§ 40. Mr. C. BATHURSTasked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is aware that in a report of an investigation of Johne's disease of cattle, part of the expenses of which have been defrayed by the Board, appearing in the 2178 Journal of Comparative Pathology for September, the whole of the section dealing with the cultivation of the bacillus of this disease, which is essential for the preparation of a specific diagnostic vaccine, is a repetition of the work of Messrs. Twort and Ingram, read before the Royal Society in February, 1912; whether he is aware that without Dr. Twort's initial discovery of a medium on which to cultivate the bacillus, this section of the report, read before the Royal Society on 17th November, 1910, could not have been written; whether in the Report upon Johne's disease lately issued for the research laboratory of the Royal Veterinary College, or in any other publication the Government investigators into this disease have been able to adduce any evidence to disprove Messrs. Twort and Ingram's claims as to the efficacy of their specific diagnostic vaccine; and, if so, whether he will explain why a subsidy out of the Development Fund for the further investigation of Johne's disease has been granted to the Royal Veterinary College and none to the original investigators?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANThe answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. A large part of the work described in the section dealing with the cultivation of the bacillus was carried out before February, 1912. With regard to the second part, it is impossible to state what would have been the result of independent attempts to cultivate the bacilli if Mr. Twort had not previously described a method by which this could be done. With regard to the third part, I am advised that the conclusions drawn by Messrs. Twort and Ingram regarding the relative value of different methods of diagnosis in Johne's disease are premature, and that they are not warranted by the evidence which has been published. The question of diagnosis forms an important part of the investigations in progress at the Royal Veterinary College. I feel bound to add that the question of the hon. Member seems to me to suggest that those who have been engaged on the investigations at the Royal Veterinary College have been less scrupulous than they should have been of the rights of other workers in the same field. I can find no evidence which justifies such a suggestion, and I hope that the hon. Member will be willing to disclaim it.
§ Mr. C. BATHURSTI made no such suggestion. I should like to know who 2179 will enjoy the commercial profit to be derived from the discovery of this medium?