Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1893-09-23
TEHG CATTLE DISEASE.
What am Investigation Of the One
Now Prevailing DisclOses.

has prevailed amongst the cattle
and horses of the Truckee Meadows
and other low lying meadows east
of the Sierra Nevada, causing the
loss of many head. In March, 1892,
my attention was called to the
trouble and since then i have spent
much of my spare time inyestigat-
ing the subject. Cattle men and
ranchers have called the disease
murrain, blackleg and various other
names, but it is determined that
the disease is anthrax, or Charlton.
Post mertem examinations have
been held on a number of animals,
and after numerous microscpical
examinations, / have no hesitation
in making decided diagnosis. 1t
is a blood disease caused by the
multiplication and development of
innumerable germs, known to bac-
teriologists as bacilli of anthrax.
These germs become so abundant
as to completely clog and burst
many of the smaller blood vessels,
resulting in the formation of num-
erous blood splotches on the surface
of the intestines and other internal
organs. Frequently these become
so numerous as TO run together and
form large areas. The spleen, or
melt, usually becomes engorged
with the bacilli and decomposed
blood so that it becomes greatly en-
larged, loses its normal structure
and consistency, becoming black
aud pulpy. From the fact that the
spleen is so frequently affected, the
disease is widely known as splenetic
fever. The disease may manifest
itself by external swellings on va
rious parts of the body, especially
so in horses, where they appear
usually about the throat and neck,
or along the middle line OF the belly
These swellings increase in size I'M
til it seems that the horse dies from
strangulation. Animals affected
usually have fever, are much de-
pressed, becoming very weak, the
heart beats rapidly, breathing be-
comes difficult and they usually die
in agony. In cattle, the disease
may kill like a shot, or the animal
may live for a few hours or may
linger for several days. Death al
most invariably results.
The subject is too extensive for
"a full discussion of it's SYMPTOMS
and characteristics in newspaper
article, but a bulletin on the subject
is in course of preparation and will
be issued in a few weeks by the Ag-
ricultural Experiment Station. Any
citizen of the State DESTROYS of secur-
ing one of these bulletins may OBJ
tain it free of cost by making a
written request and sending his
address to the Agricultural Expert
ment Station, Reno.
The disease has doubtless existed
in low lying meadows throughout
the whole western country since its
earliest settlement. A few years
ago it became epidemic in Southern
California, killing thousands of cat
tie. 1t is known to prevail in the
lower Mississippi Valley and is re-
ported epidemic from various Sec
tons of the United States. 1t is
worldwide in distribution, and was
known as murrain in the time of
Moses. 1t is an infectious disease
and for its development must de-
pend upon the introduction of the
germ into the system. In the strict
sense of the term, it is not conta-
gious, as is pleuro-pneumonia in
cattle, or scarlet fever in man.
Like typhoid fever, it is usually in
directly communicated from one
animal to another through the nat
ural discharges of the body. AS in
typhoid fever, the germs passed
with the discharges may find favor
able conditions outside the body for
their multiplication and develop