194 
F. 8. BILLINGS. 
I 
tury.—(Kussmaul Bolin.) Authors have previously considered 
this disease to be a true variola; or, also apth® epizootic®.—Her- 
ing. I do not for a moment doubt that this nominal variol® was 
anything other than rinderpest, especially as several distinguished 
investigators of the present day—Murchison and Sanderson— 
have from their own studies of this disease been led to the con¬ 
clusion that the rinderpest stands in very close (characteristic 
13 ?) relationship with variola humana vera. (See 3d Report of 
Eng.Commissioners on Cattle Plague, 1866.) For the differential 
diagnosis of variola vaccina vera, the accidental transmission to 
man frequently offers a very safe indicator, and this property is 
essentially valuable, because the diagnosis is frequently rendered 
difficult by the already mentioned typical course of v. vaccina, 
the same having been frequently enough taken for varicella-like, 
or emphyzematous variol®. When milkers have insignificant in¬ 
juries upon their fingers, they offer very favorable subjects for 
accidental inoculation ; the seat of the variola is generally the 
end joint of the finger, the hands, the arms, much less fre¬ 
quently upon other parts, as the feet, the nasal extremity. 
Before we turn ourselves to the consideration of the genesis of 
v. vaccina it seems appropriate for us to briefly consider the local 
and periodical appearance of variol®, as well as the relations of 
the dispositional sexual relations of cattle to v. vaccina. The in¬ 
frequency with which v. vaccina comes to observation may be 
drawn from our previous remarks. According to Heriug, in 
Wuerttemberg, in the course of ten years—1827-1837—eighty- 
four cases of v. vaccina vera were recorded—with successful 
transmission to man,—and beside that 208 cases which were 
probably the true disease, by which the transmission to man in 
part proved negative, and in part was not attempted ; an average 
of thirty cases per year. In 1873 there were indicated in Wuert- 
tenberg 39 cases, in 1874, 28 cases of v. vaccina. There is no 
reason to doubt that the disease is as frequent an occurrence in 
other parts. The only way to acquire an accurate statistical 
knowledge of such diseases is to call the attention, and make it 
the duty of every veterinarian and breeder to report such cases, 
and to excite the latter to more earnestness in such matters by 
