438 
EDITORIAL. 
brought forward the remarkable hypothesis of the transmission 
of the disease from the horse to man, and in fhis connection 
describes certain peculiarities noticed by him in several cases. 
Amongst these he mentions one of a lady who was seized with 
well-marked symptoms of tetanus subsequent to an injury of the 
elbow. Her husband owned horses, two of which had died from 
that disease, the death of the second having occurred four years 
previous to the sickness of the lady. In view of the lapse of so 
long a period of time, would it be prudent or rational to look at 
the death of the horse as the cause of the sickness of the lady? 
In support of such a theory, the statement is referred to, that 
where tetanus prevails, men and animals are affected with it sim¬ 
ultaneously ; and again, that in the army the disease is more fre¬ 
quent in the cavalry service than amongst the infantry or in the 
marine branch. To this reasoning the practical veterinarian can 
oppose a good negative, and argue that, when such an infectious 
condition exists, there is no other class of persons likely to con¬ 
tribute so large a quota of victims to the disease as the veterinary 
surgeons, who, by their calling, are so directly and constantly in 
contact with the danger. Professor Nocard, in his editorial in 
the Recueil of October 15th, states that “ he does not know of a 
single case where a veterinarian, a veterinary student, or a 
hostler, of the hospitals of Alfort, has ever died of lockjaw.” 
To conclude, a new field of inquiry seems to be here opened, 
in which close observations and new facts are needed before the 
question can be thoroughly mastered and positively settled. On 
our part, we can already bring one case which we believe to be 
entitled to more weight than that of Mr. Verneuil. 
This, we are grieved to say, involves the greatly-regretted 
death of Dr. Wing, a graduate of the American Veterinary Col¬ 
lege, who recently succumbed to a tetanic attack. The facts, 
which we have been endeavoring to obtain, will appear in our 
columns as soon as they come into our possession. But we have 
none of us forgotten the sorrow with which we received the inte- 
ligence of the sad event, which we have already recorded in the 
.Review. The doctor had been treating a horse, which died sub¬ 
sequently with lockjaw, and having unfortunately scratched his 
