434 
HYDROPHOBIA. 
cases alone, and these were confined to two sets of experiments? 
is there reason to believe that any considerable amount of 
suffering w T as directly inflicted. 
As regards the experiments in which the animal is allowed 
to survive the state of anaethesia, the amount of suffering, 
where any at all was inflicted, must have been very slight, in 
the majority of cases not being greater probably than that 
which necessarily attends the presence and the healing of a 
wound of the integument. As a matter of fact, of the ex¬ 
periments performed under the licence alone, at least 200 
appear scarcely to come within the scope of the Act at all, and 
might probably have been performed independently of it, as 
not being calculated to give pain ; but as they were performed 
under the licence, they are included in the return. The num¬ 
ber of experiments or demonstrations of physiological facts 
performed under certificates is 47. This number, distributed 
amongst 11 physiological schools, gives an average of less than 
five for the instruction of each class, although the discretion 
of the teachers is unlimited as to the number of such demon¬ 
strations they may consider necessary. 
The inspector for Ireland reports that the total number of 
licences in force during any part of the year 1878 was ten; 
in five instances the license was not acted upon ; the number 
of experimenters was consequently reduced to five. The total 
number of experiments under the five licences amounted to 24. 
Of the 24 experiments performed, four were under the 
restrictions of the licence alone, and the remaining 20 under 
certificate for experiments under anaesthetics, illustrative of 
lectures. From the returns received from the several experi¬ 
menters it would appear that in no case has pain been inflicted, 
and that some of the experiments might have been legally 
performed without the licence under the Act .—The Globe. 
HYDROPHOBIA. 
The following pertinent letter on this important subject 
has appeared in the Times. We give insertion to it as not 
only showing the continuance of rabies among dogs to a 
serious extent, but the necessity for invoking further legisla¬ 
tion with reference to the prevention of the malady. 
Kecent experience has shown that the virus of rabies may, 
even in dogs, remain latent in the system for a year, or even 
more, and that the same property is possessed by it even 
when it has been transmitted to the human subject. 
