478 
M. E. TRUMBOWER. 
medley. 1 have sent out 200 circular letters, requesting in¬ 
formation regarding contagious and infectious diseases, im¬ 
proved methods of treatment, etc. 
My colleagues, Drs. Reynolds, Harger, Faust and Din- 
widdie, will each contribute special reports on specific 
diseases. I have endeavored to obtain reports in a general 
way of the prevalence of disease, etc., throughout the United 
States, and will give the interesting sections selected from 
the numerous replies received. Some of the reports and 
opinions offered may be conflicting in their tenor, but I 
believe that in drawing the attention to these conflicting 
opinions, we may open up a field for thought and criticism, 
and thereby gain more than we would by taking the old cut- 
and-dried method of generalizing too much. 
I do not know of any new discoveries that have been made 
in pathology during the past 3^ear; and many of the older 
theories in regard to specific diseases are still held in abey¬ 
ance ; therefore, I shall not attempt to repeat what has already 
been stated in former reports. 
Evidently, it appears that no extensive outbreak of any 
one disease has been observed during the past year, although 
in some States the reports of the present year would indicate 
this ; but we must remember that a certain class of diseases 
are now reported by veterinarians, or are being discovered 
by State Sanitary Boards, that have had very little attention 
given to them heretofore. 
If it were not for making this paper too long, I should like 
to go somewhat into the detail of the history of preventive 
inoculation, and especially that of the anti-toxine fad. 
The theory upon which this new theory is based is an 
outrage upon all known physiological and anatomical knowl¬ 
edge, and the veterinarians who associate themselves with 
the advocates of this extraordinary hallucination will siirely 
regret the support given to it by them within the next ten 
years. 
Trusting that many of these subjects may be brought up 
during this session, as I know they will, by gentlemen who 
have papers prepared on anti-toxine cultivations, I shall now 
