MINUTES OF EVIDENCE ON CANINE MADNESS. 641 
In your judgment, does the disease ever arise spontaneously? 
or does it in every instance arise from the bite of an animal pre¬ 
viously rabid ?—1 have not arrived at any certain opinion upon 
that point. 
Do you conceive that in any instance the disease arises spon¬ 
taneously ? and if so, are the predisposing causes to be sought 
in heat, m food, in irritation, in the nonuse of water, or in any and 
what other causes ?—I have not been able to make up my mind 
whether the disease does or does not ever arise spontaneously. 
There is a good deal to be said on one side, and a good deal on the 
other: first, they say that in Jamaica it has not appeared sometimes 
for forty years; then, when it has appeared, that they have been 
able to trace it to some dog which has been brought from the 
continent of America, or one of the other West India islands: 
again, it is stated that Mr. Meynell used to be very much annoyed 
by the disease appearing in his pack of hounds, and that for 
some time he took a good deal of pains to prevent it without 
success; at last, however, he did prevent it, by making every 
dog perform quarantine before he was admitted into the pack. 
On the other hand, it seems difficult to account for the disease in 
a populous country like this being so rare at one time and so pre¬ 
valent at another, unless it does arise spontaneously. It has 
been stated that the disease, or sometliing like it, has been given 
by animals that were not diseased themselves, that were merely 
enraged, and not actually rabid. I have been informed that a 
case of this kind occurred some years ago in Dublin; if the 
Committee wish it, it will be easy to obtain the particulars. 1 
had a patient under my own care in the hospital, who had been 
hunting rats, and he had been poking at a rat in a corner with 
a pole: the rat and he maintained a battle for some time ; at last 
the rat jumped out of the corner, and bit him in the thumb. The 
man was admitted into the hospital with some symptoms which 
were very like those of hydrophobia; it was a question whether 
it was hydrophobia or not. The man was in great danger, but 
he ultimately recovered. The rat ran away, so that nothing’ was 
known as to what became of him. There was a case published 
in the Philosophical Transactions, well authenticated, more than 
a century ago: the man died of hydrophobia a month after he 
was bitten, and a fortnight before the man died the dog was 
seen alive and well. I only mention these things to shew that 
we have not sufficient data for coming to any positive conclusion 
as to the disease being communicated solely by inoculation from 
an animal already rabid or not. 
What proportion of the cases brought into St. George’s hospital, 
or brought under notice of any medical man, as cases arising from 
vol. in. 4 * 4 R 
