§ DR. FARQUHARSON (Aberdeenshire, W.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture on what evidence the cases of canine hydrophobia recently reported in the Metropolitan district were diagnosed; how often was 1295 the certifying surgeon able to base his conclusions on (1) symptoms observed during life, and (2) an examination of the nervous centres of the suspected dog by the scientific methods practised at the Brown Institute; and whether the Department will in future require precise scientific detail before a dog is pronounced to be mad?
§ MR. WALTER LONGTen cases of rabies were reported in the Metropolitan District during the first two months of the present year. In every case a post-mortem examination was conducted by the veterinary inspector of the local authority, whilst in two of the cases the dogs were seen alive by veterinary surgeons, and in two others, inoculation experiments were made at the Brown Institution. It is essential that the declaration of disease should continue to be made by the veterinary inspector of the local authority as contemplated by the Act, but it is proposed that in each case a full report should be made by that officer for the information of my own veterinary advisers.