1858 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
343 
adopted, of spreading litne in lumps —in which state, 
or while it remains so, it must continue nearly value¬ 
less for centuries. 
-- 
Glanders in Horses. 
This disease is justly called glanders, (vulgarly 
horse-ail,) being principally an affection of the glands 
of the head; but more particularly those of the muc¬ 
ous membranes of the nostrils, or it may extend over 
the whole mucous membrane of the air passage, in¬ 
volving the whole glandular system of the head and 
neck. 
The disease has been called simple glanders , when 
it affects the nasal passages only, and farcy glanders ,, 
when attended by an eruption of small suppurative and 
ulcerative tumors, and abscesses of the glands of the 
throat. The disease usually appears in the winter and 
spring, but occurs at all seasons of the year. 
A great difference has been noticed in the duration 
of the disease ; it usually terminates in two or three 
weeks, but may continue as many months. The disease 
is not generally fatal in its simple form unless it con¬ 
tinue for a long time. When it is accompanied with ab¬ 
scess, <&c., it may be looked upon as dangerous. 
Symptoms .—The first symptoms, are those of an 
attack of fever, such as general uneasiness, loss of 
appetite, difficulty in drinking, and sudden debility of 
strength, and a peculiar kind of noise in breathing, 
which is usually a prominent symptom. 
At a variable time from the commencement of the 
attack, usually, perhaps, in about three or four days, 
an eruption of hard pustules takes place ; they may 
be numerous or there may be but a few ; they enlarge, 
and form tumors from one to four inches or more in 
diameter, which are hard and painful, but soon sup¬ 
purate, and form ulcers extending deep into the flesh, 
and discharging a large quantity of purulent matter, 
which is often extremely offensive. 
At the same period, or sometimes not until a week 
after the disease first commences, the nostrils begin to 
discharge a mucous or purulent fluid, which is at first 
yellowish, afterwards dark, from the admixture of 
blood, and extremely fetid. In some cases it is thin 
and serous, but more frequently viscid and tenacious, 
adhering to the sides of the nostrils, forming'crusts. 
The nostrils are more or less obstructed by the swell¬ 
ing of the membrane, so as mueh to impede respira¬ 
tion, and the horse sometimes dies of suffocation. The 
animal is often extremely dry, and drinks large quan¬ 
tities of water, and if the back part of the mouth— 
(fauces) are much swollen, it will nearly all return 
through the nostrils. 
The symptoms named do not all occur in every case, 
nor always in the order stated. If the animal recov¬ 
ers the symptoms usually begin to decline about the 
tenth or twelfth day, and in from two to three weeks 
the horse is quite well. 
Cause.-—The most frequent and exciting cause of 
glanders, beyond all comparison is cold; and the ef¬ 
fect is especially apt to be produced after perspiration 
from heat or exertion. Hence the complaint is most 
common in winter, and also horses that are kept in 
warm stables and covered with heavy blankets are 
liable to an attack of the complaint from exposure, 
and to guard them from an attack, they ought to be 
well covered when standing out. 
Occasionally the direct application of active and irri¬ 
tating powders (such as may be found in dusty or 
smutty hay,) to the nostrils, may cause simple glanders. 
Glanders is also frequently epidemic and contagious. 
The nature of this specific cause is unknown. It is 
also communicable to man, forming one of the most 
dangerous diseases. The contagion acts, either through 
the air, or by contact in the liquid or solid form with 
the sound skin or the mucous membranes, or by inser¬ 
tion beneath the cuticle. What products of the dis¬ 
eased body are contagious is not exactly known; but 
the purulent contents of the pustules, and their dried 
scabs, certainly are so ; and it is asserted that the dis¬ 
ease has resulted from bleeding with a lancet which 
has been used in a previous case and not properly 
cleansed. 
Treatment. —In the very commencement of the dis¬ 
ease, if the breathing should be labored and wheezing, 
blood should be taken freely from the mouth; then 
physic him with sulphur and antimony—half ounce of 
sulphur and quarter ounce of antimony; if there are 
signs of an abcess forming under the throat, apply 
emolient poultices and fomenting baths. When the 
swelling becomes soft, and the matter fluctuating, it 
may be opened ; first carefully shave the hair from the 
abscess and surrounding parts, then make a free in¬ 
cision into the most depending part of the abscess ; the 
matter should be gently evacuated, and some strips of 
adhesive plaster should be passed round the part, so 
as to keep the sides of the sack in opposition with a 
moderate degree of pressure. Thus a free exit being 
provided for the pus, the opposing surfaces of the 
cavity will often granulate and adhere. If from de¬ 
ficiency of action, this adhesion will not take place, 
weak stimulating injections may be .used—such as sul¬ 
phate of zinc, sulphate of iron, &c., the proportion be¬ 
ing one drachm to the pint of water; make three or 
four injections a day, keeping the external parts clean 
with soap and water. 
Fumigate his head twice a day with sulphur and 
camphor, mixed with rye meal and burnt, and occa¬ 
sionally blow snuff up his nose;‘if the discharge is 
abundant, inject tar-water up his nostrils, decoction of 
oak bark, solution of sulphate of zinc. When the dis¬ 
charges are offensive, solutions of creosote, or of chlo¬ 
ride of soda, potassa, or lime, will do much towards 
correcting the fetor, and may prove useful as ultra- 
tives to the mucous surface. The horse should be kep 
upon bean mush, rye mush, &c., and if in the warm 
season should be turned out to graze in the day time, 
being stabled at night. A. F. P. Warner , N. H. 
- — 9 O • - 
How to Forward Tomatoes. 
I would inform your Canada correspondent that I 
forward my tomatoes several weeks by the following 
method: 
I start the plants in the house quite early, and as 
soon as the weather will admit, I make a slight hot¬ 
bed on the south side of a fence or building, mixing a 
large portion of sand with the soil, and transplant 
them into it, leaving sufficient space under the glass 
for them to grow until all danger of frost is past, 
leaving them covered until they grow up against the 
glass. 
The small yellow variety is earlier than the red, 
and superior in quality. Wm. F. Bassett. Ashfield. 
