ON SPECIFIC FEVER OF HORSES, OXEN, &C. ^533 
three years, and with the Body Guard in Calcutta two years, 
950 miles distant from each other, in the arid plains of the Doob, 
and the marsh of Bengal—widely different climates—^and had 
such been the case it would not have escaped my observation, 
although I did not, at this time, consider that, having had this 
fever once, colts were not afterwards predisposed to it. Besides, 
glanders and farcy were prevalent during the whole time that I 
was with the Body Guard. I was then in the habit of consider¬ 
ing these diseases as altogether distinct from strangles and ca¬ 
tarrh, and I did not note whether the horses were stud-bred or 
not; but subsequent experience convinced me that in this climate 
they are all the result of this formidable specific fever, and that 
the only effectual preventive is inoculation with the mildest local 
disease—strangles; and thus doing away with the predisposition 
to the severer forms of it, whether catarrh, farcy, glanders, tuber¬ 
culous skin, or diseased lungs. 
In my time there were at Hissar 2841 old and young camels 
in 1819-20, and 3706 in 1820-21. They were always in the open 
air, and, although separated for the convenience of feeding, and 
the locality of the herd being continually changed, yet such was 
the powerful effect of the effluvia from their dung and their urine, 
that this specific fever was induced, followed by catari h and dis¬ 
eased lungs. The natives of Western India call it the Pakclar. 
They consider it to be infectious, and carefully separate the 
diseased from the sound. The appearances on dissection were 
similar to the morbid affections of other animals that died in con¬ 
sequence of this fever. 
These animals were kept in the arid province of Ajineer, where 
the periodical rains are not severe at any time, and where drought 
oftener prevails ; yet the stagnation of the atmosphere during the 
rainy season is exceedingly oppressive to all animals, producing 
that debility which so frequently precedes or prepares for the ac¬ 
cession of fever. 
Sheep are kept in larger flocks in the provinces of Ajmeerand 
Bicanere than in any other part of India, and always in the 
open air; yet they are very much predisposed to this fever in 
these provinces, and in the latter especially, where water is so 
scarce that the little rain that falls is preserved in tanks. Sheep 
purchased for me in Bicanere have been infected with the rot; 
and how could that be accounted for but as a consequence of 
this fever ? 
The nights in this desert are always cold, and the days hot, 
even during the cold season, predisposing the air-passages to be 
affected by inflammation ; but there could be no marsh effluvia 
here satisfactorily to account for the rot, according to the gene- 
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