GLANDERS 121 



but, in the majority of instances, they have palpably failed. Where tne life 

 of a valuable animal is at stake, and the owner takes every precaution to 

 prevent infection, he may subject the horse to medical treatment; but we 

 indignantly object to the slitting of the nostril, and scraping of the carti- 

 lage, and searing of the gland, and firing the frontal and nasal bones, an(i 

 to those injections of pepper and mustard, corrosive sublimate and vitriol, 

 by which the horse has been tortured and the practitioner disgraced. At 

 the veterinary school, and by veterinary surgeons, it will be most desirable 

 that every experiment should be tried to discover a remedy for this pest ; 

 but, in ordinary instances, he is not faithful to his own interest, or that of 

 his neighbours, who does not remove the possibility of danger in the most 

 summary way. 



Supposing that glanders have made their appearance in the stables of a 

 farmer, is there any danger after he has removed or destroyed the infected 

 horse? Certainly there is; but not to the extent that is commonly sup- 

 posed. There is no necessity for pulling down the racks and mangers, or 

 even the stable itself, as some have done. The poison resides not in tne 

 breath of the animal, but in the nasal discharge, and that can only reach 

 certain parts of the stable ; and if the mangers, and racks, and bales, and 

 partitions, are first well scraped, and next scoured with soap and water, 

 and then thoroughly washed with a solution of the chloride of lime, (one 

 pint of the chloride to a pailful of water,) and the walls are lime-washed, 

 and the head-gear burned, and the clothing baked and washed, and the 

 pails new painted, and the iron-work exposed to a red heal, all danger 

 will cease. 



The tricks which some dealers resort to at fairs and markets, in order to 

 conceal the existence of glanders, are most infamous, and should be visited 

 with the severest penalty of the law. Having given the horse a brushing 

 gallop, that he may thoroughly clear the nose, some of them blow pow- 

 dered alum up the nostrils a little while before he is shown; others 

 use white vitriol ; and, although the horse may be sadly tortured, about 

 which they care nothing, the discharge is for some hours stayed. Others 

 roll up a pledget of tow, and introduce it into the nostril, sufficiently high 

 to escape common observation. Both these tricks may be discovered by 

 the uneasiness of the animal, and his repeated efforts to sneeze, as well 

 as by his general appearance ; and, if the disease be far advanced, most 

 assuredly by the red or raw appearance of the nose, and by the stinking 

 breath. 



Happy should we be, if we could say any thing satisfactory of the preven- 

 tion of glanders. The danger from exposure to infection can scarcely be 

 avoided by those who travel much, and whose horses must stand in stables 

 !.he inmates of which are so promiscuous, and also so frequently changed. 

 Although we cannot prevent contagion, we have more power in preventing 

 the disease from occurring without contagion, and that is a point of im- 

 portance ; at least, if the opinion of Professor Coleman be correct, that not 

 one horse in a thousand receives the disease from contagion. To this, how. 

 ever, we cannot subscribe; for not only the history of cavalry regiments, 

 but the experience of every breeder and proprietor of horses will prove the 

 infectious nature of the complaint. 



No fact is more certain, than that he who will keep a glandered horse in 

 his stable, or work him in his team, will sooner or later lose the greater par* 

 of his stud. However, the generation of the disease may certainly be 

 much prevented ; and the first and most effectual mode of prevention will 

 be to keep the stables cool and well ventilated, for the hot and poisoned air 



