THE HORSE HYGIENE AND SANITARY CONDITIONS. 635 



CHAPTKR V. 



HYGIENE AND SANITARY CONDITIONS ON THE FARM. 



IN this chapter we will speak of things which tend to the 

 preservation of health. The term Hygiene comes from a 

 Greek word that signifies good for the health. Sanitary laws 

 are those that relate to preservation of health, or the prevention 

 of disease. The importance of this is recognized in the old 

 maxim, " an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." 



The air we breathe and the food we eat, as well as the 

 manner in which we eat, or their conditions at time of being 

 taken into the system, must be considered. The laws of sani- 

 tation that govern the health of men may be applied to that of 

 all domestic animals, since all animals, whether biped or quad- 

 ruped, depend for life on the air they breathe and the food 

 and drink they consume. The conditions of heat and cold, 

 moisture and drouth, cleanliness and filth, purity and impurity, 

 all have their influence on the comfort and health of animals. 



The Air. The atmosphere is indispensable to life. It 

 envelops and permeates every organism, whether animal or 

 vegetable. Its purity or impurity affects the health and com- 

 fort of all animals. So essential is it to all life, animal or 

 vegetable, that the ancient philosopher Thales asserted, that 

 " living beings are only condensed air." It may predispose or 

 excite many of the epizootic diseases that sweep like a storm 

 from east to west over our continent. With some of its con- 

 ditions of temperature, or moisture, its motion or calm, or its 

 holding in its composition obnoxious gases, or organisms, or 

 germs, we witness outbreaks of disease that become a pesti- 

 lence to desolate the land. A sudden change from heat to cold 

 is a recognized cause of disease. It acts suddenly on the cupil- 



