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have rested either with the Government or with
the highest local authorities. There should also
have been no discretionary powers for their obeyance,
but they should have been universal as
well as simple, practical, and decisive. Without
doubt a good deal of inconvenience would have
resulted from such measures, but the inconvenience
would have been of short duration, and it would have
been a trifling matter in comparison with the loss
already sustained; in fact, it is A ery probable
that this inconvenience must yet be encountered
before the disease will be eradicated. Already the
farmers are beginning to perceive that their interests
are involved in the adoption of some such
decisive measures, and ere long they may ask
most earnestly for it. This, therefore, is the experience
we have gained of the subtle, sure, and
far-reaching character of the contagion, of the way
in which it is multiplied by the disease, and of
the means which must be used for its extinction.
Thirdly—As regards the symptoms and duration
of the malady, it is not necessary to enter into much
detail; but there are two questions of great practical
importance, namely, the period of its incubation,
and the very first reliable signs of its existence.
Both of these questions are still open to inquiry;
and it is to be regretted that they have not long
since been finally settled. We surely have had