688 NORTH OF SCOTLAND VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
food given her, of which she partook moderately. Tinct. aconite, 
from twenty to thirty minims, was given night and morning in 
water, which was taken freely. The attendant was ordered to 
increase the dose gradually and carefully, which he did for some 
ten days ; but seeing little alteration in the symptoms, he deter- 
mined to try the effect of an extra quantity, well-nigh half an 
ounce of the agent. The animal soon became frantic, made severe 
attempts to vomit, and to all appearance the end was at hand. 
After an hour or two, however, the symptoms of poisoning began 
to abate, and gradually disappeared, and with them the tetanic 
contractions of the muscles. These did not again return, and in 
about a week or ten days afterwards the mare was sufficiently 
restored to be able to return to her usual work. 
Subsequently to the discussion on tetanus, the meeting took 
into consideration the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, and 
some of the diseases dealt with under it. The unanimous opinion 
was that the periods of ten days for foot and mouth disease, and 
thirty for pleuro-pneumonia, as enjoined by the Act, for the 
isolation of animals affected with these complaints, or that had 
been in contact with animals affected by them, were far too short ; 
the former disease being frequently communicated to clean stock 
by animals that had neither been diseased themselves nor in con- 
tact with the diseased for double the prescribed period, and the 
latter disease often not manifesting itself till the expiration of 
several months after exposure to the infection. The meeting was 
also unanimously of opinion that the prevalence of these diseases 
was in a great measure owing to the exposure, on public roads 
and in public markets, of animals recently recovered from them, 
or affected with the disease in its undeveloped form ; likewise to 
the want of proper restriction on unscrupulous dealers' sales; to 
carelessness on the part of owners of diseased stock for the safety 
of neighbouring healthy stocks, and to the want of caution in 
making purchases. Till more attention be paid to these matters, 
it was felt that all the exertions inspectors could make to rid their 
districts of contagious diseases must be comparatively ineffectual. 
Mr. Niel Barron , Turriff, consented to read an essay at the 
next meeting. 
Votes of thanks were awarded to the essayist and the chairman, 
after which the meeting separated. 
Thomas Mellis, Secretary. 
