INFECTIOUS CATARRHAL FEVER OF HORSES. 
747 
and, while I have no intention of tearing down their theories _ 
since I have not a new and better one with which to replace 
them, I will endeavor to outline a system of treatment that at 
least has the merit of consistency—a system which I have 
studied very closely and which I have practiced with increasing 
satisfaction as it has been extended under the stern guidance of 
i practical experience. 
There is, I think, in every form of the disease, whether it 
affects the respiratory organs, the digestive apparatus, tlie lym¬ 
phatic and circulatory systems, or the apparatus of innervation, 
a primary catarrhal infection of the air passages. It, therefore, 
appeam to me that the infectingagent^the undiscovered micro¬ 
organism—is taken into the system of the susceptible subject by 
means of the inspired air, and finally localizes itself upon that 
organ or organs which offer it the most inviting habitat. I do 
not agree with Prof. Zuill that intestinal complications are seen 
in the majority of cases ; but I do believe that the respiratory 
tract IS by far the most selective of the organs, as its involve¬ 
ment is-the most serious. 
For the past eight years I have had an exceptionally favor¬ 
able opportunity to study this disease, especially in its 'clinical 
aspects, having had the medical care of a large sales-stable, 
where the usual amount of sickness is present during the entire 
year, but there has occurred every spring, about the latter part 
of April or the first of May, an outbreak of what I here term 
Infectious Catarrhal Fever.” It has always appeared suddenly, 
and before its nature was realized there would be half a dozen 
cases, anid within a week half the horses in the barn would be 
affected. 
Some would simply have a catarrhal fever, discharging a thin 
glutinous, often yellowish serosity from the nostrils, eyes half 
closed, and a watery secretion overflowing the lower lid and 
Jrunning down over the face. Pyrexia is an immediate and pro¬ 
nounced symptom, and only the mildest cases will fail to force 
the registry up to io6°, while a few will reach or slightly ex¬ 
ceed io8°. I learned to place more reliance upon the frequency 
