218 
S. WILTSHIRE. 
medical men and veterinarians have contributed very valuable 
information on the subject. 
In England, the investigations of Dr. Greenfield, at the Brown 
Institution, have been of special value, particularly to us, in the 
case of our horse-sickness, which he produced in mice by inocu¬ 
lating them with material supplied from here during the Zulu 
war, and in which he proved that my observations as to the 
presence of bacteria in the blood were correct, as he succeeded 
in cultivating the organism to several generations, showing it to 
be a true “ bacillus. Within the last few months he has further 
succeeded in producing in cattle a modified form of anthrax, 
which rendered them proof against the disease (melt-sickness in 
this case) when exposed to it at a place where it had broken out 
on a farm, contaminated by the water from a wool-sorting estab¬ 
lishment, where several cases of “ malignant pustule ” had occurred 
amongst the men employed there. The immunity of these ani¬ 
mals was further confirmed by direct inoculation. 
While referring to the causes—known and supposed—giving 
rise to these diseases, it is only right to refer to the opinion that 
prevails throughout South Africa as to the origin of horse-sick¬ 
ness, viz., “ that it is due to miasma,” or u that it is contained in 
the dew.” 
Many South African farmers assert that, if horses are not 
turned out till the dew is off the grass, and are brought in before 
sunset, they will escape. Another very successful horse breeder 
says, “ that by keeping his horses in till sunset, and bringing 
them in again before sunrise, he has not lost a horse for years.” 
I leave it to others to reconcile these theories, and merely add 
that the fallacy of the first is proved by actual experience. Mr. 
Lambert, in his report on this subject last year, upheld this 
malarial theory by asserting that “ when watery vapor rises by 
evaporation, they—the germs—are entangled in it and float in it.” 
On this and some other points, however, I differ from him, as I 
am of opinion that solid particles as these germs are, when 
wetted, more likely to sink than rise. The influence of a wet 
summer in the production of horse-sickness is, I believe, generally 
recognized, but I think it will be admitted that, even in a dry 
summer like we have just experienced, there is sufficient watery 
