INFLUENZA. 5i57 



one country to other countries far distant, neither rivers 

 nor oceans appearing to interfere in the slightest degree with 

 its progress. 



During its prevalence it attacks vast numbers of horses 

 of all ages and both sexes, entailing incalculable loss to 

 owners of stock, and causing great annoyance and serious 

 detriment to commercial interests in every branch, as it not 

 unfrequently happens that seventy-five per cent, or more of 

 the horses of an infected locality are prostrated, and. as a 

 consequence, business seriously interfered with and in some 

 cases almost wholly suspended. Particularly well was 

 this exemplified during the epizootic of 1872, during which 

 it was almost an impossibility to procure horses for even 

 the lightest description of work; very little hauling was 

 done, and that little was accomplished with the aid of oxen ; 

 and while it was no uncommon sight to see an ox doing 

 duty between the shafts of a dray or a couple of oxen draw- 

 ing a waggon, it was very rarely indeed that a horse was 

 seen working, even on the streets of some of our largest 

 cities. 



Some animals appear to be much less susceptible to the 

 morbid influence than others, and some seem to be alto- 

 gether insusceptible, though such cases are extremely rare, 

 and we have absolutely no means by which we can account 

 for this discrepancy. Generally speaking, all breeds are 

 liable to an attack, but on close observation I think it will 

 be found that the coarse, heavy breeds of horses, as well as 

 suffering more w^hen attacked, are slightly more susceptible 

 to the influence of this disease — as indeed they are to most 

 other diseases — than the lighter and more finely bred horses, 

 and young horses are noticed to be more prone to an attack 

 than older horses. Horses of a medium age, from seven to 

 ten years old, enjoy a greater immunity from this affection 

 than the young or very old, and especially so if they are 



