SYMPTOMS 119 
named gentlemen. A constant vigilance has been 
maintained for cutaneous no less than other lesions, but 
the results have been almost negative, since only about 
8 per cent. of cases of distemper have been found accom- 
panied by a rash. 
Suggestions have been put forward that the eruption 
is frequently overlooked or not observed, in consequence 
of the practitioner not, as a rule, being called in until the 
disease is far advanced, by which time the eruption 
has generally vanished; but serious objections can be 
raised to that theory in that (1) healing takes place with 
desquamation of the epidermis only after about seven to 
eight days from its onset, at the earliest, and even then 
leaves discernible traces behind; (2) many veterinary 
surgeons who possess boarding kennels or infirmaries 
in which dogs remain for long periods, have ample 
opportunities of watching cases of sickness from their 
very inception, apart from those which they visit at their 
owners’ homes ; and (3) in many instances the cutaneous 
symptoms are not manifested until at or near the 
termination of the primary malady. 
I knew a case in which a Pekingese puppy was the 
subject of an extensive rash for nine weeks, and eventu- 
ally died. 
It is held by some authorities that this eruption is the 
very earliest symptom of distemper, the spots appearing 
and disappearing within forty-eight to sixty hours ; thus 
if the animal were not under suspicion they might well 
be overlooked. I can remember no cases of this kind, 
but have found skin lesions appearing for the most part 
during convalescence or about the crisis. In a very 
small minority of cases they have occurred in the absence 
of any symptom other than dullness and malaise, leading 
one to doubt whether distemper was implicated or not. 
Diagnostic Value.—It was stated earlier in this work 
that the eruption is characteristic of distemper, and if the 
