950 
THE HORSE PLAGUE. 
The number of horses at present sick may be imagined 
when it is stated that 2000 are under the skilful treatment 
of Mr. McEachran, the well-known veterinary surgeon. 
Mr. Swinburne has also more cases on hand than he can 
possibly find time to attend to, and every horse hospital is 
crammed. Horses were being brought in all day to the dif¬ 
ferent veterinary stables, and as soon as they were attended 
to, unless too ill to be taken away, they were led off to make 
room for others. They were coming in batches from all 
parts of the surrounding country, thus giving proof that the 
epidemic is fast making its way through this province as it 
did the upper one. 
In the many large stables of the city the writer visited 
yesterday it was easy to detect the very sick horse from the 
one but just affected. The very sick animal, with its head 
hung down, palpitating sides, and streaming nose, was a very 
wretched looking object. On every side the sharp, dry 
cough could be heard from almost every horse. In one large 
stable, where fifty horses are kept, two yesterday morning 
were very sick, and all the rest were more or less affected. 
Notwithstanding their advertisement, the City Passenger 
Railway managed to keep their cars running all day, although 
one veterinary surgeon was loud in his denunciation of such 
a course of conduct. At any rate the cars ran all day, and 
it must have taken the best management to keep them going, 
for last night, as far as could be learned, there w T ere no less 
than eighty of the company’s horses affected. Some of the 
animals first taken sick, however, showed decided symptoms 
of improvement, and it was hoped that no case w T ould be 
w r orse than an ordinary one. Of the horses in the fire brigade 
five were sick yesterday, and one or two others looked very 
much predisposed to the disease. The fact of the brigade 
horses, so particularly well stabled, fed, and cared for, taking 
sick, plainly shows that the epidemic is not confined to one 
class of horses more than another. How long the disease 
will last, or w r here it will end, is hard to say. In the 
opinion of those who ought to know, it is thought it will not 
end till a change takes place in the present damp state of 
the weather. It is likelv the disease will take its course 
throughout the country until checked by a return of fine, 
dry, clear w T eather, so characteristic of the Canadian climate. 
It is a matter of real congratulation that, so far in the pro¬ 
gress of the epidemic, there has not been a single fatal case 
reported. 
