Cattle plague. 
839 
receives, inter alia , not only what I may call the individual 
experience of the lecturer, hut he receives also, in succinct 
and impressive language, denuded of the useless verbiage 
with which all hook lore is necessarily more or less en- 
shrouded, facts, separated from the errors, recorded hy all 
previous authors, together with theories of phenomena which 
cannot admit of positive proof, but which research, experi- 
ment, inductive reasoning, and negative results have con- 
firmed as correct ; and render all reserve theories probable 
and conjectural. Such at least has been my experience of 
the generality of lectures, and I appeal to all former students 
whose minds on entering college were unbiassed by a pre- 
sumptive reckoning of the extent of their own knowledge 
through a previous four years’ apprenticeship, whether they 
did not (like myself) frequently learn more from a one hour’s 
lecture than they possibly could have done in six hours’ hard 
and patient reading, had not that lecture been delivered. 
As a simple example of the value of lectures, and one of 
frequent occurrence, I ask what takes place when a young 
student, even neglecting all subjects save one, precedes the 
lecturer in studying from his text-books, that one ? Why, 
that he speedily becomes lost and confused, and, in despair, 
almost determines to throw up the profession entirely. 
I have yet to learn how Mr. Fearnley could better afford 
to “sit dumb” (by which, I suppose, he means without 
benefit) than the majority of his fellow-students. 
I would strongly advise Mr. Fearnley, the next time he 
purposes advocating reform in your pages, to choose a subject 
more worthy his genius, and one whose faults are more 
patent to the minds of your readers than the present mode of 
teaching by lectures. 
In conclusion, I feel that an apology is necessary for occu- 
pying so much of your valuable space by what you may deem 
a reply unneeded. 
Pathological Contributions. 
CATTLE PLAGUE. 
For upwards of fifty years the Continent of Europe has 
been a stranger to the wide spread diffusion of cattle plague 
which now exists. Since the publication of our last number 
the disease has extended far and wide from many of the 
places then named as centres of the infection. This was to 
