538 
EDITORIAL. 
The diseases to which reference is made are probably either 
plenro-pneumonia or tuberculosis—affections winch the sanitary 
reports indicate as prevailing more or less in various parts of 
New York and other States. 
This error, therefore, can be to a great extent ignored, and 
veterinarians who have read must have smiled at the news thus 
brought to them. 
But what is not to be ridiculed, is the serious part of the 
statement, viz.: “ The Assembly has granted an appropriation of 
$5,000 to be used in suppressing the disease.” If this is correct, 
we never heard of it, and certainly it is a shameful thing that an 
appropriation to that amount should have been made—for what % 
to suppress the disease. Would $5,000 be sufficient to stop the 
progress of a disease of the nature of rinderpest, which has cost 
millions to England ? And as it is not rinderpest, of what use 
will that amount of money be to suppress pleuro-pnoumonia or 
tuberculosis, if such are the diseases referred to, when all sound 
sanitary measures indicated against those affections are brilliant 
b} r their absence ? 
It is another of those jobs which so commonly find their origin 
in Albany, for which funds are provided without necessity, and 
which find their way into the pockets of all but those who are 
directly interested. 
It is not probable that veterinary authorities have been con¬ 
sulted about the true nature of the disease; it is less probable 
that they will be employed to do the work for which the appro¬ 
priation was made, or, if they are, we are satisfied that our con¬ 
temporary will soon have to correct the statement, and with us 
ask that the $5,000 be given for some better purpose. 
UNITED STATES VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION AND MAS¬ 
SACHUSETTS VETERINARY ASSOCIATION. 
As will be seen by a notice of Dr. Michener, secretary of the 
U. S. V. M. Ass., the regular semi-annual meeting of that body 
will take place as usual on the third Tuesday of March, at 4 p. m., 
when the regular routine of business, papers, discussions and dinner 
will take place. 
