236 CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 



spontaneous origin, and of propagation by contagion and 

 infection. 



Glanders may occur under at least four forms, namely, acute 

 glanders, chronic glanders, acute farcy, called by some bud farcy, 

 and chronic or button farcy. 



CAUSES. 



It is now generally believed that equina originates from con- 

 tagion only. I still have doubts upon this point, for it cannot 

 be denied that many debilitating influences, such as old age, bad 

 food, overwork, exhausting diseases, and general bad manage- 

 ment ; specific miasmatic or animal poisons, such as those 

 generated in localities where large numbers of horses are con- 

 gregated together, in camps, barracks, large cab or other esta- 

 blishments, even where the stables are well ventilated, lighted, 

 drained, and the animals well attended to in every way, but 

 more particularly where the stables are ill ventilated, badly 

 drained, dark, and foul. Horses, when crowded on board ship, 

 are very liable to this affection, and the Arabs in transporting 

 their horses from Arabia to India always choose that part of 

 the year when the passage is shortest, lest the accidents incident 

 to a long voyage might oblige the hatches to be closed, and 

 want of ventilation promote the development of glanders. I 

 have also observed that glanders is developed in new stables, 

 where the walls are not thoroughly dry, where in fact, in common 

 language, they are said " to sweat " ; and, finally, glanders occurs 

 as a sequence to exhausting diseases, more especially if the 

 animal be old, or of a bad constitution. These causes, and a 

 generally vitiated condition of the animal system, may be said 

 to predispose glanders — (1.) By causing the introduction into 

 the blood of vitiated or decomposing material generated in the 

 external surroundings of the animal : (2.) By inducing the for- 

 mation of degenerated material within the animal system : (3.) 

 By preventing the excretion of the degraded constituents nor- 

 mally generated within it by natural tissue changes, or exces- 

 sively formed within it by various disordered functions, or intro- 

 duced into it from without. 



The most common forerunner of glanders, more particularly 

 of that form of it known as farcy, is the disease commonly called 



