On the Disposal of Carcasses of Animals dead of Anthrax. 271 
There is no law, in fact, to prevent anyone making a post-mortem 
examination; but the caution has been given in order to avoid risk 
of spreading the disease, and so far as the identification of anthrax 
is concerned it is only necessary to cut off the ear or foot of the 
animal to obtain all that is required for microscopic investigation. 
The real difficulty and the great danger are due to the circum- 
stance that carcasses are frequently flayed, cut up, used for the 
purpose of feeding dogs or pigs, or perhaps thrown upon a manure 
heap, without the slightest suspicion being entertained that the 
animal has died of anthrax ; and the only possible way of avoid- 
ing this risk seems to be to conclude that, in every case whe-n an 
animal dies suddenly, anthrax is the cause of death. The question 
can be settled in a very short time by the microscopic examination 
of a drop of blood taken from the ear. 
Alternative methods of disposing of carcasses are permitted by 
the Anthrax Order — i.e. by exposure to a high temperature or by 
chemical agents. High temperature, of course, refers to the pro- 
cesses of burning or boiling, or the employment of high-pressure 
steam in a digester. The use of chemical agents is only practicable 
in the immediate vicinity of a chemical manure manufactory. 
All the above processes have the common objection to be urged 
against them, that they necessitate the removal of the carcasses 
to a convenient place for the purpose of destruction, and in the 
majority of instances cutting would be required before burning, 
boiling, or steaming could be effected. 
Under all the circumstances — of the different methods of 
getting rid of a dangerous carcass — burial, under proper pre- 
cautions, appears to be the safest. It is obvious that the burial 
should take place as near to the spot where the carcass is found 
lymg as possible. When removal is necessary the soil which is 
contaminated by blood which may flow from the carcass should 
be covered with quicklime or commercial carbolic acid. 
In selecting a place for burial the possible contamination of 
water-courses with septic matter must be considered. This 
caution is necessary, as it has more than once happened that 
carcasses have been buried in such a position as to be dangerous 
to public health, and it has been necessary to exhume and re-bury 
them under the supervision of the sanitary authority. 
G. T. Brown. 
Royal Veterinary College, Camden Town, N.W. 
