Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1895-05-16
TO PRODUCE SERUM.
HOW "MR. BILLIE" SAVES MANY
PRECIOUS LIVES.
The Easy Life Suits Him. ard He Holds
the Record for Producing Anti-Toxine
AT First He objected to the Treat
ment, but Now He Enjoys 1t.

There was horse once that thought
1t would be much nicer to be driven up
Fifth avenue attached to a runabout
with dark body and crimson wheels
than to be YEARLY dragging a truck
about the rough pavement. He thought
II would be nice to be a high-stepper,
We'll groomed and well cared for, and
take spin once or twice day through
the park. He envied those other
wealthy horses and looked up to them
from his little workaday world and be-
came pessimist
This horse is unhappy no longer. He
looks down upon the prancing, high
hoof-throwiHg animals in the park
and has the proud consciousness that
he is not like other horses. He is a
life saver. He is "Anti-Toxine Bill No.
4" He has furnished more serum
than any two other horses in the world
and saved the lives of any quantity
of poor children suffering from diph-
liberia. BILL" or Mr.. Billie as some
of the stable attendants at the New
YoT''s College of Veterinary Surgeons
call him, is perfect mine of anti-toxine
and since he was discovered has fur
nished fifteen quarts of the serum.
Mr.. Billie is very undemonstra-
tive horse and under his wool blanket
looks like any other gray horse of the
heavy western variety. He stands six
teen hands in height and weighs a
great many more pounds than he did
before he became this wonderful pro-
if inn IL mir ynH
up at horse sale by the buyer for the
establishment, and because he had
something the matter with one of his
hind legs he was easily bid in for ST.
This was the best 81 the college ever
spent. Mr.. Billie" was taken to the
college and after a few days of rest was
given the usual dose of toxine. which is
the poisonous substance formed by the
diphtheria bacilli
Mr.. Billie did not like it at first.
He had been examined by the usual
test to see if he had CHAMBERS or any
other horsey diseases, had been pro-
nounced sound, with the exception of
the game foot and general debility
caused by a little too much truck
work. When they injected the two
cubic centimeters of toxine under his
skin near the shoulder by means of the
special hypodermic syringe Mr..
Billie" looked around in surprise and
mildly protested. 1t made his tenn
perature so up and made him feverish
and he did not care for that. Then in
a few days he became normal again
and the dose was repeated. The horse
began to thrive and grow fat and now
has taken 200 cubic centimeters with
out so much as winking. This contin-
ued for three months and the ex-truck
horse seemed to like the life. 1t was
much pleasanter to have plenty to eat
and nothing to do, with an hour of ex-
ercise night and morning, than to be
whipped and beaten and hitched to
truck. Then the physicians took his
temperature and looked very wise and
one day they made an incision in MIR.
Billie's' neck and inserted glass tube
and got out lot of blood. They took
one quart the first time and tested
it by separting the serum and were
surprised at finding it twice as strong
as any taken from the other forty
horses in the two stables where the
work goes on. About seven quarts of
blood we're taken out and the horse
was given another dosing. Another
horse who has produced a large guam
tity of serum is named Robby He is
a roam, standing about 1873, a good
stopper and is often driven to a rum
about for exercise. He has fashion,
ably banged tail and is as good a horse
as anyone would wish to own. The
operation OF procuring the serum,
which has just been described, is a
very simple one and merely consists
in filling the animals system very full
of the toxine poison. Some of the
horses cannot stand it. Out of the forty
horses who have been operated upon
eight have died. These were horses
some of them-who were too old to
properly take the treatment. All the
horses at the two stables are now young
horses, 6 or years of age. as it has
been found they are more adapted to
the process and give the best results.
Sometimes the serum is of a clear, vel
lowish color and sometimes it is red
der. The color varies and the reason
for this is not known. The anti-tox-
inc is sterilized anCl put up into small
bottles The board of health uses a
great deal OF the anti-toxine which
comes from the New York College of
Veterinary Surgeons. There is a lab
oratory on the second floor of tho
building where tile whole work Of
preparation is done