NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEAT INSPECTION. 
131 
lission of contagious diseases, as the diseased animal may be 
fit far behind and the disease be transported across continent 
nd ocean, and planted anew in the bodies of susceptible ani- 
ials. Nor do we now mean that the disease-producing 
material must be derived from a diseased animal, but can 
rocure it from the bacteriological laboratory, where it has 
een cultivated generation after generation on vegetable or 
ther media, or from the soil in certain localities where, so 
ir as is now known, the pathogenic germs have existed ages 
efore the animals now regarded as naturally susceptible had 
ppeared in the infected area. In what respect the commit- 
se’s definition of contagion was unnatural or strained he does 
ot say, and leaves his bare assertion as his only argument. 
Passing to what Dr. Schwartzkopff apparently con¬ 
fers gross ignorance on the part of the English-speak- 
ig veterinary profession in their general lack of discrim- 
lation in the use of the terms contagious and infectious, 
e suggests that “ there are surely yet as before contagious 
nd infectious diseases, and the best pathologists still apply 
•oth terms in a well-defined way.” It must be frankly admit- 
ed that no English veterinary writer has yet appeared who 
Is able to draw a distinction between the two in a sufficiently 
lear manner to meet the approbation of a majority of our 
•rofession. Turning to German veterinary literature we find 
Vof. Dieckerhoff and Professors Friedberger and Frohner, in 
heir standard works on special pathology, disregarding en- 
irely the division into classes of transmissible diseases, the 
wo latter explicitly stating that the classification was useless, 
nd placing the whole list of transmissible maladies described 
n index and text under one category, “ infectious krankheiten,” 
vhile the French writers apparently favor the word conta¬ 
gious, and use it largely to indicate the same group of dis¬ 
eases. We are well aware that certain writers have ineffec- 
ually (except for themselves) attempted to make a distinction 
between the two words by applying “ contagious ” to those 
iffections where direct contact is necessary and “ inlectious ” 
o those in which no such contact is essential, while others 
*everse this order. 
