266 
CHARLES F. DAWSON. 
sive and little painful, remember that those lesions are frequently 
the stamp of filariosis. 
One must be cautious and sometimes have courage enough 
to do nothing , or at least to abstain from all treatment likely to 
blemish the animal without doing any good. 
And yet, if something must be done, let it be an in¬ 
offensive treatment, douches, massages, absorbing embrocations ; 
the rest that they will impose will likely avoid more serious 
accidents. 
Keep the heels of the foot cut low, to relieve the stretching 
of the suspensory ligament and of the perforatus. 
* 
* * 
To resume : Filariosis of the suspensory ligament in equines 
is a very common affection. It does not reach sufficient severity 
to interfere with the working function of an animal and conse¬ 
quently does not reduce his market value. 
But it is quite frequently the cause of chronic swelling, 
weakness of the suspensory ligament and, as a consequence, of 
a compensating hypertrophy, principally of the carpal band 
and of tendinous and periarticular lesions. 
There is reasons to believe that it enters for great portions 
in the cause of some blemishes, exclusively attributed to this 
day to accidents or overwork. 
Its prophylaxy is still unknown, and we remain powerless 
against it to a therapeutical point of view. 
THE DISSEMINATION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES BY 
INSECTS. 
By Charles F. Dawson, M. D., D. V. S., Baltimore, Md. 
Probably few observant persons would doubt that one of the 
ways in which infectious diseases are disseminated is through 
the agency of insects. Those who are cognizant of the condi¬ 
tions necessary for the transportation of bacteria will admit that 
insects as a rule form an excellent means of carrying disease- 
producing bacteria from sick to healthy individuals. When we 
