'Z76 DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 



Contagiousness. — That mange is a highly contagious 

 disease appears undeniable, so far as horse and horse are 

 concerned : but that an identity can be established between 

 diseases called mange and itch seems to admit of ques- 

 tion. Were these disorders communicable, we should have 

 cases proving the fact frequently occurring. It is true 

 continental writers furnish a solitary case or two : but have 

 we any authenticated instances in our own country ? The 

 truth is the contagion depends upon the acari ; and the dis- 

 order is only communicable by actual bodily contact, or 

 through anything conveying this insect from the diseased to 

 a sound animal. Care, therefore, must be taken not only 

 to put diseased horses separate, but that no article of 

 saddlery worn by the contaminated animal be used for any 

 other, without being thoroughly cleansed. 



Causes. — We have now to learn that, like most conta- 

 gious diseases, mange may be generated in the animaFs 

 system, without any reference whatever to contagion. Pro- 

 fessor Coleman stated, that "mange was brought on by 

 poverty ; and that want of cleanliness may also contribute 

 to its production. In reference to its spontaneous origin, 

 Mr. Blaine observes, '^ among the truly healthy, it never 

 arises spontaneously ; but it does find a spontaneous origin 

 among the unhealthy.^^ Hurtrel d^Arboval is inclined to 

 attribute its self-origin solely to want of cleanliness. 



It is a notorious fact, tbat a gentleman's horse rarely contracts mange : 

 it is the disease of the poor man's horse — of the horse that works hard 

 and lives hard, and whose coat scarcely knows the comb or brush. In 

 our cavalry mange is rarely seen; and yet, during the Peninsular 

 Campaign, it was a common disease, though more especially among the 

 bat-horses and mules. Two years ago, I had a case of mange originating 

 in a young mare that was groomed and fed the same as other horses, but 

 had never thriven : a circumstance evidently owing to disordered digestion, 

 to which source I attributed the skin disease. 



Treatment. — Mange, when produced, does not appear to 

 be removable by constitutional means : external applications 

 are necessary, nay, will commonly prove sufficient. Sulphur 

 being the sovereign remedy for itch, no wonder it should 



