NEWS AND ITEMS. 
695 
going to South Africa, and found it an excellent antiseptic. 
The fact of its being soluble in spirit is a great point in its 
favor.” Other features of special note, particularly in the ex¬ 
ternal use of tannoform, are that it is odorless, and is twice as 
bulky as iodoform. Reports from numerous American veteri¬ 
narians indicate that tannoform is also a most excellent remedy 
against the diarrhoea of cattle and in infectious intestinal 
catarrhs of horses. 
Saving Convention Time. —On the second day of the 
late New York State meeting the hour for adjournment for 
luncheon had arrived, the hotel was a mile distant, the literary 
programme was full to overflowing. A vote was taken on the 
question of “lunch ” or “no lunch,” when the members unani¬ 
mously decided that they preferred intellectual rather than 
vegetative food, and at once proceeded with the reading and 
discussion of papers. But the hospitable Ithacans would not 
permit their guests to undergo the pangs of hunger in their 
pursuit of knowledge. Dr. Moore arose to the occasion and 
sent forth an order for two or three hundred sandwiches, and 
in less than an hour each member had his ears open and his 
mouth full. Many remarked that it was the most enjoyable 
luncheon they had partaken of in many a day. 
Transmission of Disease from Animats to Man. —In 
the New York Medical Journal , Meany discusses the infection 
of the human being by animals. Anthrax and glanders have 
long been known to be thus transmitted. Scarlatina, diph¬ 
theria and typhoid fever have been traced to cow’s milk. Tur¬ 
ner found a typical croupous membrane in the trachea of a 
pigeon. An epidemic of diphtheria followed a fatal affection of 
chickens. Diphtheria has been contracted by cats and spread 
by them to other cats and thence to their child owners. Swine, 
sheep, horses, cattle and dogs have been found suffering from a 
disease exactly similar to human diphtheria. Mason attributed an 
outbreak of malignant plague to a cat, which boarded a steamer 
at an infected port, showed signs of illness ; and the eight sailors 
who died all occupied the pqrt of the ship frequented by the 
cat. It is a pity sick animals cannot promptly be placed under 
the care of a competent veterinarian, now that these practi¬ 
tioners are to be found as thoroughly versed in the ways of modern 
science as the graduate of a medical college. At any rate, 
children should not be permitted to handle or attend sick pets, 
and every disease of domestic animals should be viewed with 
suspicion unless positively known to be harmless.— {Aik. Clinic.) 
