11 FEBRUARY 1922, Page 3

The epidemic of foot-and-mouth-disease. reported last week spread so rapidly

that on Sunday last the whole of Great Britain was declared to be affected. The movement of cattle, sheep and pigs was placed under severe restrictions. Masters of foxhounds were asked not to hunt until further notice, lest soil from an infected area might be carried into areas that are as yet free from the disease. Up to Thursday 506 cases of disease had been reported in 33 counties, and ' about 10,000 animals had been destroyed. It is hoped that these rigorous measures will quickly check the plague. There is, of course, no reason to suppose that the infection will spread to human beings or that the supplies of imported meat will prove insufficient.