DR. LEGEAR'S STOCK BOOK. 371 



BABIES, OR HYDROPHOBIA. 



Rabies, which prevail chiefly among animals of the canine, 

 species, as the dog, wolf, fox, etc., is at the present time accepted 

 as being an acute, infectious disease of the central nervous sys- 

 tem, characterized by fever, a high degree of irritability and ex- 

 citement, the presence of a spa,sm, generally a disposition to bite, 

 great prostration, and finally death. Man, and all warm-blooded 

 animals, are liable to this malady. It was called hydrophobia 

 because it was supposed that the rabid (mad) animal had a dread 

 or fear of water, which is not true, for it will drink water greed- 

 ily to the very last, providing the power of deglutition (swal- 

 lowing) is not lost. Rabies, which means "to rave," being a far 

 better name for the disease. 



History. The antiquity of rabies i, not exactly known. Aris- 

 totle, Xenophon, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, and many others, in their 

 writings, mention it as one of the maladies in their time. Then 

 come the writings of Caelius Aurelianus, who treated all the im- 

 portant questions relating to it in a most masterly manner. Af- 

 ter him, centuries passed, during which time but little or noth- 

 ing was added to the present knowledge of the subject. But 

 toward the end of the last century investigations were renewed, 

 and since then a great deal of light has been thrown upon the 

 subject, especially by M. Pasteur, Koch, Williams, and many 

 other noted men of our day. Rabies has recently been quite 

 prevalent in England and in some of the United States of Amer- 

 ica, while in Australia and New Zealand it is very rare. Until 

 lately, it has been comparatively rare in Canada and in the Unit- 

 ed States, while in Peru, Chili and some other countries it is 

 very common. It has occurred in every State in this Union at 

 some time or another during the present century, but, fortunate- 

 ly, never to any alarming extent. 



