MAKaK. 87 



often grievously troubled, and as of tea infect others," so that if re- 

 spectability goes by long and pure descent, mange mites must rank 

 very high in animal society. A modem writer on canine pathology 

 begins his dissertation on mange with these prefatory remarks : 

 " The term mange is generally used by those people who dabble 

 in canine matters, mthout the knowledge necessary to diagnose 

 correctly, to denote any affection of the skin which results in 

 eruption, irritation, or the detachment of hair." This is to a great 

 extent true. 



The two clearly defined kinds of parasitic mange — Sarooptic and 

 Follicular— are both due to species of mites. 



Sarcoptic Mange. — The mite producing this most nearly 

 resembles th6 itch-mite of man, and as it is propagated by eggs, and 

 transmitted by contact, direct or indirect, there seems nothing im- 

 possible in the idea of stamping out this chief " enemy to the comfort 

 of a brave spaniel," if only we could get every dog-owner to be 

 careful and clean. There is much virtue in an " if " ; but at least 

 we can learn from the facts known about the mange-mite that we 

 need not harbour it in our own kennels, and by stamping it out 

 there, lessen it generally. Dirt unquestionably harbours and en- 

 courages mange, although it does not produce it ; left undisturbed 

 by cleansing processes, the pests breed and multiply with great 

 rapidity. 



When the mite reaches the dog, it burrows into the skin ; the 

 process, and also a poisonous fluid discharged by the creature, causes 

 intolerable itching, and to relieve tliis the dog scratches, with the 

 result that the skin is broken, amall red points appear, and these 

 become pustular and disohai'ge a fluid which dries or crusts and 

 forms a scab ; the hair falls off. The multiplication of the original 

 cause of the evil is rapid, and, left unchecked, the whole sui-face of 

 the body soon becomes involved, while the poor dog is an object of 

 pity, and from want of rest and other causes sinks into a helpless 

 condition. This state is often called virulent or scabby mange, and 

 presents many of the characteristics of Blotch. The skin is harsh, 

 dry, and rough, until small pimples appear, when therefrom oozes a 

 piuTilent matter, forming scabs, which mat the hair together, and 

 bring it off in patches as the dog rubs or seratehea himself. The 

 back, breast, and insides of the thighs are generally the first places 

 attacked, and every crease and wrinkle in the skin becomes is 

 flamed and moist with the irritating discharge. If the disease is left 

 unchecked, it soon extends over the whole body, reducing the dog to 

 a deplorable condition, disgusting to all who see him and intolerable 

 to hfanaelf. These are severe and extreme cases. In othere a dry. 



