CORRESPONDENCE. 
293 
. ^ Schmidt theory is that there is some morbid action of 
the milk cells and m some way a poisonous substance is pro¬ 
duced there that causes the paralysis that we call milk-fever It 
is really a poisoning of the system. I do not sse that the treat- 
ment can be readily applied by the unskilled or by ordinary 
doctors, but m the hands of good veterinarians it seems to me 
it promises to be a great and valuable discovery. 
Champaign Co ., O. Joseph E. Wing. 
veterinary legislation at the golden gate. 
. Oakland, Cad., May 15th, 1899. 
baitors American Veterinary Review : 
Dear Sirs : After having read the correspondence which 
appeared 111 your May issue over the signature of Dr. A. T. 
eters, I am tempted to relate our experience in legislative 
matters m as concise a manner as possible. 
For the past ten or eleven years a few veterinarians in 
California have been struggling for the enactment of laws that 
would control the ravages of contagious and infectious diseases 
peculiar to our domesticated animals, and up to about six or 
seven months ago no apparent result was made manifest. Dur¬ 
ing the past three or four years we have been endeavoring- to 
prevail upon the State Board of Health to take an active 
interest in these matters with a view of obtaining later on 
representation on said Board. We heartily agree with 
Dr. Peters, that the proper way to handle these matters is 
through a State Board of Health composed of physicians and 
\eterinarians. We did not hope or dream of accomplishing this 
at once, but thought it likely that after the State Board of 
Heal h, as it is now constituted, had a little more experience in 
landlmg diseases of animals they would realize the necessity of 
having veterinarians with them on the Board. Following out 
this idea last year we prevailed upon the State Board of Health 
to take some action in the premises, which they did by appoint¬ 
ing a veterinarian to make an investigation of the condition of 
ive-stock 111 the State with regard to the prevalence of con¬ 
tagious and infectious diseases, with a view of using the data 
and statistics obtained through an investigation to procure suit¬ 
able legislation at the hands of our law-makers, as nothing could 
. e accomplished under the laws existing at that time. Unfor¬ 
tunately for the movement, political complications had closed 
our S ate printing establishment, so little could be done towards 
educating our legislators on the needs of the State in this par- 
