COMMENCEMENTS 
63 
causes have been assigned to it, such as hot weather, change of 
climate from a cold to a hot, etc.; but statistics prove that it 
occurs oftener in the winter than summer, and that native dogs 
are as liable to it as those imported. The symptoms of the dis¬ 
ease were graphically described, and the speaker impressed upon 
his hearers the necessity of being able to distinguish between it 
and an attack of epilepsy. Many dogs, especially pet dogs fed 
upon meat, were subject to epileptic fits, and sometimes excited 
in the minds of their owners the fear that they were mad. He 
had no doubt many valuable dogs had been destroyed from such 
a mistake. It was commonly supposed that mad dogs were 
afraid of water. Such is not the case. Mad dogs are often very 
thirsty, and will attempt to drink, but owing to paralysis of the 
muscles of the throat are unable to swallow. Cases are also on 
record of mad dogs swimming across streams in order to attack 
men or animals on the other side. I'ear of water is sometimes, 
but not always-, a symptom of the disease in man, and the name 
hydrophobia should, therefore, be discarded as a misnomer. 
A lively discussion followed, and the chairman gave an account 
of some interesting cases which had come under his notice, not 
of rabies, which he had never seen, but of the effects produced 
on the minds of nervous persons when bitten by a dog they sup¬ 
posed to be mad. The disease, he was happy to say, was almost 
entirely unknown in Montreal and Canada generally, although 
cases of simple epilepsy sometimes gave rise to sensational 
rumors. 
A vote of thanks to the essayists was passed, and the meeting 
adjourned. (From the Montreal Gazette.) 
ONTARIO VETERINARY COLLEGE, TORONTO, CANADA. 
The closing exercises at this institution took place on Thursday 
and Friday in the large museum of the college. A large number 
of students presented themselves for examination. The large 
proportion of successful candidates speaks well for the thorough¬ 
ness and efficiency of the instruction given. The Board of Exam- 
