304 
W. L. WILLIAMS. 
in their purity and studied to advantage, and under such sur¬ 
roundings each outbreak can be traced to its origin with as 
unerring certainty as in any contagious disease. It usually 
appears first in these small cities in tliQ livery or sale stables, 
especially in stallion sale stables, where there are frequent ar¬ 
rivals of horses from long distances. From these centers it 
gradually spreads to smaller private stables and to breeding 
farms in the vicinity, the latter usually becoming infected 
through the bringing in of a new animal, or more frequently' 
by means of the regular driving team of the farm, which is 
habitually placed in the large stables when driven to the city. 
Convalescent animals from city stables are frequently sent to 
farms for recuperation, and furnish a fertile source for dis¬ 
semination. Agricultural fairs, horse shows and race meet¬ 
ings also afford excellent opportunities for the dissemination 
of this and other contagious diseases. 
Symptoms. —In common with other acute contagious 
maladies this is to be first recognized by the sudden rise of 
temperature, attaining in a few hours’ time an elevation to 
usually 104° to 106°, occasionally reaching 107.5 0 F* or even 
higher. It probably offers the highest average temperature 
of ail infectious diseases of the. horse. The whole body sur¬ 
face and the mouth give a sense of intense heat to the touch. 
The pulse varies from fifty to seventy per minute in the ear¬ 
lier stages, increasing to one hundred and over, with the later 
advent of grave complications. With grave heart complica¬ 
tions the pulse becomes rapid, weak and intermittent. 
The effect upon the general nervous system is generally 
of a profound character from the beginning. The general 
consciousness seems lowered and the animal apparently 
suffers from headache, as evinced by hanging the head or 
resting it on the manger or other support. Locomotion is 
slow and unsteady, indicative of extreme nervous debility. 
As a further result of the nervous depression, the animal not 
infrequently lies down considerably in the earlier as well as 
later stages. 
I he visible mucous membranes are intensely injected, 
dark red, at times yellowish red and but slightly, if at all, 
