664 NORTH OF ENGLAND VETERINARY MEDTCAL ASSOCIATION. 
thought there existed a policy in courting the complaint, and practice 
appeared to confirm the view. 
Dairymen who possessed a number of cattle which were coming on for 
the purpose of milking, being turned out in ilarge straw-yards, &c., had 
an infected beast turned among them, and thus the disease was communi¬ 
cated to the whole herd, and the effects completely got rid of before the 
period of their profitableness and utility had arrived. If they became 
affected apart from these circumstances they cast their calf, lost their 
milk and condition, &c., and proved a very serious loss and inconvenience 
to the owner. 
Milksellers, as a rule, object to the use of caustic applications to the 
feet, as they give rise to much pain and irritative fever, and hasten on 
the loss of both milk and condition. The worst cases occur when the 
teats are affected and the calf is suckled, the diseases being communi- 
cated to the young animal. Bullocks bought at Darlington Market in 
September or October, frequently are affected with it, and even those 
which have never been near a market also take it; but no real objection 
appears to be held against it as they are supposed to fatten more quickly 
afterwards. 
He (Mr. Naylor) had his doubts about its contagious nature, having 
known byres in which the cattle had been tied up for months eventually 
to take the disease, but not then even going through without 
exception. He had heard of exaggerated cases of aphtha in the 
human subject, in which it was stated the mouth was severely 
affected, and finger nails come off; but he looked upon these statements 
as on many others in regard to contagious diseases generally. Young 
animals and milch cows suffer considerably, older animals not so much. In 
many cases which occurred among two-year-old bullocks, first one hoof 
dropped off’, and afterwards another, but with care and attention all went 
on well. 
The worst cases with which he had to deal were those in which large 
abscesses subsequently formed in various parts of the body ; in many in¬ 
stances he had liberated as much as three or four quarts of matter at once, 
—of course the formation of such occupy a great length of time, and leave 
a very great space or vacant part in the muscles, requiring, however, 
only ordinary attention afterwards. 
It is the province of the veterinary surgeon to point out and remedy 
defects in ventilation, and give proper directions to owners for the 
domestic treatment of live stock, especially witri the view of preventing 
the spread of disease when the animals are first attacked and found to be 
affected; he knew that there was some amount of difficulty in this, as it 
was almost impossible for a veterinary surgeon to state under some circum¬ 
stances whether the animals had the disease or not, and therefore he felt 
it all the more necessary that he (the veterinary surgeon) should be more 
watchful and eager for the first signs by which he can accurately judge. 
He (Mr. Naylor) did not object to the flesh of such animals ; in fact, 
in most instances, he considered it as good as that of healthy ones, that is, 
if the beast is in good condition at the time of being slaughtered. The con¬ 
tagiousness of this complaint is overrated, similarly with that equally bane¬ 
ful disease splenic apoplexy, which foreigners state they can produce by 
giving the infusoria of hay, which had been allowed to stand to develop 
the infusoria which are supposed to produce that malady. He had tried 
it himself, but having failed in several instances, was undecided as to what 
the cause could be. 
Mr. Hunting gave the details of a case at South Ilettoji, where among 
a quantity of cattle put up to feed, and by the introduction of diseased 
