Connecticut western news., 1880-11-10
THE EPIZOOTY AMONG HORSES.
By Alexander Hyde.

tuuualS aueCIcQ Dy It. we OO uOG pre- tend to be experts in veterinary science, and can only give the results of our own observations, seconded by the little study which any man owning horses would naturally give to the subject. Ep- izootic is general name for any disease which prevails extensively among ami malls, just as epidemic is applied to those diseases attacking multitudes of men at the same time. The disease which at presentprevails so extensively under this name seems to be catarrhal, affecting first the mucous membrane which lines the nose, and often extending through the whole mucous system. There are isolated cases of this catarrh every au- tumn. The first thing, probably, that attracts attention is sneezing cough, but & close observation reveals feverish ] symptoms-dry, stiff hair, dull eyes, cold legs, nose, and ears, and dry, in- famed condition of the membrane lining the nose. The mucous discharge from the nose appears very watery at first, but grows thicker as the disease ad- vances. In some cases tear flow from the eyes, and the glands of the jaws and throat swell. The horse loses his appe- tite, spirits, and strength. Debility is @ marked characteristic of the disease There is evidently Q typhoid tendency, and the treatment, therefore, should be to build up and srengthen the animal. If the attack is very severe, the catarrh- al inflammation extends to the lungs, bowels, and kidneys, and death is some times the consequence. When the ter imitation is not immediately fatal, the animal remains weak, and dropsical swellings appear on the legs and, more rarely, on the head.
 Epizootics among horses are no new thing. They have long been known in Europe, and have been much more se- were there than in this country. Most readers will remember the catarrhal epidemic which prevailed so extensively in this country and Canada in the au- tumn of 1872. This epizootic originated in Toronto, Canada, on the 9th of Oc- tober, spreading thence rapidly in all directions, appearing in Montreal on the 11th of the same month, in Detroit on the 18th, in Buffalo on the 18th, and in Boston on the 22d. Everywhere it paralyzed business. The horses were so weak that oxen were extensively used for transportation purposes. The disease continued into December, sell dom causing death, but not infrequently terminating in complications with other diseases of chronic character. In 1S41 a similar disease prevailed in this coun- try, but it's spread was not so extended as in 1872.
 As to the cause of the disease the doctors do not agree. As with epidem- ics, so with epizootics probably the first cases originate in filth or some ab- normal condition, and when & number of cases have occurred the air becomes impregnated with the seeds of the dis ease, and they are borne on the wings | of the wind That the disease is not strictly contagious, as many suppose, is manifest from the rapidity with which it spreads over the country. We hear of it in some distant cty, and before we are hardly aware of the fact we find it in our own stables. By contagion we understand the spread of disease from one individual to another by contact, the poison being communicated by the secretions of the body, or certainly at short distances by exhalation from the lungs, or spores arising from the person or the clothes of some one who has been in attendance upon the sick. We very naturally associate contagion with all epidemics and epizootics, but it is hardly possible that disease originating in Toronto on the 9th of October should spread contagion to Montreal in two days. More probably, the air becomes polluted with the seeds of the disease, which are scattered by the winds. We remember hearing it stated that horse which had been at work for months ir the Hoosac Tunnel, Q thousand feet be-
 low the surface of the earth, was at
 tackled in 1872, fact rather difficult te explain on the theory of contagion, an6 not likely to occur on the dissemination of the seeds of the disease by the winds In 1872 there were many instances O
 horses escaping the disease, although confined in stables where it prevailed extensively. Such horses probably hat strong constitutions, which enabled then by the aid of good air and nursing t, throw off the seeds of the disease. Ger and other damp, filthy places are no
 any more liable to be sick, but stand tn poorest chance of recovery. The natU
 ral course of the disease is from tel s days to fortnight, with possibility c 3 complication with other diseases indef r nitely.
 As to the treatment of horses afflicte
 with the epizooty, we e'would like to sa that the old maxim, "An ounce of pre-
 vention is worth @ pound of cure," az v plies with great force in this disease. A v the first warning of its approach ever
 horseman should be careful to keep hi @ animals we'll blanketed and free fror
 exposure to cold rains and draughts ( @ cold air. The stables should be keT 4l scrupulously clean, and the food shoul t be nourishing, but not stimulating l Oats arc better than corn, and both oat
 and hay should be moistened before the ,, are fed. A warm mash of oatmeal
 excellent feed. The bowels should l. l. kept in good condition, and for this pu1 n pose we know nothing better than al e pies. We fed them to one horse co1
 .Aa. i l. l.