194 
EDITORIAL. 
pneumonia, when a little careful reflection must convince any 
intelligent person that the results obtained in connection with this 
one disease are scarcely worthy to be put in comparison with 
those which follow systematic inoculation against the others ? 
We are convinced that very much of the blame is due to veter¬ 
inarians, who for lack of properly appreciating the value of the 
operation, have hesitated to put it into practice. The experiments 
first made against bacteridian anthrax by the method of Pasteur, 
with those that followed against symptomatic anthrax and hog 
cholera, have again and again proved their efficiency. It is true 
that in a few cases they were at first considered as failures, as in 
the early attempts made in Italy, but they soon became established 
in popular estimation. Recently, extensive experiments have been 
made in Germany with the virus of hog cholera, as prepared by 
the method of Pasteur, and immense success has again crowned 
the enterprise. 
Row, why is it that this plan of vaccination has acquired such 
an unquestioned .and established value in Europe, and why is it 
that it is so extensively adopted into practice ? It is because veter¬ 
inarians have been the first to urge its application, for in the 
various attempts which have been so happily successful, veteri¬ 
nary surgeons have been the active agents, in many cases strictly 
and exclusively, and in others less directly, acting in the character 
of representatives of the interests of the agricultural community. 
For the veterinarians of the United States, though we may be 
somewhat culpable for want of the same initiative, a fair excuse 
may probably be inferred from the query: “ Where can the vac¬ 
cine virus be obtained ? ” We have on various occasions published 
the different processes for preparing the material, but great diffi¬ 
culties attend the manipulation, and but few persons are found 
capable of making a vaccine virus of good quality. A gentleman 
engaged for years in this special work informed us a short time 
since that methods of preparation vary very much, and that the 
modus faciendi of to-day is very different from that of a year 
ago. 
Let us then but obtain the proper virus, and we are confident 
that our veterinarians will gladly put it to the trial. We take 
