TETANUS 179 



siflora." In my opinion tetanus symptoms are milder 

 in a Southern climate merely because of the climate. I do 

 not believe it is so because the tetanus infection in the 

 South is less virulent, or because Southern horses are not 

 so susceptible to the action of its toxins. I believe that 

 the climate is entirely responsible. In some parts of the 

 South the natives take advantage of the beneficial effect 

 of heat on tetanus symptoms. When a horse develops 

 tetanus he is at once confined in a small, almost air-tight 

 enclosure having a tin or sheet-iron roof. The openings 

 are draped with sacks or blankets to keep out the light. 

 This is all the treatment the patient gets. But it is a real 

 treatment, for when a high-noon Southern sun gets action 

 on a tin roof, a Turkish bath establishment isn't in the 

 running. And it is nothing out of the ordinary for a com- 

 plete recovery to take place in so short a time as two or 

 three weeks with no other treatment than heat, dark- 

 ness, and quiet. 



I was on one occasion forced to use this treatment in 

 one of my patients while I practiced in the South. The 

 subject was a fat, chunky, 1,000-pound stallion. Each 

 day at noon when I entered the little shed where he was 

 confined, I feared the heat would overcome him. In less 

 than three weeks he was again in harness, and his case 

 had been rather a severe one, too. 



Veterinarians who contemplate the erection of a hos- 

 pital should include in their plans a veritable "dungeon" 

 stall that can be heated by steam until its temperature 

 registers 100° P. or more. Tetanus cases only should be 

 treated in such a stall. If in addition to this the patient 

 is given the Passiflora treatment, the results, I am sure, 

 will be most gratifying. 



Regarding the general handling of tetanus cases, it is 

 only necessary to emphasize the enforcement of quiet and 

 the provision of darkened quarters. Attendants should 



