186 
EDITORIAL. 
in various parts of the world, and a quotation from the statis¬ 
tics of the disease, which shows a percentage of a compara¬ 
tively small number in France, 95 cases only having been 
discovered out of 131,398 animals, or a proportion of 0.72 per 
thousand, the professor makes a few remarks upon the frequen¬ 
cy of the seat of the actinomycotic lesions, and the location of 
the disease in certain organs, as the tongue, the bones of the 
head and the lungs, and enters upon the most interesting part 
of his communication, viz., the treatment of the lingual form 
of the affection, which, adopted by Professor Thomassen, of 
Utrecht, and recommended by him as early as 1885, had 
proved most satisfactory to him and the few who had prac¬ 
tised it. The treatment of “ actinomycotic glossitis,” which 
is known by its symptoms and the peculiar condition of the 
organ affected, consists simply in the administration of iodide 
of potassae, with which the local application of tincture of 
iodine may be combined. The history of several observa¬ 
tions on this subject have heretofore appeared in the Review. ; 
The communication of Professor Nocard concludes with 
the etiology and mode of entrance of the parasite, which, for 
many reasons, ought to be considered as being introduced 
through the herbaceous food, the grains, the hay and the straw,: 
which, when taken into the mouth, and finding a solution of 
continuity of the mucous membrane have thus met all the re- j 
quired facilities for infection. The lesions of the lungs may ' 
be explained by the inhalation and introduction of infected 
dust into the air passages, and the same may be said when 
the udder is the part affected, and the introduction of the ! 
parasite may have occurred through the milk channel. The I 
invasion through the serous membranes and the abdominal 
organs may also be explained as occurring through the buc¬ 
cal cavity. For the renal form of the lesion he proposes nc 
explanation. 
The interesting points, as far as the Peoria case is con ; 
cerned, follow, and we give them in a translation of Profes 
sor Nocard’s own words : 
The considerations above presented are, however, sufficient to show th 1 
predominating action of vegetable alimentation in the development of actinomy 
cosis. But thus produced, is the disease contagious ? Can it be communicatee! j 
