clxxiv 
Monthly Council , November 7, 1894. 
the Council, in accordance with the 
directions then given, had been ex- 
tensively circulated amongst owners of 
stock, veterinary surgeons, and others 
interested in the subject. The Com- 
mittee drew the attention of the 
Council to the special scientific in- 
vestigations into the causes of abor- 
tion in cattle which were now in pro- 
gress at the Royal Veterinary College, 
under the auspices of the Society; 
and they would feel greatly obliged 
to any members whose herds might be 
suffering from this disorder, if they 
would kindly communicate with the 
College authorities, with a view to 
their sending an aborted animal to 
the College for the purposes of ex- 
periment and observation. A letter 
had been read from the Royal Lanca- 
shire Agricultural Society on the 
subject of the prevalence of tubercu- 
losis in cattle, and asking the Society’s 
co-operation with a view to combined 
action on the part of the principal 
agricultural societies in urging the 
Board of Agriculture to adopt mea- 
sures for dealing with this disease. 
The Committee did not advise that 
action should be taken by the Society 
in the direction indicated until the 
Royal Commission on Tuberculosis, 
now sitting, had presented their 
report. 
Professor Brown had presented the 
following report : — 
Pleuro-Pneumonia. — Since the last meet- 
ing of the Committee several outbreaks of 
pleuro-pneumonia have been reported. The 
suspected were in each case slaughtered, but 
proved, on post-mortem examination, to have 
been affected with other diseases. 
Foot-and-Mouth Disease.— On the after- 
noon of the 27th ult. the local veterinary 
inspector was called in to examine some 
cattle on a marsh at Rainham in Essex, and 
found them to be affected with a disease 
which he considered to be foot-and-mouth 
disease, and he accordingly instructed the 
police to prevent all movement of cattle from 
the marshes. On the following day the in- 
spector again attended, and was satisfied as 
to the nature of the disease, and at once re- 
ported to the Board of Agriculture. One of 
the veterinary officers of the Board pro- 
ceeded to Rainham and confirmed the opinion 
of the inspector. Of the seven cattle which 
were in one marsh six were badly affected 
with the disease on mouths and feet. The 
seven cattle were slaughtered and buried on 
the spot, and an Order was at once passed to 
prevent movement of animals fiom the dis- 
trict, and also to prevent persons from pass- 
ing through the marshes, and the whole 
district round has been kept under strict 
observation. Bp to the present time no fur- 
ther cases have been reported, and no clue 
has yet been obtained as to the origin of the 
outbreak. 
Swine Fetor. — The number of cases, 
which for some time past has reached an 
average of over 500 per mouth, has recently 
fallen to little more than half that number. 
But it may be observed that a decrease in the 
number of attacks has always been noticed 
at this season of the year. 
Anthrax.— There have not been any 
serious outbreaks of anthrax recently, and 
nearly all the cases reported have been con- 
fined to cattle. 
Rabies. — This disease has been very pre- 
valent lately, especially in Lancashire and the 
West Riding of Yorkshire. Only one case 
has been reported in Loudon. 
The Committee gave notice that at 
their next meeting they would move 
— (1) For the renewal of their annual 
grant of £600, of which £600 would 
be allocated to the Royal Veterinary 
College and £100 reserved for general 
purposes; and (2) for the payment to 
the CoUege, during 1895, of the 
special grant of £200 for the purpose 
of further investigations into abortion 
in cattle. 
Stock Prizes. 
Mr. Sanday (Chairman) reported 
that the Committee had further con- 
sidered the prize-sheet for the Dar- 
lington Meeting, and recommended 
that copies, including the proposals 
of the Local Committee (which were 
not yet complete), be printed and 
forwarded to each Member of Council 
before the meeting in December, 
when the prize-sheet would come 
before the Committee for final 
approval. The Committee further 
recommended that the following 
offers of champion prizes for the Dar- 
lington Meeting be accepted, with 
thanks : — 
From the Polled Cattle Society : Two 
gold medals for the best male and the best 
female in the Aberdeen-Angus classes. 
From the Suffolk Sheep Society : A 
gold medal for the best two-shear or shearling 
ram in the Suffolk sheep classes. 
From the National Pig Breeders’ Asso- 
ciation : Four champion prizes, value 6 
guineas each, for the best animals in the 
following breeds : — Large White, Middle 
White, Small White, and Tamworth. 
Letters had been received from the 
National Sheep Breeders’ Association 
and the Suffolk Sheep Society as to 
the continuance of classes and prizes 
for ewe lambs, as at the Cambridge 
