154 HEALTH AND DISEASE 



which the effectual adoption of that system involves. The first requisite is 

 a box which is entirely disconnected from other stalls or boxes, by which, of 

 course, is meant that the walls and boundaries — no matter of what material 

 they may be composed — although as a matter of course brick walls properly 

 cemented so as to obtain a smooth surface are preferable to any other 

 material — should extend from the floor to the ceiling; the entrance door 

 should be also solid, light being admitted by a properly arranged window, 

 and ventilation provided for as far as possible by openings in the ceiling. 

 Next, all the appliances which are necessary in the feeding and general 

 management of the animal should be kept in the box ; and further, the man 

 attending on the sick beast should have a waterproof covering which he can 

 put on when entering the box, taking it off and leaving it in some con- 

 venient place as he comes out. It may seem hardly necessary to suggest 

 that washing his hands in a disinfecting fluid and cleansing and disinfect- 

 ing his boots are simple matters of precaution which commend themselves 

 to common sense, and cannot possibly be omitted without definite and 

 incalculable risk being incurred of spreading the disease. 



During the time that a sick animal is kept in the isolation-box the free 

 use of disinfectants is to be recommended. In the present day there are 

 disinfectants which possess no odour, which can be used without giving 

 offence to the most delicate nostrils, so that the common objection to their 

 employment is easily disposed of. As soon as an animal has recovered, and 

 is considered to be sufficiently well to leave the box, thorough cleansing 

 and disinfection will necessarily follow. The procedure will not materially 

 differ whether the animal has been slaughtered in consequence of having 

 been affected with glanders or has recovered from an attack of influenza or 

 strangles; in the latter case, however, it would not be unreasonable to dis- 

 infect the animal itself, immediately it comes outside the box, by sponging 

 it over with a solution of Chinosol, and thoroughly washing its feet. 



In regard to the box from which a diseased animal has been taken, the 

 litter which has been used during the time of its illness, instead of being 

 carted away for manure, should be taken to a convenient place to be burnt, 

 or, this being impossible, it should be thoroughly mixed with quicklime ; the 

 floor, after being sprinkled with lime should be thoroughly swept, and the 

 walls and all parts of the box should be thoroughly washed with hot water 

 in which a liberal quantity of washing-soda has been dissolved. This 

 preliminary washing is perhaps the most important part of the whole 

 process, and no amount of disinfection can compensate for its neglect. In 

 a properly constructed isolation-box the rack and manger and water-trough 

 would all be made of iron, and therefore could easily be cleansed and dis- 

 infected; but if the animal has been kept in a place where wooden racks and 



