702 
J. FAUST. 
chalybeate treatment, while others have maintained that a ver) 
important factor in the beneficial result was an improvement in 
the quality of the corpuscles, that is in their lichness in haemog¬ 
lobin, with little effect upon the number, which sometimes 
actually diminished. Later observation has shown that the 
effect produced depends mainly upon the different dosage of iron 
employed. 
THE VALUE OF PROPHI LACTIC TREATMENT IN ANTHRAX. 
By John Faust, V.S., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
For twenty-nine years, to my personal knowledge, splenic 
apoplexia and splenic fever have occurred every year up to 
1886, in a streak of swampy land about two miles long, and 
Mr. Noxon, one of the sufferers, says he lost $30,000 worth of 
cattle in that period. All imaginable diseases were suspected 
by professionals and non-professionals. I held post-mortems 
year after year, and always found one and the same thing 
splenic fever or apoplexia. 
In the year 1885, the suspicion of poisoning was so strong 
that Mr. Noxon wanted a chemical analysis made of the stomach. 
As I know that would have been money spent for nothing, I 
proposed that Professor Liautard make a post-mortem examin¬ 
ation. After the post-mortem he stated to the owner that the 
whole cause was splenic fever. 
A great many medicines were used with no effect. I advo¬ 
cated to the owners the vaccination with anthrax virus. I even 
went so far as to offer to do it for nothing if it was a failure. 
The following is a history of the different herds that came 
under my care in 1886 : 
On July 3d, was called to see a cow belonging to Mr. Hoppe; 
she died before I reached her. The second cow was found dead 
in the lot. On July 10th was called to the third cow and put 
her under treatment for splenic fever (my record does not show 
what treatment). In twelve hours to all appearances she was 
well, but in ten hours more she died and post-mortem examin- 
