692 
SOCIETY MEETINGS. 
looked upon in another light than this, principally by those 
engaged in the live stock trade, and causes some little annoy¬ 
ance in its practical application. One man thinks that the in¬ 
spection should be conducted at some other time or place, so 
that the other fellow shoulders the loss, and another thinks 
that having passed one inspection, they are “ immune,” so to 
speak, against another. 
With reference to actinomycosis, a great change of sentiment, 
has taken place within the last few years. The time was when 
an animal showing an enlargement anywhere on the head was 
condemned without any regard whatever to his physical appear¬ 
ance or to the probable conditions to be found on post-mortem 
examination. Members of the profession were indiscriminate 
in their condemnations, and the result was that thousands of 
dollars worth of wholesome meat was consigned to the grease 
factory, the greater part of the loss falling on the producer. It 
is different now ; we are not willing to risk an opinion till after 
a post-mortem examination. The conditions then appearing 
lead us to a conclusion. The lesions of the disease in cattle are 
generally confined to the jaw, although the actinomyces have 
been found in the lungs and other organs, where they form more 
or less voluminous and irregular tumors, calcified or purulent, 
and somewhat yellow in color. In the lungs it may resemble 
tuberculosis, and in distinguishing between ‘the two I prefer 
trusting to the microscope than to the naked eye. Localized, it 
does not render the meat unhealthy, except when on the jaw it 
interferes materially in mastication, deglutition and the general 
nutrition of the animal. A fistula discharging into the mouth 
contaminates the aliment, and may cause general dissemination. 
In some of the other animals it affects a different form. In the 
pig, for instance, it has been seen in the muscular system and 
various other regions, appearing as small abscesses formed by 
the actinomyces. Such meat, it is needless to state, ought to be 
condemned. 
With reference to tuberculosis we note that it is not very 
plentiful among the cattle of the West. Among swine it 
seems to have gained a foothold. In the slaughter-house it 
mostly interests us in so far as it renders the flesh dangerous. 
Opinions vary greatly as to the healthfnlness or unhealthfulness • 
of tuberculous flesh. In Europe where the disease is rampant, 
and where the price of meat is almost beyond the reach of the 
poorer classes, the matter of the disposition of tubercular flesh 
becomes largely an economic question. Confiscation of all tu- 
