888 
EDITORIAL OBSERVATIONS. 
be recognised by the Act ? It was not right to say that all 
cases arose from contagion, for he believed it to be a disease 
which might be self-generated if exposed to the causes likely 
to produce it. One diseased animal would be sufficient to 
taint a thousand. Mr. Kent, in an essay before the Veteri¬ 
nary Medical Association in 1846, with reference to conta¬ 
gion in this disease, said, “ I am sorry to differ with Pro¬ 
fessor Simonds. Still I feel satisfied it is contagious, both 
from what I have seen and from what I have heard from 
large sheep owners. A diseased ram was placed with a 
sheep and lamb ; on the fifth day the lamb went sore footed, 
on the seventh the hoof had slightly separated from the 
upper part, next day it was lame, and gradually followed on 
until the disease was fully.developed.” 
Mr. Noakes’s remarks were accepted with approval by the 
meeting, and other speakers followed him to the same effect. 
Our experience, which has been considerable, does not enable 
us to allow that the disease is “ one of the most contagious dis¬ 
eases known to any class of animals.” On the contrary, we 
have been obliged to conclude that, while the infective pro¬ 
cess accounts for the extension of the disease in the tissues 
of the foot, when it is once established, it is most difficult to 
communicate the affection from one sheep to another, and 
we are perfectly certain that it was never so communicated 
in the space of five days. 
On the question of legislation for foot-rot, we have at 
present nothing to suggest, beyond an expression of opinion, 
that if the farmers all over the country were canvassed very 
few would be in favour of submitting to restrictions on the 
trade in sheep on that account; but, in reference to the causes 
of the rapid extension of foot-rot among a flock from the 
introduction of a few diseased animals, we long ago 
arrived at the conviction that in most if not all of these cases 
the disease would have been found on investigation to have 
been foot-and-mouth disease, and not foot-rot. The dictum of 
the shepherd is often the only evidence which the flock- 
master has, or for that matter desires, and we know that 
shepherds in general do not believe in foot-and-mouth disease 
among sheep. 
