The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-07
DR, BROWN WRITES 0N HYDROPH0B|A Stresses Importance of Keep ing Dogs MuzzIed CITES AN AWFUL EXAMPLE Says 1t Is Unfair to Public to Minimize Danger of Most Terrible Malady
 to Which Man Is
 Heir.
CITES AN AWFUL EXAMPLE

More interest has been aroused this year in hydrophobia in Birmingham than ever before, first public attention being given to the subject following Mayor Wards proclamation, requir- ing all dogs in the oity to be muzzled for period of 60 days. communi- cation recently appearing in The Age Herald by the Rev. Father Bratton has provoked replies from a number of members of the Jefferson County Ned ical society. Father Bratton contended that the prevalence of hydroph obia was exaggerated and that 1t was un- necessary to require dogs to be mug ten the following;
 To the Editor of The Age Herald.
 The disease, hydroph obia, is the worst, the most terrible in it's effects and end of any malady to which hu- man and animal flesh Is heir. re- cent letter in your paper on this sub 1ect from most well meaning, edu- cated and (upon other subjects) trust worthy authority, treating it as all most trivial (of less moment at any rate than the inconvenience a dog is put to in being muzzled) gives us cause to infer what must be the ignorance of the uneducated masses In regard to it. The medical mind nec- essari1y considers the Rev Father Bratton's letter extremely dangerous teaching, such as may easily at any time cost a human life unless vigor- ously opposed. Fully believing this we are sure the reverend gentleman will require no apology of us for deeming 1t our duty to respectfully but most earnestly take issue with what is clearly his honest opinion.
 Hydroph obia is the worst disease known in that 1t entails more horrible suffering than any other and is in variably fatal. 1t Is an infectious dis ease, one case coming from another previous case; 1t does not spring into existence de novo, by magic nor from any supernatural cause. The nature of this frightful malady and the method for successfully preventing It's development and stamping it out are thoroughly understood and this will be done, or will begin to be done, when the people have gotten rid of some superstition, much prejudice and ig- norance and are in condition of mind to lend the medical profession intel ligent help. I may say here that thousands of lives are lost from infec- tious diseases every year because the people do not fully reallze/ that al- though the medical workers all over the world. in laboratory and hospitals, in the homes of the rich and the novels of the poor have, in the last quarter of century, studied out the nature of nearly every known infectious disease and have positively ascertained tn e methods by which they can be ch ecked and ultimately stamped out, can do next to nothing in this direction with : out the help and confidence of the peo- pie. Our work, or part of 1t at least, Is to go on trying to teach the people what we know to be true and though we meet with rebuffs from the lowliest to the highest (courts) in the land. 1t Is all in the days work, and we are cheered by seeing the mortality rate steadily diminishing in all infectious diseases exactly commensurate with the enlightenment we are able to per suade the people to accept
 The most prominent influential and respectable superstition Is that hydro phobfa prevails only or chiefly in dog days; held in this connection, in the deep-rutted and in-lying districts, to be about two months of the summer; whereas the real origin and signif- canoe of the term had to do with the ascendency of the dogstar Sirius Cor Procyon). The period was said by some old astronomers or astrologers to cover the four weeks between July 1 and August 1, and by others from July 23 54 days onward.
 In either case (and really by no astral authority) the Birming gh am dogs wore out their muzzles at least a month before there was any need to the matter. have freed tn cir delicate their protest against having a fash ion forced upon them out of season, the few that still affect tn em, having lim- itless leisure and diligence to give to the matter, have freed thei rdelicate noses from the abortive rat-trops Gas Tige and Violet clearly consider them) and now wear them as pendants over the brisket Gas a careful boy wears his assafoetida bag or his once eye tooth) and worries no more about them. They fear no city official nor little darky with his snare, for they know Birmingham dog days are over for this year.
 No. dog-days have not any more to do with dogs than have dog-wort or dog-river or dog-wood or dog fennel, and there is seemingly need to have this taught in the High school as this is as high as We can get.
 Another superstition is that of the maidstone, subject still now and then treated of seriously In the news papers. and not always by any means. papers that get tn cir exchanges by the R. F. D. Any old stone will do; from a piece of feld-spar to the hair-ball found In the stomach of various ani- mals, or similar collection of in- dgestables Qess the hair) found in the stomach of a fish. If it clings to the wound the diagnosis is undoubted, when it has had it's fill and drops off, the disease is no longer to be feared. Those who have faith in the mad stone say 1t works like magic (espe- cially as Huck Finn says, If you say something over it") and it does, that Is it doesn't work at all.
 There are great many people who do not believe there is any such disease; these are mostly city dwellers; country people are all too familiar with 1t. There are others who think 1t very rare, so rare that it is not worth while to put our dogs to the inconvenience of wearing ifflIzzles According to the statistics given