INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE, ETC., ON THE 
DISTRIBUTION & CHARACTER OF DISEASE. 615 
Dr. Gresswell has seen much of the disease in Colorado, 
where the lathyrns sativa is not grown or fed. 
George S. Witter describes the disease as it occured in five of 
his breeding stallions in Colorado, but cannot suggest the cause. 
Recently suit was brought in a Montana court to recover 
damages from the owner of an ore mill by a horse owner who 
had lost many horses from this affection, and alleged their death 
was due to poisons in mill tailings, which were scattered over 
his pastures in irrigating— : quite a different cause from that sug¬ 
gested by Drs. Leather. 
Dr. Choate thinks it occurs rarely in Maine although he has 
seen it personally. 
Dr. W. B. Niles has not seen the affection in Iowa, but has 
heard of an enzootic in that state which is probably this disease. 
I had the privilege of observing an outbreak of this disease 
in central Illinois, some years since, numerous isolated cases 
occurring the same year, but most of them happening on one 
farm, devoted to the rearing of full-blood and high-grade 
heavy French draft horses, three or four of which succumbed to 
the disease out of a band of about forty. 
Over the entire central portion of the state a large part of 
the corn (maize) had been frozen before ripe, and wet weather 
following, the frozen ears rapidly underwent putrefaction, and 
being worthless were left ungathered in the fields, and live¬ 
stock permitted to run in the fields after gathering the valu¬ 
able corn, ate freely this frozen, putrefying maize; and it was 
only in animals allowed in such fields, or permitted to eat 
this damaged corn that I observed the disease. Even on the 
farm where I prevailed so extensively, only those running in 
the field were affected, while those kept in stable and fed on 
corn gathered in the same field, but carefully selected and 
not damaged, remained sound. Also four or five animals, 
which were markedly affected, and could run but a very short 
distance without severe laryngeal spasms, even causing the ani¬ 
mal to fall, if urged on; recovered upon being removed from 
field and food changed. 
