128 DK. LEGEAR'S STOCK BOOK. 



Symptoms. It is suddenly developed with loss of sensation 

 and motion, profound stupor, difficult breathing, etc. Some- 

 times partial paralysis is present. 



Treatment. Give a good physic and follow it up with bromide 

 of potash in 4-dram doses. Apply cold water to the head, and 

 keep the patient in a comfortable, quiet place. 



BLIND STAGGEES. 



Blind staggers of horses is a disease occurring with greater 

 frequency in the Southern States of our country than in the 

 North. It usually attacks but few horses at a time, but in cer- 

 tain years prevails to such an extent as to attack numbers of ani- 

 mals at the same time and place. 



Causes. Blind staggers is not contagious, as some suppose, 

 but is a disease intimately connected with the character of -the 

 food. No doubt the most common cause of this disease is corn 

 that is damaged in some way; such as mouldy, rusty, or smutty 

 corn; or corn that is worm-eaten, rotten, or blasted, etc. Dam- 

 aged grain or fodder of any kind, such as the result of very wet 

 seasons, is quite sure to produce "Staggers." Some have noticed 

 it in horses that have not had any grain. The mould, or fungus, 

 which produces the disease is very common during wet seasons. 

 It is not believed that any one species of fungus growth is en- 

 tirely responsible for the disease, as several species of moulds, 

 rusts, and smuts possess such poisonous properties. The green 

 pencil mould is the fungus which is much the most abundant 

 in our cornfields and cribs, and is no doubt the chief cause of 

 Staggers resulting from feeding unsound corn. In those cases 

 of the disease in horses not fed on grain, the same or other fun- 

 gus growths may be found in the hay, pasture grasses, ensilage, 

 etc. 



