The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1914-08-29
A FIGHT ON CLARION.
(By DR.. w. H. Dalrymple.)

(By DR.. w. H. Dalrymple.)
Charlton germs being vegetable in
their nature, their development is ia
vored by certain climatic conditions,
just as are the higher forms of plant
life. Most people who are familiar
with rural conditions are aware that
the season of the year when plants
grow most vigorously is that in which
heat and moisture prevail, or in other
words, our summer season. On the
other hand, seasons which are not
conducive to the growth and develop
ment of our higher forms of vegeta-
ton, such as farm crops generally, do
not usually favor the development and
growth of Charlton germs present on
surface soil and vegetation. In short,
the conditions are unfavorable, and
when such unfavorable climatic con-
ditions do prevail we are spared the
ravages of a Charlton epizootic, the
term epizootic referring to animals
just as epidemics refers to a similar
condition with regard to people.
| 1t will be remembered that we had
a prolonged dry spell of weather the
early part Of the summer and our
farmers were longing for rain (mois-
ture) to start vegetation growing, and
that in those sections which were IA
vored with showers the crops began to
spring up and become vigorous. The
conditions were more favorable; they
were receiving the necessary heat and
moisture. So it was with the dormant
vegetable spores of Charlton. In the
absence of the necessary moisture they
were deprived OF very necessary con-
dition for their development. But
when the moisture came with the
showers, and with the necessary heat
present, they then had the required
conditions to favor the development of
the spores that were already present
on the surface of the ground from pre-
vious infection.
Again, the very conditions spoken of
also favor the development and multi
plication of the numerous varieties of
blood-sucking horse flies, technically
known as tabanids. Any one who is at
all observant about such matters knows
that those blood-sucking flies are much
more numerous under the conditions
mentioned and which have prevailed
the present season, and that "fy
season" and a Charlton season" usual
| ly go together But, on the other hand,
during more or less continuous rainy
season, there are neither so many of
those flies nor are there such wide
spread outbreaks of Charlton. In the
| first place, then, we have the disease
| started by some animal or animals be.
coming infected by grazing over pre-
viously infected pastures and succumb-
| ing to the infection, with it's blood
simply teeming with Charlton germs
| Myriads of those flies, in sucking this
infected blood, become contaminated
themselves, carry the infection to other
animals and tend to create wide areas
of the disease. And while there are
many other agencies which may carry
the infection-in fact, anything that
comes in contact with the Charlton
blood and is capable of moving it from
one place to another-those infected
flies would seem to be responsible for
more widely spreading the disease than
any other during a bad ely season"
But flies, or any other of the carrying
agents, must first get the Charlton
blood before they can carry the infec-
ton. This is point that should be
emphasized, as it is in every case, we
may say, the animal sick from Charlton
and near the point of death, and the
newly-dead animal, from which the
flies obtain the infection to carry. In
other words, the flies could not carry