28 
PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. 
Little alteration Las taken place during the past month 
with reference to the extent of this disease. A slight in- 
crease of cases is reported, but the centres of the contagion 
have somewhat diminished. In the neighbourhood of London, 
and also in the metropolitan dairies, many cows are suffering 
from the malady, and this is also the case in Dublin and its 
suburbs. The Irish Farmers’ Gazette, December 10th, states 
that — 
“ At the meeting of the Public Health Committee of the 
Corporation of Dublin, held on Friday, December 9th, Dr. 
Cameron, the city analyst, announced that during the week 
ending on the 6th inst. no less than 10,000 pounds of diseased 
and otherwise unsound animal food had been confiscated, and 
either boiled down to extract grease from it, or sent to the 
Zoological Gardens. This is certainly a startling announce- 
ment. 10,000 lbs. of meat condemned in a week is at the 
rate of 520,000 lbs. per annum. Half a million pounds of 
valuable food destroyed nearly altogether by the ravages of 
epizootic diseases \” 
“ It would appear that by far the greater portion of the 
meat referred to by the city analyst was the flesh of cows 
affected with pleuro-pneumonia, generally of a very bad 
type. In most cases the animals were the property of the 
Dublin dairymen. These stockowners are by far the heaviest 
sufferers from contagious lung distemper. There are no 
accurate statistics available from which we could learn the 
actual losses sustained by the dairymen ; but from careful 
inquiries which we have instituted, we have no doubt that at 
least 8 per cent, of the dairy stock perish annually from 
pleuro-pneumonia.” 
Very recently public attention has been directed to the 
use of carbolic acid both as a preventive and curative agent. 
For some years past we have given trial to this compound 
without being able to satisfy ourselves that it possessed any 
curative power ; but in numerous instances it has proved 
useful as a disinfectant. In conjunction with the adoption 
of strict sanitary principles for arresting pleuro-pneumonia 
and other infectious diseases, carbolic acid ought to be em- 
ployed ; but apart from these, our present experience does 
not warrant the conclusion that it is a prophylactic. 
