TO HORSEKEEPERS 207 



varied with circumstances, and were generally written in 

 that jocular spirit that would be justly appreciated by 

 officers, with whom he always lived on the best of 

 terms : — 



" All physicians, from Hippocrates and Galen, down to 

 the learned and celebrated Dr. Eady, have decided that 



prevention is better than cure. Keep a d good look 



out— do ! " 



Lofty and well-ventilated stables, that should not be 

 crowded, and particular attention directed to the animals' 

 diet being sweet and wholesome ; with good grooming, in 

 which care ao-ainst the horses takino; cold should be 

 included, as well as cleanliness in all stable utensils, will 

 mainly contribute to that desirable end, and will prevent 

 any predisposition of the system's imbibing the germ of 

 this insidious disorder. It sometimes commences with 

 farcy, a disease almost as fatal. Always remember that 

 the first loss is best, and death is the only prevention of 

 contagion. 



How frequently have I witnessed the injurious effects 

 of a wretched and parsimonious economy in the purchase 

 of inferior corn. Diabetes, inflammation of the kidneys, 

 acrid humours, general debility, and other diseases, all 

 arising from cheap or stale oats, frequently terminate in 

 farcy or glanders. 



As an instance of the virulent as well as dangerous 

 nature of this disease, even to the human subject, I 

 remember a man employed as a knacker, inoculating 

 himself while in the act of flaying a horse that fell a 

 victim to it, and dying a few days after, in the greatest 

 agony. 



