On the morning of June 10, my attention was called to a grade Jersey cow in the yard in the rear of the hotel where I was stopping. The animal had, with other cattle, been turned into the yard the night previous in an apparently healthy condition. At 6 a. m. I found the respiration 30 per minute, pulse 100 beats per minute, temperature 103.7 F., attended with rigors and staggering gait; the conjunctivæ were red and injected; rumination suspended. At 10 a. m. she was dead and the carcass was destroyed by burning. I intended to hold a postmortem, but as there was another animal which had just died, showing the same symptoms, it was more convenient to hold the autopsy on the latter. It showed the following appearances: The carcass was bloated; a small tumor was apparent under the skin of the neck near the larynx, and there were sero-albuminous infiltrations of a yellow color under the skin of the left flank and inguinal region. The abdominal cavity contained a red serous exudation. The lymphatic glands of the abdomen were enlarged and full of dark blood extravasations. The intestines throughout were covered with petechial spots. The liver was also covered with and full of petechial spots throughout. The kidneys were enlarged, hyperæmic, and of a soft consistency. The stomach, bladder, and urine were normal in appearance. The spleen was enlarged to about double the normal size, the capsule dark blue, the substance disintegrated, nearly black in color, and when cut into would nearly run. The lungs were hyperemic; the trachea and large bronchial tubes contained a dark-colored froth; and the mucous membranes showed petechial spots. The epiglottis was swollen and of a dark-red color. I have no hesitancy in saying that the animal had died from anthrax.

After completing my examination of the above case I went, in company with Dr. Evans, a physician of the neighborhood, to the plantation of Mrs. F. E. Jordon, 5 miles north of Rayville, on the Boeuf River. There I found 3 mules sick, all showing well-marked symptoms of anthrax. On this place there were 25 mules and 28 horses, all kept in the same pastures and under the same conditions as regards food and water. None of the horses have been taken sick, while 14 mules have died and 3 others are now sick. I obtained from Mrs. Jordon the following history of different outbreaks of anthrax on her place: In 1874, after an overflow, 11 mules died on this place. The cause of death was then supposed to be colic, but, judging from the manner and rapidity with which the animals have died this season, Mrs. Jordon now believes the cause of the former deaths to have been anthrax. In 1884, 11 cases occurred on the same farm with only 2 deaths. In 1891, 7 more cases occurred, all showing external swellings. They were treated by deep scarifications and by applying a blistering mixture, and all affected animals recovered. I also visited several smaller places in and about Rayville, but did not find many animals sick, because a great many owners had already lost all their stock. Of the various remedies used, an injection of the tincture of iodine under the skin and into the tumors seemed to produce the best results, but as many cases get well without treatment, or with very mild treatment, it is hard to recommend any particular plan of treatment.

After completing such investigations as I thought necessary in the immediate vicinity of Rayville, I was advised to go to Delhi, La., a few miles east of Rayville, where I was informed the present outbreak of anthrax in Louisiana had first made its appearance. On my arrival I found that, so far as could be ascertained, the disease had broken out there simultaneously on a number of plantations miles apart, and, as there were no cases in the immediate vicinity, I returned at once to New Orleans.

The following is a copy of the rules given the authorities of Richland Parish for the suppression of anthrax:

(1) All owners should promptly declare the existence or suspected existence of the disease.

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(2) Isolate diseased animals so as not to allow them to come in contact with healthy animals.

(3) Prevent all animals from drinking stagnant water.

(4) Thoroughly burn all dead animals, also all the litter and alimentary matter with which infected animals have been in contact.

(5) Disinfect all places that have been occupied by diseased animals.

(6) Do not allow dogs, hogs, or poultry access to dead animals, as they may contract the disease by eating the flesh or blood.

(7) Feed only good, sound feed, and avoid turning animals out upon infected pastures.

(8) The disease is contagious, and carcasses should not be handled by persons with sore or scratched hands.

Respectfully submitted.

Dr. D. E. SALMON,

Chief of Bureau of Animal Industry.

ASA N. MCQUEEN,
Veterinary Inspector.

ENZOOTIC CEREBRO-SPINAL MENINGITIS IN HORSES,

AND HOG CHOLERA IN IDAHO.

By W. L. WILLIAMS,

Special Agent, Bureau of Animal Industry.

In obedience to instructions of March 12, 1896, I went to Idaho Falls, Idaho, on March 17, to investigate reported diseases of horses and swine. Prior to this I had received communications, under dates of February 26 and March 2, from Mr. W. F. Cash, at Idaho Falls, Idaho, describing, as well as one not versed in pathology could do, the symptoms and post-mortem appearances of a disease affecting horses, and of one affecting hogs, all supposed to be manifestations of one and the same disease with a common cause. From these descriptions it was impossible to arrive at any definite conclusions as to the nature of the malady or maladies.

Reaching Idaho Falls on the morning of March 18, I reported to Superintendent W. F. Cash, who rendered me every possible assistance, and accompanied me to the various points where affected animals were reported.

Idaho Falls is located in the Snake River Valley, at an altitude of 4,200 feet. The soil of the valley, varying in depth from a few inches to several feet, is alluvial and practically free from vegetable mold. The subsoil is of gravel and cobblestone, 20 to 30 feet in depth, resting upon lava rock. The rainfall is very meager; but two or three rainy spells usually occur during the year and these continue for only three or four days each. Crops are grown by irrigation only. They consist chiefly of the smaller cereals, potatoes, alfalfa, and timothy, which, with scant native grasses, furnish the food supply for animals. The water for animals is procured, either directly or by irrigating ditches, from the Snake River or its tributaries. The latter are all mountain streams, and furnish an apparently perfect water supply.

Referring to the letter addressed to the Chief of the Bureau under date of March 3, 1896, by Prof. Charles P. Fox, of the University of Idaho, which formed the basis of orders to me, it is evident that a common belief prevailed in the affected section that the disease of horses was identical with that of swine.

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE DISEASE OF HORSES.

My investigations of the disease in horses resulted as follows: The malady has been known in the Snake River Valley, in the vicinity of Idaho Falls, for about three years; it prevails chiefly, but not wholly,

on the east side of the river near the foothills, along a small tributary of the Snake River called Willow Creek. Nothing in the location suggests a possible cause for the notable prevalence of the disease in this particular section of the valley; except, perhaps, that since the water in this creek here flows nearer the level of the valley, and is, therefore, more easily available for irrigation purposes, and since the soil is here deep and rather fertile, this portion of the valley was earlier and more thickly settled.

So far as could be learned the disease has not prevailed on the foothill range, near which the creek before mentioned flows, nor have we learned of any similar affection among range horses in the northern Rocky Mountain region.

SYMPTOMS.

An opportunity did not occur to observe any cases of the disease in its earlier stages, but the symptoms of those stages were fully described by several losers; their descriptions agree in all important particulars.

The premonitory symptoms, when noticeable, consisted mainly of nervous depression and paralysis. First the animal showed dullness and lassitude, performing its work with apparent difficulty, and sweating easily. The appetite was good, but eating was slow; thirst was normal; the urine was apparently unchanged; the bowels were torpid; the feces not very hard, and at times coated with mucus. As the disease progressed the movements of the animal became uncertain, with a marked tendency to stumble; the partial paralysis usually affected the fore legs and hind legs alike; the penis became more or less pendent, hanging out of the sheath; the power of mastication and deglutition was found to be quite deficient in some cases, in others almost wholly lost, although the appetite generally remained normal at this stage.

After an interval, varying from a few hours to several days, these symptoms all become aggravated, especially the loss of locomotive power; the animal falls, unable to rise, but if assisted to its feet it will, as a rule, move about with comparative freedom for variable lengths of time, feed naturally, and appear much improved, until, through a natural desire to lie down or through accidental stumbling, it again falls, and is unable to regain its feet without assistance.

Animals in the early stage of the disease, or those suffering from a mild attack, lie naturally upon the chest, but the majority of those more seriously affected lie flat upon the side, head markedly opisthotonic. Some affected animals lie very quietly and rarely move either the head or feet except when disturbed, but others are in almost constant motion, and form semicircular excavations in the bedding or earth by constant motion of the feet. When an animal is down there is frequently a complete loss of appetite, although in

some cases it remains fairly good. The recumbent position increases the torpidity of the intestines, and may cause abnormally dry feces. and difficulty in voiding the urine. The oro-pharyngeal paralysis causes decomposition of contained mucus and food, resulting in a marked fetor.

No reliable data were obtainable as to the temperature, pulse, respiration, or the appearance of the visible mucous membranes of affected animals except in the three cases examined by me and described below. The course of the malady varies. In most cases the premonitory dullness and lassitude continue from one to three days, but in some cases these symptoms are either absent or pass unobserved, the first symptoms noted being the inability of the animal to rise or stand. In a very small minority of cases only the premonitory symptoms occur, and after several weeks terminate in a generally incomplete recovery, but rarely in complete restoration to health. The mortality is great and amounts to over 95 per cent of the number clearly affected.

Age, sex, and condition apparently exert no influence on the disease, although many assert that fat horses or those in good condition chiefly contract the malady.

Nearly all the animals reported to have died had been kept in stables or paddocks in which considerable quantities of excrement had accumulated. The stables were mostly low, with straw roofs and straw or board sides. They were seldom tight enough to be called close. Quite a number of animals, however, died which had not been stabled, but had been kept chiefly in cultivated fields and only occasionally placed in paddocks.

The food, as above indicated, consisted at times of the small cereals, but generally, and in winter especially, during which season the disease has been most severe, alfalfa and timothy hay, straw, and such native grasses as might be found were fed. The climate and altitude forbid the suggestion of moldy forage.

CASE I.

Mr. E. H. Brown, Prospect, Idaho, had on his farm on January 1, this year, 7 horses, well fed on lucern and timothy hay and little worked; 5 of them were stabled in a fair stable, the other 2 kept loose in an adjoining paddock. About January 1 one horse sickened and after a few days died. About January 20 two other deaths occurred. A fourth animal was attacked at the same time and required assistance to regain her feet, but apparently recovered, remaining weak, however, easily fatigued, and uncertain in gait. It finally grew worse and went down again on March 11 or 12, and continued to grow worse until March 18, when death ensued.

A fifth animal, a small gelding coming 3 years old, in medium. condition, became affected March 12, while being driven on the road.