SQ TREATMENT OF DISEASES 



distemper to which horses are obnoxious; for not only,' says he, 

 ' does it communicate its venom at a small distance, but it infects the 

 very air, and seizes on all horses that are under the same roof with 

 him that languishes from it.' ' There are, (however) several kinds 

 of glanders, some of which are not so extremely infectious as others, 

 though there are none that ought not to be suspected.' 



"The 'causes of glanders' Mr. Smith enumerates to be: 1, Gen- 

 eral debility; 2, A previous disease; 3, Breathing an impure air; 4, 

 Exposure to a cuiTcnt of cold air, or being permitted to drink cold 

 water when hot ; 5, A sudden transition from cold to heat, and vice 

 versa/ 6, Infection. The first three of these Mr. Smith regards as 

 predisposing causes / the latter three being exciting causes. ' Gen- 

 eral debility may be considered the forerunner of every disease, the 

 system being thereby rendered more susceptible to morbid impres- 

 sions.' ' Glanders is frequently produced by a variety of other 

 diseases.' ' I have seen the mucous membrane ulcerated, the bone 

 carious, and all the characteristic symptoms of glanders produced 

 by a cut of a sabre. I have also seen one case in which glanders 

 was produced from the effects of a severe fall, by which tlie frontal 

 sinuses were perforated ; in another, the os frontis laid entirely bare, 

 and the concussion so violent as to excite a copious discharge of 

 mucus and pus from the nostrils ; and in another, the same symp- 

 toms produced by a blow on the superior part of the nasal bones.' 



" To conclude with my own opinions on the subject of contagion, 

 they are, shortly, these : I have no more doubt of glanders being a 

 contagious disease, than I have of syphilis, or small-pox, or itch being 

 contagious. At the same time, from the known fastidiousness of 

 contagion in regard to its operation, and from the several collateral 

 circumstances required to insure its effect in the case of glanders in 

 the horse, in the generality of instances the chances of escaping un- 

 der its influence, greatly, I believe, exceed those of contamination. 

 The comparatively few examples that any of us can adduce of con- 

 tagion, even after an experience of many years, in my mind seems 

 to warrant this inference ; at the same time, these examples are fully 

 sufficient, both to establish the fact and warn us against running any 

 risk of propagating the disease. The lamentable, as well as discred- 

 itable difference of opinion that has hitherto existed on the conta- 

 giousness of glanders, seems to have arisen out of the narrowness 

 of the circuit of observation whence the deductions have been made. 

 One niMu's practice may not have furnished hiiuAvith any well-marked 

 exam|)les of contagion, another's may have shown him several ; the 

 former infers that glanders is a disease of self-origin, the latter that 

 contagion is its source ; both too precipitately and confidently run- 

 ning to their opposite conclusions. Let us hope, however, now that 

 our sphere of observation and experience is becoming so much 

 enlarged by the contributions of fellow-laborers, both in our own and 

 in foreign countries, that we shall approximate in our opinions on 

 this vitally important question ; and, as a humble step toward such 

 desirable agreement, 1 believe the conclusions I have, after a good 

 deal of deliberation and some experience, come to here, will not be 

 found widely diverse from the opinions entertained by the majority 

 of veterinarians whose works or words are, at the time I am writing, 

 known to us." 



