142 GLANDERS AND FARCY. 



known that those cases where the symptoms are occult are 

 usually the most dangerous m a sanitary point of view. 



As experts called upon to give an opinion, or as sanitary 

 inspectors charged with the preservation of the health and life 

 of an important section of the animal population, which, in 

 their intrinsic worth and labour-executing power, represent a 

 vast amount of money — not to enter upon the importance of 

 the subject from the possibility of the disease being propagated 

 to man — it behoves us to have regard to the extreme difficulty, 

 or even impossibility in some cases, at once to give a positive 

 and well-grounded opinion as to the existence of glanders. 

 This is particularly true when the case is one of those known 

 by the terms of ' occult,' or ' puhnonary glanders.' 



In forming an opinion as to the existence of glanders, regard 

 must be had to the presence or absence of the local diagnostic 

 symptoms of the disease. These, as we have already stated, 

 are the character of the nasal discharge, the condition of the 

 nasal membrane, whether or not the true specific nodules, 

 tubercles, ulcers, or abrasions, exist, together with the con- 

 dition and form of the submaxillary gland. Certainly the 

 most important of these indications is the existence of the 

 specific growths or sores of the nasal membrane, seeing that it 

 is possible that both an unnatural nasal discharge and a tume- 

 fied condition of the lymphatic glands may exist apart from 

 the specific glanderous contamination. 



In all doubtful cases, when one or more of the indications 

 upon which we must rely for forming our opinion are absent, 

 much care in examination is needful, and the animal must be 

 kept under observation sufficiently long to admit of the 

 development of those which are defective or Avanting. Some- 

 times the administration of a dose of aloes Avill hasten the 

 appearance of what is desired. 



With the occurrence of the peculiar nasal discharge, and 

 when the nodules, or chancre-like sores, together with the 

 induration and fixing of the intermaxillary glands, are present 

 in any horse, which may or may not exhibit constitutional 

 disturbance or indications of ill-health, there is little difficulty 

 in satisfying ourselves that the diseased condition is specific, 

 and distinct from every other. 



With acute glanders there is, as a rule, little difficulty in 



