Tuesday, May 22, 1894 . 
309 
Abortion in Part IV. of the Journal for 1891. The Special Committee 
is still engaged upon the inquiry. 
23 . In November last the Board of Agriculture commenced 
the work of extirpating swine-fever under the provisions of the 
Swine-Fever Act of 1893. The measures adopted have led to 
the detection of a large number of centres of disease which had 
hitherto been concealed, and it has been found necessary to order 
the slaughter of swine which were affected with the disease, or had 
been in some ways exposed to infection, at the rate of a thousand 
per week. In view of the fact that swine-fever continues to be as 
prevalent as ever, the Council have felt bound to give practical 
support to the measures adopted by the Board of Agriculture for 
the extirpation of the disease by excluding all pigs from their Show- 
yard at Cambridge. It is hoped that, through the measures taken 
in the general interests of agriculturists, swine-fever, if not totally 
eradicated, may speedily be reduced to insignificant proportions, 
when it may become possible for the present irksome restrictions 
to be relaxed. 
24 . Reports of outbreaks of anthrax have been more numerous 
than during the preceding year, but judging from the considerable 
proportion of cases of suspected anthrax which were sent to the 
laboratory of the Royal Veterinary College, and proved on examina- 
tion not to be anthrax, there is reason to conclude that the reports 
have been in excess of the actual outbreaks. The scarcity of food 
during the past dry season led to the consumption of various indi- 
gestible, and even poisonous plants, and it is most probable that 
many of the deaths from this cause were attributed to anthrax. 
There is no doubt, however, that the disease has increased in the 
last two or three years. But it is a noticeable fact that during 
1893, in 567 outbreaks of anthrax there were only 1,294 animals 
attacked, a little over two for each outbreak. Cases of diseases of 
the digestive organs in cattle from the presence of microscopic 
worms have been numerous during the past year, and there have also 
been serious losses in some districts among foals from the ravages of 
a minute strongle, the young of the Strongylus tetr acanthus. 
25 . Investigations have been continued in the pathological 
laboratory at the Royal Veterinary College, under the Society’s 
annual grant, on the subject of ringworm in calves, with particu- 
lar reference to the life history of the fungus which is the cause of 
the disease. Protective inoculation for anthrax has received special 
attention, witli the view to test its safety and efficacy. Some time 
will be occupied in the necessary experiments. The results at pre- 
sent justify the statement that the average losses among inoculated 
animals are less than one per cent., but from time to time the loss 
has reached five and even ten per cent, without there being any 
detectable cause to account for the mortality. Further experiments 
with mallein and tuberculin have added to the previous evidence of 
the value of these agents for the detection of glanders and tuber- 
