408 
R. W. FINLAY. 
Nearly all the cattle that arrived at Glasgow May 31st, 1881, 
by the Allan steamer Phenecian, from Boston, were found to be 
affected with foot and mouth disease, “ anthrax,” and were de¬ 
stroyed, and their carcases boiled down. 
The many outbreaks of contagious diseases among milch 
cows during the last ten years have cost the tax-payers of this 
State to the tune of over one hundred thousand dollars for pleuro¬ 
pneumonia alone. 
A special report, No. 12, of the United States Department of 
Agriculture for 1879, refers to a tabular statement of losses of 
animals from infectious diseases for 1877, amounting to $16,658,- 
428, and as the years have rolled by statistics exhibit increased 
numbers, that cannot be contemplated without a growing feeling 
of alarm for the welfare of our herds. The financial interests of 
our stock raisers and flesh consumers is a matter worthy of con¬ 
sideration by our general government, from a politico-economic 
point of view, which fact ought to be strenuously impressed on our 
present Congress. 
What is the remedy proposed ? 
That stringent measures be adopted to counteract existing 
evils by the practical study of contagion and contagious diseases, 
which implies the investigation of the nature of the contagium, 
the mode by which it produces the phenomena of disease, and 
the method by which it is reproduced and conveyed from one ani¬ 
mal to another. 
Each disease and each contagium must be investigated on its 
own merits, and studied apart from others. 
Contagious diseases, apart from those known to be due to 
animal or vegetable parasites, may be divided into those which 
are specifically contagious and those which, though contagious, 
are variable in their action. 
The consideration of the former will sufficiently serve the pur¬ 
pose of this paper, leaving the latter for some other time. 
The specifically contagious always arise by the transmission of 
the virus from a previous case. They have a similar course to run, 
present similar symptoms and morbid process and reproduce 
similar cases. 
