TRIUMPHS OF THE ARMY VETERINARY SERVICE 95 



in its devastating effects and it takes longest to kill. The parasite burrows 

 under the skin and then lays its wretched eggs. If a horse thus attacked 

 has on its long winter coat the trouble has made serious headwa}* before 

 ■discovery. For this reason it was decided to clip horses as far as possible 

 before the advent of the cold weather, i.e., in October and November, and 

 to allow the coat subsequently to grow. By this means it was hoped to 

 reduce the risk of mange considerably, at the same time to permit a reasonably 

 long and protective coat to grow before the onset of the really cold weather. 



How is the Veterinary Service tackling the mange trouble ? Not so long 

 ago it was the practice to apply by hand oily dressings of sulphur to the affected 

 parts, which were chiefly in the region of the mane, neck and withers, but it 

 was tedious, slow, and altogether unsatisfactory. Dipping is now the method 

 both as a prevention and as a cure. Dips were first employed in a campaign 

 ■during the war in South Africa, the idea being borrowed from Australia, where 

 baths suitable for large numbers of animals were originally introduced. Hav- 

 ing first discovered the offending parasite, b\' the aid of a microscope magnify- 

 ing fifty times, the positive case is relegated to the mange lines of a veterinary 

 hospital. Animals with whom he has been in contact become suspects and 

 must accordingly be kept under observation. And so the mange lines fill 

 as the result of evacuations from the front, and operations at the Dip, which 

 is now part of the equipment of every veterinary skin hospital become an 

 urgent necessity. 



The dipping bath is in the shape of a long and deep well, so deep at the 

 entrance end that the animal is submerged when the sheer drop precipitates 

 him into the steaming creamy fluid of calcium sulphide. He swims a few 

 strides and then finds himself climbing and able to walk out at the other end. 

 The odours are anything but pleasant, and the most enthusiastic veterinary 

 officer will not say that his patient enjoys the ordeal, especially in the winter 

 months, in spite of the fact that the bath is heated. But the great thing to 

 remember is that the process has proved life-saving and has saved the big 

 population of Araii}^ horses and mules in France from being ravaged by the 

 scourge. Hundreds a day can be dipped, and the process has to be repeated 

 several times before convalescence is entered on. Meanwhile, we see something 

 of the unsightly effects on the poor animal. His skin, having suffered this 

 sub-surface erosion, has shed its hair, there are great bald patches, and it is 

 corrugated, hard and tough. For two months he is undergoing the cure. 



In connection with mange treatment, I saw an installation for 

 treating horses by means of sulphurous acid gas (SO,), a process originated by 

 French veterinary officers. Horses are put into chambers, only their 

 heads protruding into fresh air, and their bodies are exposed to the gas for 

 two hours at a time. I beheve the idea as suggested by the French has not 

 been perfected. The density of the gas is not sufficient, but there are possi- 

 bilities which are still being developed. It will, I think, be of interest to add 

 that mange more readily attacks horses than mules. The proportion is some- 

 thing like four to one. Clearly there is something about the mule's skin that 

 the parasite does not find to his liking, which is still one more virtue to the 

 credit of the mule. 



