DOUBTFUL CASE OF GLANDERS. 
295 
Upon examination, I found the following symptoms to be 
present:—A constant,though copious,discharge from the near 
nostril; three good-sized ulcers on the Schneiderian mem¬ 
brane of the same, and considerable enlargement of the sub¬ 
maxillary gland on the near side. The horse was in fair 
condition, had a good coat, fed well, and had no cough. I 
was told the discharge and enlargement under the jaw had 
been noticed about a month before, and upon pushing my 
inquiries still further I learned that a horse, with which my 
patient had formerly run in a carriage, had died in a very 
emaciated state about a year before, having been affected 
with discharge from the nose and lumps 39 under the jaw for 
months previous to its death. 
This circumstance, added to the state in which I found 
the horse in question, justified me in telling the owner that 
in my opinion it was a case of glanders, and that if the 
animal were mine I would destroy him. His value was only 
some £20 or £25. At the request, however, of the owner, 
the case was treated, but I told him to be very careful in his 
visits to the horse, and to keep it away from all others. No 
improvement took place from the treatment, and the horse 
is now in exactly the same state as when I saw it five months 
ago; it is daily driven in a carriage with another (a sound) 
horse. The proprietor being fond of money and not over 
wealthy, cannot, or will not, destroy this diseased animal, 
though he has been warned of the possible consequences to 
his other horses, his servants, and himself. Surely there 
ought to be some stringent law on the subject. In this 
country there is none bearing upon infectiously diseased 
animals the property of civilians . In the army such a horse, 
whether a charger or trooper, would be shot at once. Would 
you have any hesitation in pronouncing such a case to be 
glanders, and therefore of a dangerously infectious nature? 
The ulcers are unmistakably present, plainly visible on the 
mucous membrane, about an inch and a half above the line 
of union with the skin. The discharge is constant, thick, 
discoloured, and adherent to the nostril. The submaxillary 
enlargement hard, firm, and close to the jaw. For six months 
no change has taken place in this state of things. 
I would try inoculation on a young ass, but that the owner 
of the horse appears to prefer remaining in doubt to having 
the true state of the case proved, as this might compel him 
to destroy the horse, and thus lose a sum of about £20. 
No one better understands the difficulty of deciding on 
the true nature of a disease in the absence of the patient 
