SOCIETY MEETINGS. 
93 
Dr. R. McLean had seen as much scratches and mud fever as 
ever lately, although there had been no cold or frost. It was a 
question if it was not due to some atmospheric influences. He 
did not consider it was contagious. 
Dr. J. D. Dixon favored the idea of its being epizootic; that it 
was possible to be so and yet not contagious; considered the cause 
was cold ; when frostbitten, the bad effects may not be developed 
for some considerable time after. To prove the possibility of this 
theory, he spoke of having one of his ears frost bitten, and not 
feeling the bad effects until six months after. One case he had 
treated, he traced the cause to ashes from a gas house; another 
had come under his notice, where the owner of a horse which 
was badly affected with the trouble under discussion, used the an¬ 
imal for carting manure. The animal’s feet were nearly all the 
time in it. The result was that the horse made a good recovery 
without any treatment. 
Dr. R. McLean could not see how it was possible that the 
disease could lay dormant for so long a time. 
Dr. Kemp referred to a case, where each leg was affected 
with mud fever, one after the other—as soon as the one was all 
right the other became affected. 
Dr. L. McLean questioned whether some of these cases were 
not confounded with equine variola. 
Dr. W. C. Bretherton asked how were cases to be accounted 
for that were met with in the summer. He had been called 
upon to treat cases during that time. 
Dr. Jas. L. Robertson thought Williams spoke of “ Mud 
Fever ” in his surgery. There were different results due to dif¬ 
ferent causes. The causes might yet be found to be parasitic; 
he was inclined to that belief, and, too, considered it might be 
contagions. 
Dr. E. Charum considered the disease was due more from 
irritation than cold; he held that mud fever and frost bites were 
two different troubles due from different causes, considered that 
the cold easterly winds had much to do with the outbreak. The 
treatment he used was dressing the parts with vaselihe, oxide 
