DR. LEGEAR'S STOCK BOOK. 261 



Causes. The cause of glanders and farcy, as has already been 

 stated, is a living organism belonging to the group known gen- 

 erally as bacteria, under the specific name of bacillus malleus, or 

 glanders bacillus. But even supposing the bacillus mallei is the 

 direct cause of the complaint, we must not forget that im- 

 proper sanitary surroundings and any weakening, debilitating 

 disease, such as influenza, distemper, catarrhal fever, lung fever, 

 etc., are important factors in the production of the disease by 

 weakening the animal body and making it very liable to become 

 affected with the disease if exposed to the contagion. The germs 

 outside the body retain their life and vitality under ordinary con- 

 ditions in a moderately dry state for four or five months, al- 

 though when exposed freely to very dry air with sunlight they 

 probably perish in a few days, and when in water and decom- 

 posing fluids they perish in two or three weeks. On the other 

 hand, when large quantities of glanders matter is thickly smeared 

 or spread over stalls or mangers in stables where it is protected 

 from rain and in a measure from light and the deeper parts well 

 excluded from the air the germs seem to retain their vitality for 

 a year or more. The germs are usually spread through care- 

 less stable attendants, through public watering troughs, and by 

 the matter discharged drying upon harness, blankets and the like, 

 for after it dries it is readily distributed by currents of air, and 

 this dust, if exposed to a certain degree of heat and moisture, will 

 grow and produce the disease upon susceptible animals with tol- 

 erable certainty, if it gets into the interior of their economy. 



Period of Incubation. The period of incubation in the acute 

 form of glanders is short, the disease usually appearing in from 

 four to seven days from the time of exposure, while the chronic 

 form may appear any time in from seven to eight days up to 

 two or three months from the time the animal was exposed to 

 the contagious influence. 



