RINDERPEST. 
237 
their sale had been interdicted. But considerable doubt is thrown upon 
this story by the still more circumstantial account of Mr. Theobalds, that 
it was “ brought over from Holland, in April, 1745, by means of the white 
calves which a farmer at Poplar, near London, sent for in order to mix 
the breed.” On the other hand, Courtrivon and Vicq d’Azyr claim to 
have covered cows with hides taken from sick animals on the day of 
their death without conveying the disease. If we can place confidence 
in this and in the other statement of Vicq d’Azyr, that he had inocu¬ 
lated rinderpest successfully with pieces of skin from a carcass that had 
been interred three months, it places in a strong light the destructibil- 
ity of the poison in the free air, and its vitality when air. is excluded. 
But, happily, we are not left to base our decision on any such uncer¬ 
tain results. To the Russian Veterinarians we are indebted for the 
definite decision of this question as of so many others bearing on rin¬ 
derpest. 
Dr. Rawitsch says: 
Many experiments were made with dried skins and with hides that had been 
hung up in the open air and exposed during twenty-four hours. These skins 
neverprodticed a case of rinderpest. On the same cattle were afterwards placed fresh 
htdes , or they were inoculated with fresh virus, and they died. I appeal to Professor 
Jessen, who will confirm my statement. I believe, if we have exact information, 
that during twelve years not a single case of infection has occurred by means of 
dried skins. 
In the same connection, Dr. Jessen remarks : 
I beg leave to say a few words with regard to the disinfection of skins. . . . 
I must state that every hide that has been dried at a heat of 40 ° to 50 ° Reaumur 
( 122 0 to 144 . 5 ° Fahr.) is incapable of producing infection. . . . Professor 
Branell has made many attempts at inoculation with dried skins and dried hair ; 
but whenever they were inoculated after forty-eight hours , in no case was infection the 
result. No practical Veterinarian will at present doubt that by means of dry hair 
as well as dry hides, anthrax may be propogated. I ask them can one instance be 
adduced in which, by means of dry skins, or their export beyond the Russian or 
any other frontier, the rinderpest has spread. If not one instance can be enumer¬ 
ated, then dried skins ought under all circumstances to be imported free.—(Inter¬ 
national Veterinary Congress at Vienna.) 
It need only be added that this Congress, composed of the most 
eminent Veterinarians in Europe, sent by their respective governments 
to discuss the various subjects pertaining to veterinary sanitary police, 
unanimously agreed to recommend hard dried hides as an article of com¬ 
merce on which no restriction should be placed, when the question was 
one of the propagation of rinderpest. 
It would be easy to amplify such evidence, and to give the details 
of particular experiments, but I have preferred to give the evidence in 
the concrete, and to supplement it with the well-considered conclusion 
