10 



that, under modern conditions, the disease, unless properly cQntmltea 3s <c«- 

 tain to spread rapidly and to cause a constantly increasing loss m horse aesh. 



As an illustration of this, I would quote from our own experience tli£ ca^ 

 of one Canadian Lumber Company in a remote part of the country - which 

 reported last year for the first time the existence of Glanders among »*« horses. 

 Enquiry elicited the fact that in less than four years upwards of fifty head of 

 valuable horses, owned by this Company, had died of Glanders. Of thirty-six 

 survivors, thirty-four reacted to Mallein and were destroyed- Of the two 

 xemaining, neither had been in contact with the diseased horses. 



We have a number of similar cases on record, but it would scarcely be 

 possible to furnish' a better illustration of the evil results certain 'to foUqw 

 carelessness or neglect in dealing with Glanders. 



In this connection I cannot refrain from quoting an extract from the , 

 London "Lancet" of July Jth, 1905, which, in a review of the Report oi the 

 Board of Agriculture, speaks as follows : , 



"Glanders is admittedly on the increase, and it is time that some radical- 

 measures were taken to control the disease. In 1894 there were only 502 oat- 

 breaks reported, but in 1904 these had increased to i,539. and 2,658 horses were 

 killed as glandered. More power ought certainly to be given to the veterinary ^ 

 inspectors to test the in-contact horses with Mallein, as by this agent an almost , 

 infallible diagnosis can be' made within 24, or at most, 48 hours. The expense, 

 although great the first year, would- not be excessive if allowed to spread ovea^ i 

 , period of years; and where a preventable disease, which also causes the deaths' 

 of numbers of human beings each year, is concerned, the cost ought certainly 

 not to be considered too seriously as the reason why it should not be taken 

 thoroughly in hand." 



It is gratifying to note that the, British authorities are being urged to 

 introduce the identical policy which we have already adopted in Canada. 



.While dealing ^)vith this phase of the subject, I, would point out that if 

 the adoption pi our system is deemed necessary in a small country like Orgeat 

 P itain, where police and inspection work has been reduced to a science, there 

 can be no doubt of the wisdom of its adoption in the Dominion of Camada, 

 where the distances are magnified arid the population, especially in some dis- 

 tricts, sparse to a degree, aJthou^ I am glad to say that the last named condi- 

 tion is being rapidly altered by the, constant influx of desirable settlers xtfblo are 

 coming from all parts of the world, but perhaps in greatest number from the 

 Western United States. 1 



In this connection I would say that while we dd not think it necessary to 

 test the human immigrants from that country, I think it altogether likely tlhat 

 /we will be compelled, in the near future, to impose this precautionaiy restric- 

 tion upon those of the equine species, as the records in our possession indicate 

 that a considerable number of the outbreaks of Glanders in Western Canada 

 are due to imported American horses, of w:hich we have for a number of years 

 back been absorbing from twenty-five to thirty thousand head per annum. 



Having now indicated, perhaps at too great length, our present attitude ' 



