cattle. 
In  1905  a Departmental  Committee  was  appointed  by  the 
President  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  and  Fisheries  to  inquire 
by  means  of  experimental  investigation  or  otherwise  into  the 
pathology  and  etiology  of  epizootic  abortion,  and  to  consider 
whether  any  and,  if  any,  what  preventive  and  remedial 
measures  might  with  advantage  be  adopted  with  respect  to  the 
disease.  Subsequently  the  reference  to  the  Committee  was 
extended  so  as  to  include  an  inquiry  as  to  the  administrative 
procedure  which,  in  view  of  the  results  of  the  investigation 
made  by  the  Committee,  should  be  taken  to  deal  with  cases  of 
the  disease  and  to  prevent  the  spread  of  infection. 
The  Committee  have  published  two  reports,  the  first  of 
which  is  devoted  to  a detailed  account  of  the  experimental  part 
of  the  investigation  conducted  with  a view  to  determining  what 
is  the  actual  cause  of  epizootic  abortion  in  Great  Britain,  while 
the  second  contains  the  conclusions  of  the  Committee  with 
regard  to  the  advisability  of  dealing  with  epizootic  abortion  of 
