986 VETEEINARY HYGIENE 



this way recovering many which may eventually take their 

 place in the ranks, and thus save immense loss. 



The actual amount of treatment which can be done while 

 a force is moving is not much. Wounds can be attended 

 to, and urgent cases treated, but when it is impossible to 

 rest animals the chances of early recovery are not great. 



An army is not marching every day, and it is during 

 these intervals that active curative measures should be 

 adopted. The cases should be grouped according to the 

 nature of the disease, and the number of groups is likely 

 to be that mentioned on p. 495. This grouping for 

 systematic treatment is the essence of hospital methods; 

 not only should the cases be grouped according to their 

 nature, but if possible according to severity, so that the 

 serious cases of any particular group are brought together, 

 and are placed under better supervision than when scattered 

 throughout the lines. The grouping systematizes work; 

 for instance, the debility cases only require very little 

 attention beyond rest, water, and food ; the surgical cases 

 will require the attention of the entire body of dressers, 

 the lame cases the service of the farriers. 



Every hospital must have its section for the reception 

 of infectious cases or suspects; the bulk of these will be 

 represented by mange, while a few may be waiting for the 

 mallein test. 



While on the question of the mallein test, it is perhaps well 

 to add that reactors should not be destroyed if in moderately 

 good condition. Such animals may have months of work 

 left in them before becoming clinically affected, and if the 

 campaign is a severe one, the probability is they will be 

 dead from other causes before clinical signs show them- 

 selves. 



All reactors should be branded, or marked for identifica- 

 tion at the end of the campaign. Speaking generally, it 

 may be stated that all attempts to get rid of glanders during 

 active operations are costly and useless ; what we can do 

 is to keep it under control by the identification and de- 

 struction of those clinically affected. 



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