210 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



SY3IPTOMS OP THE SIMPLE OR CATARRHAL FORM. 



First stage. — The extreme suddenness of the attack is among- the most 

 remarkable features of the malady, and one which obtained for it the 

 name of the lightning catarrh {blitz-Jcatarrh) among the Germans. It 

 often makes its onset with a sudden and extreme prostration, with in- 

 tense muscular weakness and drowsiness. A horse in apparently robust 

 and vigorous health is seen with drooping head, ears, and lips, serai- 

 closed eyelids, expressionless countenance, and one or two legs partially 

 flexed, as if to seek relief from his weariness. He stands in one position, 

 or if urged to inove does so with reluctance, sluggishness, and often 

 with unsteady, swaying gait. The back is arched and rigid, the limbs 

 carried stiffly, and the joints often crack. At the same time there may 

 be noticed a dry staring coat, a tenderness of the skin when handled, a 

 tendency to coldness of the nose, ears, and limbs, and in exceptional 

 cases shivering, tremors, or even nervous jerking. 



A cough is always an early symptom, and in the visitation of 1872 it 

 has been usually the first observed, as it was by far the most prominent 

 of the early symptoms. It commenced as a short, dry, husky cough, 

 frequently repeated, and for the first two days or more unattended by 

 the extreme dullness and prostration above referred to. The temper- 

 ature is raised to 102° F., the pulse is slightly accelerated and vari- 

 able in character, but usually weak and easily compressed and rendered 

 imperceptible by the pressure of the fingers. The state of the secretions 

 further betrays the febrile state. The urine is less abundant and higher 

 in color than natural; the dung often rather hard and glistening on the 

 surface from the presence of mucus; the mouth is hot, dry, and 

 clammy, and the mucous membrane of the nose dry and red or pink, 

 with, in many cases, a tinge of brown or yellow, the color being common 

 also to the membrane of the eye. The breathing is slightly accelerated, 

 and if the ear is placed on the course of the windpipe at the lower end 

 of the neck or on the side of the chest behind the middle of the shoulder, 

 the blowing sound is heard louder than common. Thirst is increased 

 and sometimes ardent, and the appetite usually slightly impaired or 

 dainty, though in other cases unaffected. 



Second stage. — As the disease advances other symptoms appear, and 

 those first seen are usually aggravated. In some cases, indeed, there is 

 no manifest aggravation, the spirit and appetite remaining good through- 

 out, the prostration and fever are all along slight, the husky cough 

 which heralded the disease becomes looser and gurgling or rattling, 

 with the appearance of the discharge from the nose, and a prompt 

 recovery follows as from an ordinary and slight cold. 



But usually by the third or fifth da^^ the cough lias become deep and 

 painful, occurs in paroxysms of four or five in rapid succession, and 

 racks the entire body with the eftbrt. The eyelids are swollen, and 

 tears run from the eyes. A watery fluid distills from the nose, soon giv- 

 ing place to a thick yellowish or yellowish-green muco-purulcnt dis- 

 charge. The temperature has risen to 105° F., the thirst intense ; appe- 

 tite variable, sometimes lost ; pulse more rapid than natural, soft, weak, 

 and easily excited by exercise ; and the breathing somewhat deeper 

 than before. The mucous membrane of the nose becomes of a deeper red 

 until the discharge is freely established, sometimes almost purple, with 

 patches of brown or yellow, and even 2)etcchicc, or spots of blood staining 

 in the worst cases. Swallowing is painful, the food being sometimes 

 dropped from the mouth after it has been chewed. There is slight swell- 

 ing and tenderness between the branches of the lower jaw and beneath 



