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than the initial cost to the Local Authority. The two methods are not strictly comparable, because, whereas the second of them would almost certainly soon lead to the complete eradication of the disease, there would be no such certainty that the same result would be obtained by the first method. When in the case of any given out­break the whole stud has been tested, and all the clinically affected and the reacting animals have been killed, it is easy to calculate the cost of dealing with that outbreak, for the initial expense is the only one. But who can say what may be the ultimate cost of dealing with an outbreak in which the reacting animals are left alive, and subject to no restrictions except that they must not be stabled with healthy horses, and must not be sold except to the knacker? The degree of supervision that would be necessary to obviate the risk of infection from these semi-isolated animals in a large town is practically impossible, and it is highly probable that in some cases they would be the means of spreading the disease to fresh studs. Besides, it must be remembered that the cost to the owner as well as the expense to the Local Authority must be taken into consideration in this connection. If one might accept the Glasgow results as typical of what is to be expected from the method that was there employed, that system of dealing with out­breaks would obviously be most economical to both· owner and Local Authority, but if things are likely to work out as they did in London many owners would doubtless prefer to have the reacting animals promptly slaughtered, even if only quarter value were paid in compensation.

There can be 110 question that in dealing with isolated outbreaks outside of London and a few other large towns the wisest plan is to apply the mallein test to all the horses in the infected stable, and to insist upon the prompt slaughter of every animal that reacts, reasonable compensation being, of course, allowed to the owner. The great difficulty in the way of adopting this method in London lies in the large number of studs that are already more or less affected with the disease, and the great initial expense that would have to be in­cUlTed in the way of compensation. It is certain, however, that the flux of time will not lessen this difficulty, and that the present method of temporising with the disease cannot be continued indefinitely.

ABORTION IN MARES.

REPORTS which have reached us from different parts of England and \,vales prove that during the present year cases of abortion among mares have been exceptionally frequent. In some localities the number of mares foaling prematurely has been so great as almost to warrant the use of the term" Epizootic abortion," although, in the

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absence of distinct evidence of contagion or infection as a factor in the case, its employment is admittedly inadvisable.

If one may judge from the scanty references to the subject in veterinary lite rature, abortion among equine females has hitherto seldom occurred in circumstances that pointed to contagion as the cause. In an article which appeared in a former number of this Jour1lal (Vol. VI!., p. 362 ), Professor Penberthy stated that certain facts that had come under his notice had led him to believe" that enzootic abortion among mares is contagious, and that contagion is often conveyed from affected to healthy situations by mares which have aborted, and from m are to mare in breeding establishments, by attendants, etc.; also that p laces may become and remain for some time contaminated by the residence of aborting mares, etc." This opinion was supported by an account of a few cases in which the introduction into a breeding stud of a mare, or mares, that had recently aborted was soon followed by the abortion of a considerable number of the pregnant ma res belonging to the stud.

We have referred to the subject here mainly with the object of inducing veterinary surgeons who may be in the possession of similar evidence, or indeed of any evidence at all, bearing on the cause of abortion among mares to be good enoug h to send us an account of their observations. It is perfectly certain that if contagion is the ordinary cause when a large number of mares abort in the same locality or stud, the ascertainable facts do not always make this clear. The same may, of course, be said regarding occasional outbreaks of diseases that are universally admitted to be spread by contagion, and by contagion only; but in the case 0f such diseases the operation of contagion is often obvious, and never certainly excluded by the circumstances. It would perhaps be going too far to say that it is common to find outbreaks of abortion among mares in circumstances that exclude the possibility of contagion, but, on the other ha nd , we are inclined to think that the evidence pointing to contag ion as the starting-point of an ou tbreak is seldom so strong as to be convincing.

In most of the cases that have recently been brought under our notice the act of abortion was accom panied by most serious con­stitutional disturbance on the part of the mare, and in not a few cases death occurred within a day or two a fte r the foal was expelled. In this respect the disease st ands in marked contrast to the so-called epizootic abo rtion among cows, in which, as' is well known, the fcetu s is generally ex pelled with abnormal ease, and without any serious disturbance o f the general health of the cow. In the mare there is a marked t endency to metritis of a very alarming character after the foal has been expelled, and a lso to pneumonia and laminitis. More­over, serious symptoms o n the part of the mare. including a high temperature, are sometimes the firs t indication that abortion is

REVIEWS. 15.3

impending. The foal is generally dead, but perfectly fresh, although the metritis that follows is usually of a putrid type. The course of events is certainly such as to suggest to the mind a bacterial invasion of the \vomb, determining the death and expulsion of the foal, and after that a severe attack of metritis, with, sometimes, metastasis to the lungs or feet.

It must not be forgotten that even on the view that the essential factor in the causation of the abortion is a bacterial invasion of the womb, it does not follow that every outbreak has contagion for its starting-point. It is conceivable that the first of a series of abortions in the same stud may have had a sporadic origin, that is to say, the offending bacterium may previously have been leading a saprophytic existence in the soil or elsewhere outside the animal body. The first case might thus be independent of any antecedent one, although it served as the starting-point of an outbreak in which all the subsequent cases were due to contagion. However, as we have already said, we write with the object of collecting from those who possess it the information necessary to guide to a correct conclusion regarding the etiology of the disease.

Walley's Guide to Meat Inspection. Fourth Edition. Re-written and enlarged by Stewart Stockman, M.R.C.V.S., Professor of Pathology and Lecturer on Hygiene and Meat Inspection, Dick Veterinary College, Edinburgh. Edinburgh and London: Young J. Pentland, 1901.

As is well known, the late Professor \Valley was an enthusiast on the subject of meat inspection, and he ranked as the first authority on it in this country. The first edition. of his text-book laid down for the first time in the English language the principles upon which rational and scientific meat inspection ought to be conducted. The ready sale which this and the succeeding two editions met with may be accepted as proof of the usefulness of the book, but without any disparagement of the work as it originally appeared it may'be said that the present edition is greatly superior to its predecessors. The original matter has been re-written, expanded, and brought up to date, and a large number of illustrations have been added. All the abnormalities which arc likely to be encountered in the bodies of the animals slaughtered for food purposes are dealt with, and at a length proportional to their importance from a hygienic point of view. As might have been expected, tuberculosis comes in for a large share of attention, and a most excellent account is given of the pathology of the disease, and of the principles that ought to guide the procedure of a meat inspector in dealing with the carcases and organs of tuberculous animals. The work cannot fail to enhance the Editor's reputation as a teacher and an author, and we can strongly recommend it to students and practical meat inspectors.