GLANDERS AND FAECT. 217 



From the circumstance of horses havhig sometime escaped 

 the disorder, though they have been standing in the same stall 

 or stable, or drinking out of the same bucket or trough with a 

 glandered horse, many have been led to doubt its being con- 

 tagious ; and the little care that some large proprietors have 

 taken to prevent the spreading of the disorder, in consequence 

 of such opinions having been held, has been the cause of very 

 serious losses ; many instances of which have come within my 

 personal knowledge. That the glanders is contagious has 

 been clearly and indisputably proved by numerous experiments ; 

 and the manner in which it is propagated has likewise been 

 satisfactorily demonstrated. At the same time, it is generally 

 believed that the glanders takes place also independent of 

 contagion ; but from what causes or circumstances it is then 

 produced, no author has attempted to state precisely. 



It has-been said, in a general way, that close unwholesome 

 stables, hard work, and bad provender, sudden changes from 

 cold and wet weather to hot close stables, hard work, and in- 

 sufficient keep, and, in short, any thing that will weaken the 

 animal considerably, is likely to produce glanders or farcy. 



There will be no danger in admitting this opinion if, at the 

 same time, we keep in view the contagious nature of the dis- 

 order, in whatever manner it may be produced. For if such 

 cruel and foolish treatment of horses does not produce glanders 

 and farcy, it produces other disorders which are often more 

 speedily fatal than glanders ; and if it does not actually produce 

 a disorder, it weakens the constitution to such a degree that the 

 animal is rendered more susceptible of the contagion of glan- 

 ders, as well as of other diseases. It is from this cause that 

 glanders spreads so rapidly among post and stage-coach horses, 

 while among horses of a different description, its prof^ress is 

 generally slow, Mr. Russel, of Exeter, had, for many years, 

 some glandered teams of horses constantly Avorking from Ply- 

 mouth to Exeter. But they were worked with moderation, well 

 fed, and taken great care of. I attended these teams for several 

 years ; the horses generally looked well, and in excellent con- 

 dition. Many of them lasted four or five years ; some fell off 

 after a few months. As they dropped off, the teams were re- 

 inforced by horses that happened to become glandered on an- 

 other line of road belonging to the same proprietor, or by 

 horses free from glanders that did not suit other teams, or were 

 not supposed good enough for them. Such horses would some- 

 times escape the contagion, at others they would become glan- 

 dered in a few weeks. 



After some time, the person who had the care of the teams 

 from which these reinforcements used to be drawn, became con- 

 vinced, by exjieriments, of the contagious nature of glanders, 



