296 



n dying condition was destroyed for postmortem examination. 

 ']"lic result of the latter was, as usual, neg'ative in so far as actual 

 pathological changes were concerned except for the presence of 

 a number of aneurisms on the abdominal arteries, in which were 

 found embedded the empryos of the armed wire worm ( Stroiigy- 

 liis aniiafus). The mature worm was also found in large num- 

 bers in the colon and cecum, but no trace of embryos or infarcts 

 caused by these could be found in the brain. These intestinal and 

 blood parasites play, in the writer's opinion, an important role 

 as a direct, or at least a contributing cause to the appearance of 

 that greatly-varying autl complex series of symptoms in horses 

 and mules which is most frequently referred to as cerebro-spinal 

 meningitis, though admittedly a misnomer. As part of the life 

 cycle of this parasite is spent in stagnant water, my efforts to 

 prevent the repeated outbreaks of this disease have been prin- 

 cipally directed toward the purification of the water supply on 

 premises where the disease occurs regularly, and in a numl>er 

 of cases apparent success in suppressing the disease has resulted. 

 The first rule is therefore to keep all horse stock a\va\- from 

 stagnant water and especially to drain all water holes in the Sun- 

 day rest pastures where nearly all plantation draft animals are 

 kept from Saturday afternoon till Sunday evening. When once 

 infected such pastures are, however, not easily purified again, 

 and when partly inundated by persistent rains the parasites are 

 frequently carried to distant localities, where new centers of in- 

 fection become established and a varying number of animals 

 Iiecome infected and die. The disease is therefore always ;it its 

 worst during the rainy season, making its first appearance from 

 one to two weeks after the rains set in. In stables and yards 

 where the water su])])l\- can be abstilutely controlled much can be 

 accomplished by filtering the water as it comes from the ]ii])es or 

 by said filters placed on open llumes. Medical treatment is of 

 no use, as the embryos in the blood vessels cannot be reached by 

 any form of medication now known to science, and our eft'orts 

 must therefore be confined to prevention along the lines above 

 indicated. 



It is, however, encouraging to note that, even though it con- 

 tinued to rain nearly every day during the two weeks I remained 

 on Maui, only one additional case came under observation, which 

 fact would seem to indicate a decided diminution in the extent of 

 the infection, possibly the direct result <>f preventive measures 

 carrierl out during previous outbreaks or perhaps of unusual heavy 

 downpours having washed most of the parasites to sea. 



I.\II'()RT.\TIONS OK STOCK KRO.M XliW ZI£.\L.\XD. 



After consiflerable effort permission has finally been obtained 

 from the Secretary of Agriculture for the I'arker Ranch to im- 



