6 
W. L. ZUILL. 
disease, even when he saw that when once introduced into a 
stable it spread rapidly, and almost exclusively, among young 
animals recently brought in, even when they were scattered 
among older ones. Overfeeding is also considered as a predis¬ 
posing cause, from the fact that the disease may be seen in its 
worst form in overfed sale horses; while in underfed horses it 
assumes a relatively mild form. Some years ago, when typhoid 
fever was supposed to exist only in sporadic cases, it was quite 
satisfactorily explained by the over-exertion theory, especially 
as the products of tissue waste are found in the blood in gen¬ 
erally increased proportion, represented by urea, creatin, cre¬ 
atine, etc.; but these causes are predisposing, not determining. 
This disease was never considered to be contagious in character 
until 1872, when Prof. Trasbot, director of the veterinary school 
at Alfort, expressed this opinion to the Central Society of Vet¬ 
erinary Medicine, which was rather severely criticised. M. 
Benjamin wrote an article on this subject, intended to demon¬ 
strate an opposite view, but the evidence produced was not of 
sufficient value to prove the correctness of the statement. During 
the spring of 1893, I was most forcibly impressed with the 
contagiousness of this disease, as I saw over forty cases in one 
of the large brewery stables in Philadelphia; the disease was 
brought in by the purchase of some fresh Canadian horses in 
April; these animals infected nearly 40 per cent, of the stable, 
and every animal affected was under eight years old. 
Two other instances occurring at the same time, one in the 
stables of a well-known circus proprietor, who lost over 50 per 
cent, of his stock from this disease, the number of animals kept 
in the stable was about 75; the other instance was of a carter, 
who was almost ruined by the ravages of this disease, losing 
nearly three-fourths of his animals. 
INOCULATION. —The contagious character of typhoid fever is 
now a well recognized fact, but up to the present time it has 
been a question as to whether or not typhoid fever was inocula- 
ble. Experiments made with the disease, to prove its trans¬ 
mission by inoculation, have by no means given satisfactory 
