204 CENTRAL VETERINARY MEDICAL SOCIETY. 
which something was said in this discussion—as either a very great boon 
or a great nuisance. Looking at them from a philanthropic point of 
view, they relieve the sufferings of the dumb companions of our toil, 
by frequently allaying their sufferings from thirst; but, on the other 
hand, he was certain they were one of the greatest means of spreading 
contagious diseases, such as glanders, &c., so,that their good is neutralised 
by their evil, and they become therefore a positive nuisance. He stated 
that several cases of this sort had lately come under his notice, which 
were decidedly attributable to this cause. He thought if an opinion 
were expressed by this Society it might have some effect upon the public 
mind, by warning them of their danger. He thanked Mr. Hunting for 
bringing the subject before them, and giving them some light upon it. 
Mr. Hunting explained that he always treated his cases first with a 
stimulant, which frequently gives an amount of functional activity to 
the bowels ; the removal of the obstruction was the object to be aimed at; 
if he could obtain such by the mild treatment he did so, but if not he 
tried the other treatment. 
The evening being well advanced, and Mr. Furnival’s subject a 
lengthy one, it was deferred to the next meeting, and the proceedings 
terminated. 
* Present—12 Fellows and 5 Visitors. 
At a meeting of the Society, held at No. 10, Red Lion Square, 
on Thursday evening, February 5th, the President, Mr. H. T. Batt, in 
the chair, 
The Secretary produced a specimen of ruptured liver taken from 
a seven-months’-old filly, which had been sent by Mr. M. Tailby, of 
Birmingham. There was a large quantity of blood in the abdomen. 
The filly was a quiet animal, and had belonged to a butcher, and 
was eating shortly before death. The specimen was forwarded eleven 
days since. 
The Chairman thought the rupture was the result of a blow. He 
remembered a two-year-old horse falling very suddenly with a full 
stomach, and thus rupturing its liver. Had also been called in to see 
a colt which, when galloping, had slipped up on its side and ruptured 
its liver ; it lived three or four days. 
Mr. Furnival had had a colt three years since just in the same way ; it 
died the same day. 
The Chairman then called upon Mr. Furnival for his essay on 
“ Inoculation in Contagious Diseases as a means of Prevention and 
Cure, viz. Pleuro-pneumonia, Glanders, and Farcy,” who said, on the 
subject of cattle plague, that on the 23rd April, 1868, there was a large 
herd of black Welsh cattle passed through Kingston to be sold at the 
fair. When his men were going to work, between the hours of 5 and 
6 a.m., they heard a lot of shouting and the rattling of cows’ horns in 
their place, and, of course, going to see what was amiss, found 350 
cattle mixed with their own (they kept 200 fine milch cows, valued at 
£25 each); they lent assistance, and soon separated them. The cattle 
were started back the next day, and reached Barnet fair. The following 
day intelligence came that these cattle were affected with the plague. 
Professor Simonds, of the Privy Council, went down, and the herd was 
destroyed, and the poor Welshman had to go to the Hammersmith 
magistrates in court to ask for money to take them back home. Four¬ 
teen days afterwards he (Mr. Furnival) found his cattle began to droop ; 
he communicated at once with the inspector, Mr. Evershed, of Guildford, 
who gave notice to the Privy Council. Professor Simonds came down 
