REPORT OF THE VETERINARY SURGEON. 309 



Thus you see that the ravages of this Equine Plague have 

 not been confined to Bridgeport. It has occurred with equal 

 severity in other places. In fact, it has been a scourge upon 

 our land for many years, and thousands of valuable horses 

 have fallen victims. From accurate statistics which I have 

 thus been able to collect, I am authorized in saying that 

 upwards of five thousand dollars' worth of live-stock property 

 have been needlessly sacrificed, within this state, in the last 

 nine months, by the increased propagation of this contagious 

 malady. And still, farmers and livery men are unconcerned, 

 and thus wantonly traffic in such worthless and dangerous 

 property from year to year. 



This disease always originates in the equine family, and in 

 its courses of development presents several interesting phases 

 for the inspection of the pathologist. 



In former times, it was supposed that farcy and glanders 

 were two separate diseases, and had no connection with each 

 other. But, by the recent advances in veterinary pathology, 

 it has been conclusively proved that they are only the differ- 

 ent manifestations of one and the same disease. Both are 

 generated from one identical virus, either in the acute or 

 chronic forms. And this same virus, when inoculated into 

 the blood of man, develops a similar form of disease, which 

 is known, from its source, as Equina, and is generally fatal. 

 And even the malignancy of this virus is not destroyed by 

 thus becoming humanized ; for, if we inoculate a healthy 

 horse with the matter from one of i\\Q^Q farcied ulcers on man, 

 the original disease reappears with all its contagious and 

 malignant characters. Thus it behooves us to be on our 

 guard when in attendance upon all such veterinary patients. 

 Undoubtedly many poor hostlers have died from a so-called 

 " scrofulous affection " which originated in the stable of a 

 glandered horse, and was transmitted to them by inoculation 

 while grooming. For, to become thus infected, it would only 

 be necessary for the virus to come in contact with the mucous 

 membrane of the eye and nose, or upon any broken surface 

 of the skin. 



Of the four well marked forms of this disease in the horse, 



