Essays / by George John Romanes, edited by C. Lloyd Morgan.

  • Romanes George John, 1848-1894.
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Essays / by George John Romanes, edited by C. Lloyd Morgan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    which provides that all dogs suspected of rabies shall be immediately killed, as also all animals which it is evident have been bitten by rabid animals; and that all dogs in a district which has been infected by an outbreak of rabies shall be confined, or, when abroad, both muzzled and led. The technical section of the Veterinary Board in Berlin are of opinion that the passing of this law, and not only the existence of the muzzling order in that city, is the cause of the extinction of rabies in Berlin ; no case has occurred there since 1883. Some words of comment on this paragraph of the report are desirable. It is quite true that in the year following the muzzling decree in Berlin the number of rabid dogs killed fell from ninety-seven to one. But to this it ought to be added that, if we look to the full statistics themselves, as supplied to the British Government by Prince Bismarck, we find that they began in 1846, or eight years before the muzzling order was made. Now, by quoting these years in parallel columns, we obtain the following results ;— Rabid dogs killed during eight Rabid dogs killed during eight years before muzzling. years after muzzling 1846 . . • 29 1854 . . . I 1847 . . 3 1855 • • • 3 ]848 . . . 13 1856 . . . 0 1849 . . • 24 1857 • • • 3 1850 . . • 23 1858 . . . 0 1851 . . • 34 1859 . . . 2 1852 . . . 107 i860 . . . 0 1853 • . • 97 1861 . • • 5 1862 . . . I Total . 0 1 Total • • 15