The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-05
AN rNrrnrsTrNG REroRr.

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 A very interesting report has been issued by the Bureau of Animal Indus try connected with the national De- partment of Agriculture on the subject of rabies in men and animals. As was to be expected. the report scouts the idea that the so-cailed "madstones" can have any effect in such cases. That may or may not be a correct conclu- sion, but the authority from which the statement proceeds is not powerful enough to destroy the faith which many persons have in the efficacy of madstones. In many sections of the country this faith is as firmly estab- lished as anything can be. and no re- fusal of doctors to believe in it will discredit 1t. The belief has come down through many generations, and will continue to exist, in spite of all the wise medicine men. It must be con- fessed, too that some of the reported cures are hard to discredit.
 Another feature of the report strikes directly in the face of another popular and general belief, that being the the ory that a mad dog cannot bear water. It has been the practically universal conviction that a dog suffering from rabies cannot even go in the neigh borhood ofa water. and will not smell or taste 1t. This. the report declares, is a big mistake all diseased animals crave water. That. we must say. is not exactly conclusive against the ob- servations of generations. It may be possible that a mad dog really craves water but cannot bear 1t about him. There is nothing unreasonable in that, and it may be that the opinion of the experts Is not really a contradiction of the general opinion.
 Another well-established belief, but one which is not so generally accepted now as it once was, is contradicted by the report. That is in regard to the once general opinion that dogs were only affected during what is known as dog-days We all know that 1t was formerly believed that only at this particular season of the year were dogs liable to go mad. If it were pointed out to the believers in this theory that dogs do go mad at other seasons of the year the reply would be that such cases were exceptional, and that prob ably the dog had been bitten during dog-days but that the disease had not developed until months later. This re- port declares that the dog-days period has nothing at all to do with the dis ease. and that animals are as likely to become infected in December as any other month.
 When the muzzlings of dogs is sug- gested," concludes the report, "the san- itarian meets with many obstacles. Many dog lovers cannot appreciate, or are indifferent to the anxiety. mental terror and suffering of several thou sand beings in our country yearly, and ! the actual death of from 100 to 800 yearly, not to mention the suffering and death of countless dumb brutes But once dog muzzling law is passed, dog owners are up in arms, using their time. influence and money to secure it's repeal or prevent it's enforcement on the ground of alleged cruelty. In real | ity, there is no cruelty whatever 1n- hicted on a dog by causing it to wear a muzzle when in public places or run ming at large. The animals soon be- come used to it and manifest not the slightest inconvenience
 1 It may be added that there are two other points of interest dealt with in this interesting report. One is that rabies cannot possibly be conveyed ex- cept through the bite of an animal suf- fering from the disease. The fear that it may be conveyed In any other way is pronounced without foundation, thu bite being the only danger. Another difficulty dealt with is that of always being able to diagnose the disease 1T an animal or to tell what will be the result of its bite. It is pointed out that an animal may be thought ana pronounced mad when 1t is not, anc that even if a mad animal bites a hu. man being it is not always certain thai the disease will be communicated tc the person bitten. And it may be ad- ded that the report holds that the only sure way of eradicating the disease is by the universal muzzling of all dogs. and this, as is shown in the DOT tion quoted above encounters many obstacles. On the whole the report is an interesting and timely one.