322 RESPECTABILITY OF THE VETERINARY PROFESSION. 
assuming a dark leaden hue, approaching to black, from which I 
think the name is derived. It appears to me that the blood be- 
comes poisoned by the lungs inhaling an atmosphere loaded with 
miasma. I think it only occurs in low situations, where the 
soil is wet and cold, and fogs are prevalent; at least, I have 
never known it do so in any other. It broke out on some land 
lying beyond Staines Bridge, where the stock had been kept a 
long time in one pasture, close besides a withy ait, which the 
Thames overflows whenever a few wet days creates a rise in 
the river : there it had destroyed either six or seven previously 
to my seeing them. The plan I adopted was to order them into 
a dry straw-yard, and give to each spt. nit. aether, with vege- 
table tonics, morning and evening, and then seek some high dry 
pasture for them. Two that were very bad when I first saw 
them, died ; the others recovered, and were turned into some 
pasture on the high land to the left of the road between Egham 
and Virginia Water. No subsequent case of the disease there 
shewed itself. The last case I saw was in the autumn, in a 
meadow adjoining the Thames, near Richmond Bridge. The 
owner came to me, and asked me to see an heifer of his, a year 
and a half old, that he thought had got its thigh out of joint, or 
else broken. When I saw it, I told him it was suffering from 
what I called black quarter or quarter evil, and that nothing 
could be done for her, as the whole of the limb was mortified, 
and she would be dead in two or three hours at the farthest. 
She died in less than an hour. When I came to inquire how 
long he had found her lame, he told me, “ Only that morning.” 
He had seen her the previous night, and then she was feeding 
cheerfully. Now this heifer, like those at Staines, was in 
good condition ; as far as I have been able to observe, the poor 
starved-down animal being rather less liable to the disease than 
the highly-fed ones. But I feel I am occupying too much of 
your valuable space, and will therefore here conclude, with the 
expressed hope that others may do so to more advantage. 
I remain, & c. 
THE RESPECTABILITY OF THE VETERINARY 
PROFESSION. 
To the Editor of u The Veterinarian. 
Sir, — I HAVE just been carefully re-perusing the correspond- 
ence which has taken place on the above subject during the last 
few months, and I cannot but express my surprise at the attack 
made on the Sporting Surgeon by Mr. Pritchard for stating 
