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THE METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET.(Concluded from page 731.)

IT strikes one as a curious disposition of the Ministerialwork that a knowledge of the movements of diseased sheepand beasts on the continent of Europe and in Englandshould form a part of the task allotted to the Minister ofEducation. But so it is ; and, as Mr. Forster told his con-stituents at Bradford the other day, it is a matter of vastimportance to know how to deal with the importation ofcattle so as to prevent diseases from being communicatedto animals in this country.The cattle plague ceased in 1867, the weekly return of

the llth of September of that year containing the last

cases. The total number of beasts attacked was 278,927;and that of healthy animals slaughtered to prevent the spreadof infection was 56,911. The parliamentary vote for com-pensation to the owners of cattle amounted to .825,000. Thecattle plague read us several lessons,-some of which weare, and some we are not, likely readily to forget. Amongthe former we may reckon, perhaps, the worthlessness ofthe theories as to the nature and treatment of the diseasein which irresponsible persons indulged in the daily press,to the detriment of the public interests, and the embarrass-ment of the few whose advice, as it proved, was of any realbenefit. Those who know least about a subject are oftenreadiest with advice ; and ignorance, and readiness to giveand listen to advice, are not likely to die out. Among thelessons which we shall not forget was the indubitable proofthe epidemic afforded that the disease depended upon ablood-infecting virus, capable of being reproduced withinthe body of animals under its influence, and of being trans-mitted from place to place with the same facility that wecan convey a portable material endowed with sensible pro-perties. Knowing this, the Government will scarcely failto be on their guard against its introduction in future.The following table will afford an idea of the extent and

relative proportion of native and foreign sources of supply.

In looking over the return furnished to Parliament in1868, on the past and present supply of live and dead meatto this country and to the metropolis, which has been issued z,by the Veterinary Department of the Privy Council, we areat once struck with the large amount which comes fromHolland, Germany, France, and Belgium; the first-namedcountry occupying the most prominent place. ,

We saw a well-marked specimen of diseased lung from anox which had suffered during life from the contagious formof pleuro-pneumonia. It presented an appearance exactlysimilar to that of hepatisation in the human subject. Casesdiffer a good deal in the extent of lung involved; but itseems that a suppurative or softening stage is not usuallyreached. This kind of pulmonary disease in oxen is easilydetermined by the dulness on percussion which accom-panies it. So far as is at present known, treatment is notof much avail-we should have added of none whatever, butfor the statement made by the Government inspector, tothe effect that carbolic acid was the only agent which hadapparently proved successful, when administered internallyand spread about the sheds mixed with sawdust.In going through the lairs of animals-oxen, sheep, and

pigs, in separate divisions,-we were agreeably struck with

the degree of cleanliness which was maintained. Themarket is of large size, covering altogether about seventyacres. It is placed on a gradual incline, so that its drainageis rendered easy, and the officials trust entirely to waterand air as purifying agents. To a man at all accustomed tothe fine, well-bred sheep of England, the display in themarket was the reverse of gratifying. The Leicester andSouth Down breeds were conspicuous by their absence, andwe did not see a single animal that came up to our mark.If you were to go into any butcher’s shop, and ask for Welshmutton, you would get something so named supplied; but itwould, nine times out of ten, not be Welsh mutton. Pro-

bably it would be obtained from the Merino breed, of whichwe saw a large number in the market. The German varietyis a large ugly-looking sheep. It has long legs, a big whiteface, and a goat-like conformation of head. Small-pox isprobably the most important contagious disease of sheep.In passing, we may say that parasitic diseases are commonenough in them. The CosiMM’Ms cerebralis forms one ofthese; but we understood our guides that they had neverseen a specimen of the Cysticercus temicollis in the brainof sheep.And now a word or two about cheap meat. This is the

question of the day. How many of our poor in Englandseldom eat meat at all; and how much more numerous isthe class who are compelled to consume only an insufficientamount of it, and that of an inferior quality. Power towork, power to resist disease and to recover from its at-tacks, depends a great deal on the ability to procure beef-steaks and beef-tea. We cannot say that the informationwe gleaned was calculated to reassure us. There appearedto be a scepticism amounting to positive incredulity, on thepart of those we questioned, as to our being soon enabledto procure meat at a reasonable, much less a cheap, price.The law of the Medes and Persians altereth not; andbutchers are, in their way, as inexorable. Between thewholesale market prices and those of the retail butcherthere is a difference wide enough to explain the very profit-able nature of the butcher’s trade. When we asked how itwas that in this, as in other things, matters did not findtheir own level by competition, we were told that it wouldtake a week to understand it all. It was a monopoly, nodoubt, but one altogether peculiar. During the cattleplague, when beasts worth ,815 had to be slaughtered, andbecame only worth £ 5; when the market was glutted withdead meat, arising from compulsory and wholesale slaugh-ter,-the butchers kept up their prices, and if the publiccomplained of them, the answer was ready and convincing :" the cattle plague." But, we urged, there is the threatenedinvasion of meat from abroad-from Australia and SouthAmerica. If the supply from those sources can be procuredin large quantity, the price of meat must undergo rapiddiminution. No: the butchers would buy it all up them-selves, perhaps; but cheap meat would not be procurable,in the opinion of those we questioned. Here is a task forMr. Forster, the Minister of Education. It is fitting, per-haps, that the two things should go together-supplies forbody and mind. It is Cobbett’s remark that he wanted tosee everybody able to eat bacon, if not to read Bacon.Here are a few facts as to what the prices of provisionswere when proclaimed by the Corporation in 1363, in Nor-man French :-A spaude (shoulder) of roast mutton, 2½ d. abrusket of roast mutton, 2½d.; a capon, baked in a pasty, 7d.,a roast goose, 7d.; the best carcase of mutton, 2s. ; the bestloigne of beef, 5d. ; the best pestelle (leg) of pork, 3d. ; thebest loigne of pork, 3d.

PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

REPRESENTATION OF THE PROFESSION IN THE FORTHCOMINGFRENCH PARLIAMENT.

FRANCE has just traversed its electioneering period withunusual spirit and animation. Yesterday and the day be-fore, the bureaux de scrutin were in full operation, and atthe time I write the results of the election are being pub-lished throughout the whole land. Among the candidatesof all shades of political opinion who have presented them-

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selves for nomination, there exists a somewhat large num-ber of medical men. M. Bouley, veterinary surgeon andmember of the Institute and Paris Academy of Medicine,has been canvassing at Alfort, the seat of the VeterinaryCollege, of which he is the director. Though well known

to and fully appreciated by the rural population of theneighbourhood of Alfort, through his duties as a veterinarysurgeon, his efforts have proved quite unsuccessful beforethe popularity of Pelletan, the well-known Radical member.M. Berrier-Fontaine, physician to the Emperor, has alsobeen soliciting the votes of the second circumscription ofParis, in opposition to M. Thiers; but his candidature hasbeen still less successful. In the provinces, however, it isfully expected that a fair number of medical candidates willbe returned. It is curious to observe that their election is

strictly political, and has nothing to do with the desire ofseeing the medical interest well represented in Parliament.The public is not at all alive to the importance of havingthe sanitary questions of the day discussed by competentpersons. It must be confessed that the profession in Franceis most singularly apathetic in all such matters. It doesnot even think of sending a few of its members to Parlia-ment with the object of having medical interests andmedical corporations well represented beside the countlesslawyers, journalists, engineers, retired military men, andland proprietors, who compose the lower House; and there-fore it makes no use whatever of its great and legitimateinfluence in this direction. Still less does the professionestimate the advantages which would accrue to the generalpublic by the better elucidation of all the sanitary matterstouching which the French Chambers are called upon tolegislate. All such considerations are completely absentfrom the minds of medical practitioners in France, and thewhole energies of the best men seem to be absorbed by thedesire of making to themselves a scientific reputation or ofacquiring an extensive practice. This state of things, ap-plying specially to the present elections, is the more to beregretted, as the forthcoming Parliament will be calledupon to consider the medical institutions of the country, atotal reform of which is now being discussed.PROFESSOR CLAUDE BERNARD AND THE FRENCH SENATE.

In my last chronicle but one I mentioned the appoint-ment of the celebrated French physiologist to a seat inthe Imperial Senate. It appears that the idea of the ad-visability of this appointment arose in connexion with ’,the warm discussion which took place some time ago in ’,the Senate in relation to certain petitions demanding ’,the right of free teaching throughout France, on the ground that the official teaching of the Faculties, especially

’’

that of Paris, was deeply tainted with materialistic doc-trines. During the discussion, the names of several savants,and above all that of Claude Bernard, were frequentlyuttered by the orators, who showed, as was natural, muchinexperience of the different scientific views which theywished to incriminate or to defend. It became evident thatthe defence of scientific interests, as well as of the scientifictendencies of the day, had better be placed in competenthands; and the appointment of some French savant pos-sessed of a high and undisputed authority on all scientificsubjects, was decided upon. For holding such a seat, nobetter choice could have been made than that of ClaudeBernard. His high reputation and special character as asavant better fit him for the duties of representing thecause and interest of general science in the Senate thanNelaton, who is more strictly a surgeon; than Dumas,whose labours, though of the highest value, have been ex-clusively devoted to chemistry; and than Conneau, whoseexperience is confined to the practice of medicine. ClaudeBernard’s position in the Senate may therefore be comparedwith that of Frerichs or Rokitansky in the House of Lordsof Vienna.

It is undeniable that Claude Bernard’s novel position, inthe various connexions which it will establish between him-self and the authorities, will put him in the way of render-ing good service to the progress of science in this country.This ambition he has already expressed to the Emperor, bywhom he was received a few days ago; and, amongst otherdetails of this interview, it appears that the Emperor lis-tened with extreme interest to Claude Bernard’s relation ofall the great things which are being done in Germany forthe progress of science, and was not a little struck by the

statement that a sum of three millions had been accordedby the Prussian Government to the laboratories of Bonnand Berlin.

CONTElIIPLATED REFORMS AT THE PARIS SCHOOL OF

MEDICINE.

The recent agitation of the students will probably havethe beneficial effect of being followed by the introductionof some changes in the present curriculum of the Faculty.It is not through the pressure exerted upon them bythe students that the professors have taken up an inquiryinto the innovations which may be adopted. The Facultyhas been considering various plans for reforming the pre-sent curriculum during several years past. But the agita-tion of the students, though much to be blamed on accountof its disorderly character, has at least given fresh momen-tum to the general desire for altering the present plan ofstudies. The adoption of a new curriculum, however,whether the reform be very extensive or very limited, can-not take place immediately, as it requires the ordinary runof legislative procedure to modify the existing order ofthings, in however slight a degree.The innovations suggested to the Government by the

Faculty will certainly include the abolition of one of thethree examinations on Chemistry, Natural Philosophy, andNatural History. I am glad to find, in an article publishedin La Gazette Hebdomadaire, that the plan which will doubt-less be adopted in regard to this special examination on theaccessory sciences is very similar to the one which I sug-gested in my last letter-namely, a severe examination onthe sciences at the outset of the student’s curriculum, thuslaying a sure scientific foundation for his future studies,and thus leaving him undisturbed in his subsequent learn-ing of anatomy, physiology, pathology, clinical medicine,&c., and then an interrogation on the medical applicationsof the sciences when the student goes up, four or five yearslater, for his examinations in physiology, materia medica,therapeutics, forensic medicine, &c.The only difference between the plan mentioned by Dr.

Dechambre as being destined to be adopted and the onewhich I have suggested is the following, which I consider,however, to be very important: the examination in che-

mistry, natural philosophy, &c., which would take place atthe outset of the curriculum, is styled "medical chemistry,medical natural philosophy," &c. I confess I do not see howa student can well understand the medical connexion of

chemistry, &c., without knowing something of the severalbranches of medicine proper (physiology, materia medica,therapeutics, &c.) ; and I think he had better be interro-gated at the outset on pure chemistry, pure natural philo-sophy, &c., and only at a later period on the medical appli-cation of these sciences, with which he will have becomeacquainted whilst studying physiology, pathology, thera-peutics, medical jurisprudence, &c.

Though the third of the five examinations for the Docto-rate would be abolished, according to the scheme in con-templation at the Faculty, the whole of the five examina-tions would yet be maintained, only their character andorder would be altered. The first and second would remainas they are ; the third would take in hygiene, legal medi-cine, therapeutics, and pharmacology; the fourth wouldconsist in a clinical examination on medicine, includingtherapeutics and the art of prescribing; whilst the fifthwould be also conducted at the patient’s bedside, and wouldbe devoted to clinical surgery, surgical operations, and ac-couchements. The advantages of such a plan would begreat. Instead of only one examination at the patient’sbedside (only one practical examination on the whole series),and instead of but one examination on therapeutics (as Imentioned in my last letter), there would be two. The

practical education of the student would gain immenselythereby, and this multiplication of the tests which thestudent would have to undergo would enhance considerablythe value of the diploma of the Paris Faculty.

NEW PARISIAN BOOKS.

The following works have recently issued from theParisian medical press :" Traite Elementaire des Maladiesdes Femmes" par le Dr. Elleaum: Asselin. 11 Atlasd’Anatomie Pathologic, de Lancercaux," 3e et 4e fascicules.V. Masson. "Trait6 des Maladies de la Peau, du Prof.Hebra," traduction du Dr. Doyon, 3e fascicule : V. Masson.

Paris, May 25th, 1869. .