Distemper 285 



liver, brain, or spinal implication, and by the appear- 

 ance of an exanthematous or cutaneous eruption, more 

 especially upon the skin covering the belly, inside the 

 thighs, or distributed more or less over the whole skin, 

 and subsequently by desquamation, or shedding of scurf. 

 What may be regarded as the classical features of 

 this trouble may briefly be summarized as follows : 



(a) Its infective nature. The writer does not for a 

 moment suppose that any proprietor of hounds will dis- 

 sent from the view that distemper is an exceedingly 

 infective complaint ; the term infection is more service- 

 able than contagion, as it satisfies all methods of trans- 

 mission of the malady, whereas contagion has a very 

 limited meaning. A question that necessarily arises in 

 the mind of a thoughtful observer, and to be a thoughtful 

 observer one must also be a speculative thinker, is that 

 relating to the channels of transmission and what the 

 material is that is transmitted. First of all it is toler- 

 ably certain that the living infected hound constitutes 

 a much more active agent in disseminating the malady 

 than the cadaver or dead body, though the latter cannot 

 be regarded as a medium incapable of transferring the 

 complaint, i.e., within a reasonable period. 



Direct transference takes place, or is Hable to occur, 

 when an infected hound is brought into contact with 

 a previously healthy subject, provided that the animal 

 has not had a prior attack of the malady, it being a 

 well-ascertained fact that youth constitutes a predis- 

 posing factor in determining an attack of distemper. 

 The nasal discharge does, in the author's opinion, form 

 one of the most active agencies for transmission, either 

 by ingestion of it or through implantation of it upon 



