637

sicken he will be removed to an isolation ward, wherehowever, no small-pox exists. Thus the patient is not

exposed to the risk of infection ; but should his complaintultimately prove to be small-pox, he will have beenisolated trom the community during the preliminary stagesof the malady. There is no power to enforce the com-

pulsory notification of infectious disease at Hull, but themedical practitioners of the town have shown the best dis-position to assist in every respect the sanitary authorities.It should also be stated, to the credit of the borough, that thestipend of the medical officer of health is sufficient to renderhim independent of private practice. There is, further, anumerous staff of inspectors. The staff consists of one

chief and two assistant inspectors, with diplomas from theSanitary Institute, and they have under them no less thaneleven ordinary inspectors. The population entrusted tothese officials is estimated at 191,501.

DISHORNING CATTLE.

THE Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals issometimes to be congratulated on its failures almost as

much as on its successes. This is at all events the light inwhich we are disposed to view the result of a case whichwas recently tried in the Sheriff’s Court at Cupar, Fife,and in which the Society’s agents brought a charge of

cruelty against a cattle dealer who lately performed on anextensive scale the operation of dishorning oxen. As manyof our readers are doubtless aware, this process consists in

sawing off, at or near the root, the horns of cattle which aregiven to fighting with and goring one another. It is not.

indeed, limited in its application to the case of vicious

animals, but is with some breeders a matter of routine, andit is by them most extensively carried out on the principlethat prevention is better than cure. The practice is unknownon the English side of the border, and is prevalent only insome of the midland counties of Scotland. Its advocates

profess to believe that it causes but little pain, though oneof them at the trial in question frankly admitted that hehad not thought it necessary to study the structure of a horn. The whole evidence for the defence in this trial, indeed,partook largely of the robust ignorance exhibited by this witness. Tne defence was that of a practice long rooted in icertain districts, and supported by prejudice and convenient 1custom. To anyone acquainted with the anatomy of a horn, the pain involved in sawing it through is obvious and 1

indubitable. The reasons why this should be so were 1

fully discussed by Professor Whalley of Edinburgh in theSheriff’s Court. He explained the nature of the vascularand sensitive bony core which traverses nearly the wholeinterior of the horn, and that of its equally tender investingmembrane-points in structure which cannot but render thework of amputation a very painful proceeding. He likewise ’described in detail several alternative methods by which the ipurpose thus aimed at can be effectually attained. These, we may mention in passing, include the isolation of the fcombative animals, which usually number only some two (

or three in a herd; the practice universally approved in sEngland and a great part of Scotland-that of fixmg a ball, 1

commonly of metal or wood, on the end of the horn, or of ]attaching a crossbar to both horns at their extremities; or,finally, that of " tipping,’’ or removing with a saw, the sharp, but comparatively insensitive, horn tips. His argumentand conclusions, seconded by the evidence of several practicaland scientific farmers, were sufficient to prove the case of the (

prosecution, and to show that the practice of dishorning isas needless as it is painful. The state of the thirty-seven f

catle operated on in this instance until the completion Iof the healing process was described by more than 1one witness, and constitutes in itself an important form i

ot evidence. The stumps of the horns, as might have ]

been expected, were suppurating, partly no doubt from therestlessness of the animals ; and in one case the sinuses ofthe adjacent bone were opened into. Notwithstanding thefacts adduced by the prosecution, however, the trial resultedin an acquittal; nor are we at a loss to explain this result,however singular it may appear at first sight. The fact of

cruelty, we may’say, was clearly proved, but the inten-tion to be cruel was not. The operator appears to have per-formed with reasonable care and skill a customary thoughpainful operation, and consequently was not held to beguilty of cruelty in a legal sense. The true remedy forthis unnecessary custom is not, therefore, it would seem,to be sought in the prosecution of individuals, but ina vital alteration of the law for the protection of animals.The Prevention Society is nevertheless to be congratulatedand commended for having, even in its defeat, raised a ques-tion of reform which we may rely upon the sense of thecountry and of Parliament to settle in a manner consistentwith the claims of humanity.

FEVER IN LONDON.

DURING the week ending Friday, March 23rd, 93 patientswere admitted into the hospitals of the MetropolitanAsylums Board, the number in the preceding week being105. The cases of last week consisted of 82 persons sufferingfrom scarlet fever and 11 from enteric fever, and there wereremaining in the hospitals at its close 1259 patients. It is note-worthy that no case of small-pox was admitted last week; ifthe disease is to have any special prevalence this spring, thisis the time of year when its tendency to spread should beexhibited, and its behaviour in the next few weeks willdoubtless be watched by the hospital authorities with someanxiety. At a meeting of the Metropolitan Asylums Boardon Saturday, Mr. Scovell, chairman of the Ambulance Com-mittee, presented the annual report of that branch of thehospital service, and stated that the land service had,during the last six months of 1887, removed fever patientsfrom their homes at the rate of 29’1 per diem, and thesteamers had run 5802 miles during the year. The workthrown on the ambulance service has evidently been

enormous, and its successful operations are largely due tothe ability of the chairman of the committee. By theresignation of Sir Edmund Currie the Managers lose oneof their most able colleagues, and a gentleman to whomthe metropolis is greatly indebted for some of the best workthe Board has pertormed ; he is succeeded by Mr. J. G. Talbot,M.P., who was proposed by Surgeon-General Bostock, C.B.

"IMITATIVE TETANUS."DR. VICENTE G-. GUANCHEZ, writing in the Revista

Cientifica de la Universidad Central de Venezuela, recordsa case of "neurosis tetanica," or "imitative tetanus," whichoccurred in a native of Caracas, a young man who hadalways enjoyed good health. The patient began to complainof pain in the calves of his legs which caused him con-siderable difficulty in walking. There was no fever, butthe pain increased, and some contraction of the flexormuscles of the leg occurred, rendering the man incapable ofwalking. Indeed, on the second day of the attack hecould not turn in bed without a good deal of pain. Hewas unable to sleep, and suffered from mental anxiety. Itwas then elicited that his brother, who lived at a little

distance, was suffering from tetanus, and that the patient,who went frequently to see him, had appeared to be greatlyaffected at the sight of his brother’s spasmodic attacks, andhad declared that he himself would die of the same malady.Dr. Guanchez, however, attributed the pains to rheumatism,whico. was common enough at the season when this occurred.He treated the man with anodyne liniments and jaborandi