§ MR. DARBY GRIFFITHsaid, he rose to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether the Government intend to take any steps for the prevention of the practice of the inoculation of sheep with the virus of sheep small-pox, or variola ovina, for the presumed object of mitigating the disease, on the principle of the actual prohibition in force against such practice in the case of the human subject, and to inquire what have been the results of the Government experiments of trying the effects of vaccination as a preventive of the sheep small-pox on a certain number of sheep obtained by the Government for that purpose? The disease first broke out about the end of June last year on a farm in the neighbourhood of Devizes, in Wiltshire. Professor Simmonds, who was called in, recommended inoculation of the 1367 flocks, but it was not attended with any advantage; on the contrary, nearly half the flock on which it was first tried was lost. The disease spread among the southdowns of Wiltshire, and there was a general panic in the county, for the whole sheep property was threatened. Shortly afterwards Professor Gamgee, from Edinburgh, was applied to, and inspected the flocks, but he took a very different view to Professor Simmonds, and recommended a separation of the infected sheep. The farmers of Wilts formed themselves into an association, for the purpose of insuring their flocks against loss, and of preventing the spread of the disease; and after inquiry into the subject they came to the decided opinion to discourage inoculation. The separation plan was practised with such success that the entrance fees to the association covered the losses, and no further contributions were required. The association also tried vaccination, and, as far as the experiment went, with great success, but of course very little could be done by a private company. Last winter there was a prospect of a very serious aggravation of the distress in the North from the spread of the disease amongst sheep, and he considered that the people of England were much indebted to the Wiltshire Society for the spirited manner in which they had carried out their experiments, which had probably prevented a great aggravation of the distress in the manufacturing districts. The Government had taken a vote for carrying out certain experiments with regard to the vaccination of sheep and cattle to be made by their agents, but they had not made any explanation to the House of the result of those experiments, which he considered they were bound to do before Parliament separated for the recess. He abstained from entering into the question of the importation of the disease, but no doubt the improved commercial intercourse consequent upon the extension of free trade principles must render the examination of cattle and sheep at the time of importation more difficult than it had been previously.
§ MR. LOWEsaid, that with regard to the experiments in vaccination, a great many had been tried by Mr. Marsden and Professor Simmonds, but unfortunately the results had been anything but successful. They had first of all tried the experiment of vaccination with the lymph of an Alderney cow, and subsequently exposed the animals to the chance of taking the smallpox; 1368 subsequently they tried the lymph from other breeds. Had the result of the experiments been at all successful, they would have been stated long before this time. Of course, as the experiments were still going on, it was impossible to give any decisive answer about them; but he was sorry to say that up to the present time they afforded but very little hope that vaccination would extend to sheep the same benefit it extended to the human body. With respect to the utility of inoculation the hon. Gentleman had correctly stated, that the experience of the late epidemic in Wiltshire was much against it, because in those flocks where inoculation was used twenty per cent of the sheep died; whereas in those where it was not used only 1.6 died. It was a question, however, whether it would be right absolutely to prohibit a man from inoculating sheep which were his own property, provided he took the precaution of separating them from other sheep in order to prevent the spread of the disease. But that question must be considered in connection with the general question of the diseases of cattle, which would have to be examined during the recess. He might, however, observe that it was the conviction of the scientific men who were investigating the subject, that no more imprudent thing could be done than to inoculate sheep.