§ DR. FARQUHARSON (Aberdeenshire, W.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether, considering the persistent vitality of, the bacilli of anthrax, and more especially of their spores, as proved by the researches of Rastem and others, he will impress on Local Authorities the importance of burning the bodies of animals infected with this disease?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE (Mr. H. GARDNER,) Essex, Saffron WaldenThe objection to burning the bodies of animals affected with anthrax is that without costly and elaborate appliances the operation entails the cutting up of the carcase and its movement to a convenient place, both of which acts are obviously undesirable. On this account we have advised Local Authorities that burial is the least dangerous method of disposing of bodies in such cases. As my hon. Friend is probably aware, the microbe in anthrax is aerobic, and cannot therefore live without air, and I am informed that it has been demonstrated that it does not retain its vitality in a carcase which has been burned without having been cut.