36 PRIVATE PRESCRIPTIONS 
dition of an animal is such as to favor direct transmission 
this disease may prove infectious, yet I cansot accept the 
theory of many writers upon the subject who contend that 
it is a contagious blood disease. Its attacking and run- 
ning through an entire herd of horses is, I will admit, evi- 
dence in favor of the theory of contagion, but this is by no 
means proof positive, for in all probability every horse of 
the herd has been subjected to the same identical condi- 
tions. But no matter whether it be contagious, infectious 
or of spontaneous origin the vital fact remains that stock 
have it, and it becomes our duty to s:udy methods for get- 
ting rid of it. 
Cause—The cause of distemper is entirely problematical; 
it may arise spontaneously, and again it may be the result 
of colc. One thing we do know and that is the fact of its 
being more prevalent in low damp sections of the country 
than upon higher ground. 
HOW TO KNOW IT. 
The coat of a distempered horse is usually dry and. 
uneven; he suffers from loss of appetite and is in many 
instances apparently prostrated. The pulse will be quick 
and weak and the temperature will run upto 102 © or 103 9. 
The feet, legs and tips of ears are cold. In two or three 
days the throat begins to swell on both sides and some- 
times between the lower jaws; this swelling is in some 
cases enormous, causing sufferer to hold his head and 
neck stretched like a child with mumps. There is usually 
a cough and inability to swallow, with a discharge from 
the nose which takes on a purulent character in a very 
