530 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



a-muck before anything wrong is noticed about it. It is, 

 therefore, very important that the police of all cities and 

 towns see that the dog license law is very rigidly enforced 

 every spring. If it were not for the fact that the majority 

 of cases of hydrophobia are what is known as " dumb rabies," 

 the disease would prevail more extensively than it does. 

 Probably nine out of ten cases assume this form, and it is 

 only 10 per cent, or thereabouts that have what is known as 

 "furious rabies," with a disposition to run away from home, 

 biting persons, dogs or other animals with which they may 

 come in contact. 



These two forms of rabies, " dumb " and " furious," are in 

 reality one and the same disease. Whether the dog mopes 

 around home and finally becomes paralyzed and dies, or runs 

 off and does a lot of damage before dying, depends upon the 

 conditions surrounding the animal at the time the disease 

 develops, and in part upon its natural disposition. If any- 

 thing occurs to unduly excite its mental activity or make it 

 nervous at the time the trouble develops, the "furious" 

 form may ensue ; if it is quiet around the house or barn and 

 nothing transpires to worry or excite it as the symptoms are 

 about to appear, the "dumb" form will probably develop, 

 and the animal will die quietly at home without doing any 

 harm. The latter is the case usually, hence the reason for 

 hydrophobia not being more frequent than it is. 



At the same time, when it is considered how frequently 

 the disease occurs, and the great amount of damage done by 

 mad dogs in biting other animals and persons, as well as the 

 danger of fatal results to human beings from wounds inflicted 

 by the teeth of such canines, the matter becomes one of very 

 grave importance, and all reasonable steps for the suppression 

 of the disease should be resorted to. 



The protective inoculation of Pasteur for the prevention 

 of rabies practically does away with the danger fjom the bite 

 of a rabid dog ; at the same time, the nervous worry and 

 expense incident to a trip to New York to undergo treatment 

 at the Pasteur Institute is a serious matter, especially in 

 many cases where the persons bitten can ill afford the cost. 

 The question naturally arises, whether it would not be well 

 to equip a laboratory to furnish the necessary preventive 



