THE HORSE. 173 



but natural to assume that many cases escaped mj observation, and 

 you can well realize the difficulties which a person without the 

 proper authority meets with. Although after June 1, 1879, I had 

 every assistance which the mayor, Mr. Powers, and the city solici- 

 tor could give me, the State law seemed so vague to him, that he 

 did not feel like doing what he would have liked to do, or what 

 seemed necessary in the matter. It is to be hoped that we shall 

 soon have some better legislation with reference to these matters. 

 Foremost, it should be some onds business to look up and attend to 

 these matters exclusively. A competent veterinarian should at least 

 have an active connection with every Board of Health in the State, 

 and one also with the State Board. These matters are too in- 

 timately connected with the public health to have them governed 

 by separate boards. We have not yet been able to completely erad- 

 icate the disease." 



The following letter was kindly furnished me by Mr. Firth, 

 Secretary of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 

 to Animals : 



Dear Sie : In response to your request to be furnished with a 

 report of the number of farcied and glandered horses coming to 

 the notice of the society the past two years, I herewith transmit 

 the same, as follows, viz. : 



Farcied horses 2 



Glandered 27 



of which number twenty-four were killed at once, three were isolated 

 by the health authorities (and, as we were informed, subsequently 

 destroyed), while the final disposition of the remainder was never 

 known to us. And in this connection permit me to say that the 

 earliest operations of the society (in the year 1868) developed the 

 frequent presence, in public places, of infected animals, and also 

 the not unfrequent complaints at our office of men who had been 

 duped into their purchase; and not only were the diseased ani- 

 mals destroyed, but in some instances others to whom they had 

 communicated the disease. 



The growing necessity for such legislation as would make it the 

 especial duty of local boards of health to take cognizance of such 

 cases, led the society and the Board of Health of this city to present 

 to the Legislature of 1878 the draft of a bill that, it was felt, would 

 effectually aid in stamping out the disease. The result was the 

 passage of chapter 24 of the acts of that year (amended in chapters 

 160 and 178 of the acts of 1879). 



