ANTHRAX IN NATAL. 
273 
On farms, measures should be adopted to isolate sick animals 
of every kind, so that contagious matter may be brought under 
the influence of disinfecting: agents. 
Various kinds of drugs with antiseptic properties are of value, 
but in view of the difficulty of administration and other practical 
objections, they are not likely to be used to any extent. 
Fortunately, however, the patient and persistent investiga¬ 
tions of scientific men have led to the discovery of means which 
promise an easy and effectual solution of the difficulties, if rightly 
and systematically applied. To Professors Pasteur and Green¬ 
field, Dr. Buchner, and others, we are indebted for the discovery 
of modes of modifying the virulence of the contagium, by which 
means the disease can be produced in a mild form and animals 
rendered insusceptible to it for a time, in the same way as vac¬ 
cination for small-pox, and inoculation for lung sickness. 
The value of the protection conferred has been established by 
the most severe tests and convincing proofs. The benefit of such 
a course will be recognized by those who know how horses which 
have recovered from horse-sickness in the Transvaal can live in 
places that would be certain death to those unprotected. 
Until this question is dealt with properly under a comprehen¬ 
sive scheme, I can only recommend that during the prevalence of 
disease all animals should be kept on the highest pastures avail¬ 
able ; that places where the dead have laid and sickness has pre¬ 
vailed should be avoided as much as possible. I consider that 
stabled horses, wdien fed entirely on dry food, are not liable to 
horse-sickness ; but that they are equally susceptible if given grass 
or other matter containing the germs of the disease. 
In the vicinity of towns the risk of turning horses out to graze 
is great, on account of the extent to which the veldt is contami¬ 
nated ; hence the importance of having animals buried in en¬ 
closed spaces, under the supervision of or by the local authorities, 
will be apparent. 
In conclusion, I beg to point out that the investigation of 
disease is a most difficult matter, requiring prolonged and careful 
research, and the knowledge embodied in this paper is the result 
of the labors of many careful observers, who have noted and re- 
