Annual  Report  for  1910  of  Royal  Veterinary  College.  299 
not  in  any  doubt  as  to  the  measures  of  an  administrative 
character  that  would  be  most  effective  for  preventing  its 
spread,  they  thought  it  advisable  in  the  first  place  to  ascertain 
whether  the  enforcement  of  such  measures  would  have  the 
approval  and  support  of  those  whose  interests  are  most  directly 
concerned. 
With  the  object  of  obtaining  information  with  regard  to 
that  point  all  the  principal  societies  representative  of  cattle 
breeding  and  dairying  in  Great  Britain  were  invited  to  appoint 
one  or  more  of  their  members  to  give  evidence,  and  in  response 
to  this  appeal  eighteen  witnesses  appointed  by  fifteen  different 
societies  laid  their  views  before  the  Committee. 
Without  any  exception  these  witnesses  were  agreed  as  to 
the  gravity  of  the  present  position,  and  nearly  all  of  them 
placed  a very  high  estimate  on  the  loss  which  contagious 
abortion  is  at  present  causing  to  those  engaged  in  cattle 
breeding  and  dairying.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  the 
majority  of  the  witnesses  were  of  opinion  that  the  contagious 
nature  of  the  disease  is  now  very  generally  recognised  by 
stock-owners,  although  they  testified  to  the  fact  that  it  is  a 
very  common  practice  to  put  on  the  market  cows  that  have 
recently  aborted.  In  fact  it  would  appear  that  this  practice  is 
not  so  much  the  result  of  ignorance  as  of  conviction  on  the 
part  of  the  owner  that  the  disease  is  contagious  and  that  it 
is  therefore  well  to  get  rid  at  the  earliest  possible  moment 
of  a cow  that  has  aborted. 
With  scarcely  an  exception  the  witnesses  expressed  them- 
selves as  strongly  in  favour  of  compulsory  notification  of 
abortion  and  premature  calving,  and  they  were  all  agreed  that 
a stop  should  be  put  to  the  practice  of  selling  cows  that  have 
recently  aborted.  On  the  other  hand,  some  difference  of 
opinion  was  expressed  as  to  the  advisability  of  placing 
restrictions  on  cows  that  have  been  exposed  to  contagion, 
although  the  majority  considered  that  some  restrictions  of 
that  kind  ought  to  be  imposed.  Only  one  witness  believed 
that  the  members  of  the  society  which  he  represented  would 
object  to  any  interference  whatever  with  pregnant  animals 
known  to  have  been  exposed  to  the  risk  of  contagion. 
Reviewing  the  whole  of  the  evidence,  both  that  obtained 
by  their  experimental  researches  carried  out  during  the  last 
four  years  and  that  laid  before  them  by  the  representatives  of 
the  different  societies,  the  Committee  felt  that  the  time  had 
not  arrived  for  the  introduction  of  drastic  measures  aiming  at 
the  early  eradication  of  the  disease.  They  admit  that  such 
measures  would  have  to  include  the  placing  of  restrictions  on 
the  pregnant  animals  known  to  have  been  exposed  to  risk  of 
infection  as  well  as  on  the  cows  which  have  actually  aborted, 
