58 HORSE, SWINE AND POULTRY DISEASES 



produces an ulcer, which is known as a chancre. This ulcer is ir- 

 regular in shape, with ragged edges which overhang the sore; 

 it has a gray, dirty bottom and the discharge is sometimes thin and 

 sometimes purulent ; in either case it is mixed with a viscous, sticky, 

 yellowish material like the white of an egg in consistency and like 

 olive oil in appearance. The discharge is almost diagnostic; it 

 resembles somewhat the discharge which we have in greasy heels 

 and in certain attacks of lymphangitis, but to the expert the speci- 

 fic discharge is characteristic. The discharge accumulates on the 

 hair surrounding the ulcer and over its surface and dries, forming 

 scabs which become thicker by successive deposits on the under 

 surface until they fall off, to be replaced by others of the same kind ; 

 and the excess of discharge may drop on the hairs below and form 

 similar brownish yellow crusts. The farcy ulcers may retain their 

 specific form for a considerable time days or even weeks but 

 eventually the discharge becomes purulent in character and assumes 

 the appearance of healthy matter. The surface of the gangrenous 

 bottom of the ulcer is replaced by rosy granulations, the ragged 

 edges are beveled off, and the chancre is turned into a simple ulcer 

 which rapidly heals. 



The farcy buttons occur most frequently on the sides of the 

 lips, the sides of the neck ? the lower part of the shoulders, the inside 

 of the thighs, or the outside of the legs, but may occur on any part 

 of the body. There is next an irritation of the lymphatic vessels in 

 the neighborhood of the chancres. Those become swollen and then 

 indurated and appear like great ridges underneath the skin; they 

 are hot to the touch and sensitive. The cords may remain for a 

 considerable time and then gradually disappear, or they may ulcer- 

 ate like a farcy bud itself, forming elongated, irregular, serpentine 

 ulcers with a characteristic, dirty, gray bottom and ragged edges, 

 and pour out a viscous, oily discharge like the chancres themselves. 



The essential symptoms of farcy are, as above described, the 

 button, the chancre, the cord, and the discharge. We have in addi- 

 tion to these symptoms a certain number of accessory symptoms, 

 which, while not diagnostic in themselves, are of great service in 

 aiding the diagnosis in cases where the eruption takes place in small 

 quantities, and when the ulcers are not characteristic. 



Bleeding from the nose without previous work or other appar- 

 ent cause, is one of the frequent concomitant symptoms in glanders, 

 and such a hemorrhage from the nostrils should always be re- 

 garded with suspicion. The animal with farcy frequently devel- 

 ops a cough, resembling much that which we find in heaves a 

 short, dry, aborted, hacking cough, with little or no discharge from 

 the nostrils. With this is found an irregular movement of the 

 flanks, and on auscultation of the lungs we find sibilant or at times 

 a few mucous rales. Another common symptom is a sudden swell- 

 ing of one of the hind legs ; it is found suddenly swollen in the 

 region of the canon, the enlargement extending below to the pas- 

 tern and above as high as the stifle. This swelling is hot and pain- 

 ful to the touch, and renders the animal stiff and lame. On pres- 



