114 ANNTJAI^ REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



from entire counties, and luneh anxiety and loss have been pre- 

 vented; for whereA'er the disease exists these are the inevitable eon 

 comitants. 



As a general measure toward the control of rabies, it will be 

 of high utility to diminish the number of useless and worthless 

 dogs in almost every part of the State. The system of taxing 

 dogs, as it is practiced, is not sufficient to accomplish this purpose, 

 A great many dogs are not assessed. There is no prescribed method 

 for marking or identifying those upon which tax is paid, and the 

 result is there is at large in the State a vast number of dogs that 

 are under little, if anv, control, that do not furnish anv revenue 

 and that are a constant menace. I have referred to this matter 

 in previous reports, and am now^ more than ever convinced that it 

 is desirable that the Legislature should considf'r seriously and deal 

 with this question. 



Forage Poisoning of Homes. — The greatest prevalence of forage 

 poisoning during Lie past year has been in the counties of Alle- 

 gheny, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland. Erie, Franklin and Le- 

 high. This disease is sometimes know^n as cerebro-spinal menin- 

 gitis of horses. This name was lirst suggested by Professor Large, 

 of Brooklyn, who considered that the symptoms of this disease, 

 consisting of nervous excitement and later in paralysis, were 

 similar to those of cerebro-spinal meningitis of children. This 

 designation is a misnomer, for the reason that the lesions of cere- 

 bro-spinal meningitis do not exist in this affection. Indeed, in 

 most cases, no lesions are discernible by the naked eye examination, 

 and the pathology of forage poisoning was for a long time a matter 

 of uncertainty'. This subject is one to which much attention has 

 been given at the laboratory of the State Live Stock Sanitary Board, 

 and it is gratifying to report that a pathology for forage poisoning 

 has been worked out and is reported upon by Drs. McCarthy and 

 Ravenel. Their paper is published as an appendix to this report. 

 The effect of this work is to substantiate the observation that has 

 heretofore been made to the effect that this disease is actually a 

 forage poisoning. In a previous report I have called attention to 

 the definite production of this disease in experimental animals 

 by feeding them silage that was somev/hat damaged. The observa- 

 tion has been made in numerous instances and by many veterin- 

 arians that forage poisoning may be produced by silage even when 

 it appears to be in pretty good condition. As a matter of fact, 

 there is danger of producing this disease whenever horses are fed 

 on any damp and easily putrescible food. Brewer's grains have 

 been known to produce it in many cases, and it has been caused by 

 mouldy hay, oats and corn. It is much more likely to affect horses 

 kept in dark, damp, poorly ventilated stables than those kept in well 



