VARIOLA EQUINA. 251 
of six, after which it steadily decreases ; the highest rate of 
deaths by lung disease is among the four-year-old horses. 
The chief cause of casting is legs worn out, which accounts for 
two fifths of the whole. The mortality has been highest in 
the Engineer Train and Transport Corps, and lowest in the 
Imperial Guard, the latter being, in the opinion of the author, 
to a considerable extent owing to the Guard being mounted 
on better bred horses than the line. 
The admission of cases into the infirmaries averaged more 
than 50 per cent, annually, about one fourth of them being 
on account of wounds and injuries. The influence of the 
seasons on the sickness is shown by a table of the admissions 
in each quarter of the year by the chief classes of diseases; 
they are lowest in the fourth, and highest in the second 
quarter. The returns, unfortunately, do not show the number 
constantly non-effective—a point of great importance. 
The information respecting the British Cavalry is very 
meagre. The deaths, on the average of eighteen years, 1861-78, 
were 2107 per 1000, ranging between 16‘9 in 1864, and 28T 
in 1871. The number cast averaged 98 per 1000, and ranged 
between 76 1871, and 156 in 1878. The mortality was lowest in 
the Household Cavalry, and highest in the Cavalry of the Line, 
while the casting was lowest in the Royal Engineers, and highest 
in the Military Train and Army Service Corps, the Household 
Cavalry furnishing the next highest proportion. There is no 
information available as to the causes of death and casting. 
The author concluded by calling attention to the very valu¬ 
able results obtained by the statistical method of investigation 
as applied to the horses of the army in France, and suggested 
that a similar course should be followed in our service, more 
especially with a view to test the actual value, as a measure 
of efficiency and economy, of the importation into our cavalry 
of horses imported from Hungary. He also pointed out the 
importance, as shown by the French returns, of stamping out 
glanders by killing all infected horses as soon as the nature 
of the disease is verified.— Journ. of the Statistical Society. 
VARIOLA EQUINA. 
We give insertion to the following communication extracted 
from the Montreal Gazette of March 1st, relating to the disease 
which has been designated Equine variola. We may remark 
that, prior to the paper coming to hand, we had written to Pro¬ 
fessor McEachran asking for some of the lymph from the vesi¬ 
cles, taken in the ordinary way on points, to be forwarded to us 
for experimental purposes. There are many statements in the 
letter which we are unable to account for as strictly belonging 
