ELEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 523 



than a year over fourteen hundred horses were killed at a cost of 

 about $70,000. The last named state has passed a law levying a 

 tax on all horses in the state, creating what is known as the "glan- 

 ders fund," out of which all claims for animals killed on account 

 of glanders are paid. The tax is not found to be oppressive, and 

 by equalizing the losses sustained on account of this disease fur- 

 nishes an insurance against total loss, which is a source of weleome 

 relief in many cases. More than eight hundred animals were killed 

 on account of glanders in California during the past two years. 

 Nearly two thousand were tested or examined with a view to de- 

 termining the presence of glanders. It is, therefore, evident that 

 this malady is one of the important problems coming within the 

 scope of this department. 



In Iowa almost invariably the source of infection can be traced 

 to horses that are shipped, or otherwise brought into the state from 

 western states, which fact shows the necessity of having a law passed 

 requiring the inspection of all- animals entering the state. Almost 

 every other state has a law of this character, requiring a certificate 

 of health from a qualified veterinarian showing freedom from in- 

 fectious diseases. 



One case over which there had been some controversy was taken 

 up at Council Bluffs. An old fire horse, belonging to the city, called 

 "Prince," was tested two years prior to the fall of 1909, by the 

 then Assistant State Veterinarian, and declared to be infected. A 

 member of the city council, who was chairman of the committee 

 having the fire department in charge, demurred against the diag- 

 nosis, and employed another veterinarian, who dissented from the 

 diagnosis of glanders and for a time treated the animal. The horse 

 seemed to recover. Two years later, in December, 1909, there was 

 new evidence of disease, and a veterinarian from this department 

 tested the horse and declared him glandered. Consultation with 

 other veterinarians from the State Veterinarian's office corrob- 

 orated the diagnosis. It was recommended that "Prince" be killed. 

 The diagnosis disclosed a condition that caused the veterinarians 

 in charge to think the animal had been suffering from a chronic 

 case of glanders, continuing from the previous test referred to, and 

 that at the time of the later examination he had developed an acute 

 case. "Prince" was destroyed, and at the post mortem examination 

 there were found positive lesions and a typical case. Ulcers had 

 formed on the anterior left side of the septum ; on the anterior por- 

 tion of the superior turbinated on the left side, and on the anterior 



