The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-03-15

missioned officers, and not as civilians
They thus occupy an anomalous position,
where they have little authority. and can
accomplish little. The result after our
war with Spain was that, with the scat
tering OF the army horses over the CoUn-
try. they carried a good deal of gland
ers with them, just as they used TO in
the middle ages The veterinary prOfeS-
sion and the veterinary schools have long
been working TO get some respectable
veterinary representation in the army,
and that is something that we must still
look forward to-
There is still wide field for the in
VeSugatlOn Of the diseases --.-z---2.-,,
there should be no relaxation of efforts
IN promoting veterinary education upon
the theory that all the pioneer work OF
science has been done. There are still
animal diseases which are very irlper-
feCtiY understood In the southwest there
are parasitic diseases prevailing over
ranges Of country. often as large as a
State, which either destroy the animals
altogether. or put them in a condition OF
comparative uselessness for either
draught or food There are, besides, mys-
terious diseases in various parts of the
country popularity attributed to different
causes. when the real cause is wholly
unknown and will remain so until proper
" investigated by scientific men For
example. in Florida there is a disease
called Salt-sickness, which affects cattle
50 severely that in some places il has al
most ruined the cattle industry No one
appears to have any idea Of its cause.
a disease known as nilk-SickneSs pro-
duces serious results t is Transmitta bic
to man. and Yet its nature remains I'M
known.
Many diseases Of horses and cattle are
communicated to the human race. This
is particularly true Of the glanders.
Anthrax, too, IS a disease affecting all
Warm-hlOOded animals, and Is cOmmuni-
Gated 10 man by handling the skins of
animals that have died OF il. 1t is most
frequently found in tanneries, among men
h,r -FrI- he IA 4 in
houses where II was long known as the
wholesalers disease before anybody
had an idea Of its origin OF the dis
eases of animals transmitted TO man. tu-
berculOSiS is of course. the most noted
Many scientific men hold that IL is com
municated to the consumer Of meat and
milk. principally the latter
'One of the most terrible plaques OF
equine animals" continued the doctor, is
called CHAMBERS when il affects the air
passages and lungs and farcy when II
it appears on the skin. This disease,
from which recovery is rare, was known
TO the Greek and Latin writers as one Of
the most serious disorders Of horses and
asses. and its consciousness was gener-
ally admitted About I449 the elder La
fosse Of Paris began to teach the spOnta-
neOuS origin Of CHAMBERS, and underworld
that this was purely local disease
At first his view was COmbaJed by many
practitioners and by the veterinary
schools; but. being in harmony with Ger
tain medical doctrines, 1t gained adhe-
rents. was taken up by the Abort school
at first timid!y and later with energy
and became predominant in France, and
perhaps also in Germany.
The doctor went on TO recount IN de-
tail the methods by which the contag iOus-
ness OF the disease was nnaily Demon
straUed. and concluded as follows:
After settling the question OF conta-
gfou there were still two great problems
/ which confronted the veterinarian IN ms
efforts to control the disease. The first OF
these related 10 the cause Of the disease
/ for while. there was ignorance IN regard
to this, IL was Impossible 70 nave an N
telligeut comprehension Of the conditions
under which the coEtagiOn survived or Of
the kind and strength OF diSIDTsctanIs Ts-
quir-d for its destruction This was solved
during the year lSsZ. The second great
problem was to find a speedy and certain
method Of diagnosing the disease Even
after horses had been suspected, Il vas
. difficult for the veterinarian 10 produce
sufficient evidence to warrant their de-
structiOn, particularly If they happened
70 be valuable. The first efforts 10 aid
clinical observation in making diagno-
sis were by lnoculatlOn- With the Dacte-
biological studies and the incubation Of
snail animals came the knowledge that
the guinea pig was very sensitive TO this
contaglon, and mat y lnoculated IN a
proper manner, ii would present Charac-
teristic symptoms in few days This.
! where only one or at most small num-
/ Der of horses were suspected has made
I il possible for the veterinarian 70 reach
/ quick and trustworthy decision.
Fortunately, continuation OF the tx
| periments with living animals has led 10
/ a discovery which largely does away with
/ the necessity OF inoculating guinea pigs
( in order TO make diagnosis in doubtful
/ cases 10 which reference has been made.
( In cultivating the bacillus Of CHAMBERS II
was observed that IL produced during its
{ growth d toxic substance which, when
injected into the tissues Of animal af-
fected with CHAMBERS, caused a local swell
! ing and raised the body temperature TO
such q marked extent as TO be Of great
/ assistance in making a diagnosis This
/ toxin Is called maliein, and the expert
meut of injection for the purpose OF max
I ing a diagnosis Is called the malleln test
/ II Is particularly useful in cases where
large number of horses which are sta
bled together have been exposed, and
where il is, cOnseqU emily, of the utmost
importance that those which have be
come infected shall be Recognized and re
moved at the earliest moment
"A similar account might be given Of
the progress Of gaining control over many
other diseases Of animals The subject IS
too large for the limits Of a single article,
but the typical disease here described
may furnish material for reflection upon
the importance OF veterinary science and
the necessity of sustaining properly