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areas adequately. The difficulty is to get all clean co unties to act in concert and on identical li ne '. The Minister is of opinion that his staff can be no more successful in t heir efforts t han they a rc at present, un til publi c opinion is sufficien tly ed ucated and aroused so that farme rs and magistrates help and support t he inspectors. In no other way can the seriousness of non-reporting, of inadequate rounding up of sheep, a nd of inefficient dipping, be hrought home to t he delinquent farmers . He would welcome and support gladly any s teps which the Royal Agricultural Society thinks desirable to take in this direction,

HYSTERIA IN THE DOG. By HENRY GRAY, M.R. C.V,S., London, S. W.s. THl S disease has attracted much public atte ntion during the past four or fi\'e years, and has given rise to much speculation as to its nature, causation and treatment. It is, however, no new disease, as I shall prese ntly show. It has no connection wi th distemper, but in rare cases of th e nervous form of distemper, dogs may s how hyste rical symptoms, as I have poin ted out in my article on dis temper in Hoare's System of Veterinary .1redic'i ne, a work publish ed two years before the Great War. Simi la r symptoms are som etimes obse rved in m aiden bitches when first com ing into (es tru m, or nine wee ks a fte r that period when they often come into m ilk. In puppies under six months, hyste rica l attacks ha\'e, in my experience, always occurred when they were let loose and all owed to race about in publi c gard.ens or parks, or even in the st ree t. It was observed more on a. unday or on a bright sunn y day, mostly after a spell of dull weathe r, during pring. Tot infreq uently these hyste rical attacks would recur, but rarely after six months of age. The hyste rical manifestations in these cases a re identical in expression, if not in causation , wi th the epizootic or widespread disease. DIAGNOSls.- Thi s hys teri cal malady is distinguished from the epileptifoml seizures a rising during the course of distemper by the fact that it comes on suddenly during exercise, and there has been no previous ma/m:se, or symptoms which usually precede the" fits " in distempe r. Again , one or two attacks may not be followed by others or there is perma nent recove ry after d~sinfestation of the ears. I n distemper the seizures a re usually followed by others, and in the end death takes place, or th e a nimal h as to be destroyed . In some

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cases, however, gen eralised twitchings and choreic movements of the limbs may suddenly appear in otherwise apparently healthy sporting clogs. In meningitis which follows distemper there are no epileptiform seizures, and the delirious whining, crying, or barking . is continuous, or with short intermissions of quietude. As soon as the sedative effec t of medicines administered has passed off the deliriJus whining reappears. r n true epilepsv ( r non-infecti \"(' form s of epileptiform convulsions the seizures a rc sud den, usuall y without a ny preliminary excitement and of short duration. There is always unconsciousness, champing of the jaws and foaming at t he mouth; the a nimal generally falling over and ha ving convulsive movements of the limbs. The seizures re-appear after certain periods of freedom , a nd may do so for the remainde r of th e animal's life. In rabies th ere is no sudden maniacal barking or excitement and no violent rushing a bout, let alone any period of quiescence. Th e ('ourse is short a nd s ure, almos t always ending in death . It is li ke distemper-an in ocula ble disease. F ortunately for us, this disease is now non-exi sten t in the British Isles. No doubt in former days hysteria was mistaken for rabies, and the a ffected were destroyed for that compla int . This present epizoiiti c or p anzoo tic form did n ot a ttract much a ttention from the vetE' rina ry pro fession until 1882, wh en the late Professor Nocard of the Alfort Veterinary College, in the environs of P a ri s, published hi s observations. Still, however, Guzzoni , of Milan . published a paper on it in J877 , and Megnin , a retired army veterinary surgeon , who devoted himself t o pa rasitology, and was until his deatll the editor of r 'E levenr , studied this complaint and recorded his experience of it in 1878, 1881 a nd 1882. Megnin 's communication to the French Biologi cal Society in 1881 stated th a t a few days previously he h ad witnessed a peculiar malady in sporting dogs . which. according to their owner, made th em look consumptive, and caused them to die , after months of suffe ring. This sta te of affai rs had been going on for several years among different breeds of dogs, while animals purchased to tak e th e place of the losses were attacked within three or four month s, and eventually succumbed. His kennelman was in despair, for in spite of disinfection. limewashing, and other measures, th e mortality did not diminish. A dog seriously affected and abo ut to be destroyed was sent to l'vIegnin, who for eight days kept the animal under constant observation and noted the epileptiform seizures, which occurred generally while at exercise, and also remarked the frantic and almost continuous shaking of the ears. Having examined the interior of these, he found the external auditory canal to be covered with a thick layer of sooty-coloured wax . This, when

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examined under the microscope, contained parasiti c mites which h e had formerly seen in the ears of the other dogs, cats, and ferrets. Thi s finding led Megnin to recommend antiparasitic trea tment to the ea rs in the pack, a nd the disease disappeared . In Nocard 's experience certain kennels were pa rticula rly scourged by it in spite of med ical treatment, hygienic management, crossing the breed or im portation vf new dogs. Tn a kennel of 15 couples during eight years more than 60 hounds had either died or were des troyed , suffering from the malady. While the animals are at rest nothing is seen to indi cate the existence of the m alady. They arc lively a nd in as good spirits as the non-affected, and when out hunting are quite as ardent until , in abo ut h alf an hour or an hour's run, all at once they give out a loud cry or scream. which th e whip at once recognises as the sign of an attack of t he complain t and lashes out h is whip in order to stop it. Th e creat ure th en behaves as if at fault . bou nds from side to side with haggard eye and foaming mouth, running against a nyt hing that comes in his way, until turning in a circle two or three times, he falls down in a state of convulsions. \,l/hen the tit is over he ge ts up looking stupid a nd exhausted or fatigued, and if th e attac k has not heen too violent, he may. a fter resting a quarter of an hour, emerge from appa rent apathy and ente r the chase as much as before. When in t he kennel one cann ot distinguish the affected from the non-affected . But as the disease becomes chroni c or the attacks more frequent , the hounds become more su lky and savage than usual ; they retire into the corne r of t heir kennel, keep away from their compa ni ons, and do not join in their barking or play. At a more advan ced stage, th e attacks a re so frequent a nd serious and that scarcely have the animals commenced to run , than a seizure takes pl ace; a nd. if they do not d ie on the spot, after recovery t hey refuse to go on. At no time cloes an attack take place wh en the creatures a re n ot hunting. The diseased animals may become completely stupid and quite useless. Sometim es they are quite deaf, but at no period have they a n attac k of the convulsions while in their kcnnel, so long as they a rc not excited. Indeed , it would appear that so long as they do not hunt , no matter how acti ve the exercise may be, there is n o attack , for one of the huntsmen informed Noca rd, whom he consulted with rega rd to the disease, that he could not induce it by compelling hounds to fo llow his carriage from Versailles to Paris, though these an imals were qui ckly seized with it when hunting. After a lot of in vestigation without any satisfactory results as to t he cause, Nocard noticed a great number of acari or mites , Symbiotes auricularum. nowded on to the drum of the ear, ami to sett le the

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q uestion if these were the calise o f t he epileptiform se il.ures he examined a great nnmber of the ears of dogs affected and also non-affectecl dog, destroyed or died in the Alfort Veterinary College . All the dogs dest royed for the malady had these parasites exactly limited to the deeper part of the external auditory hiatus, and 1vithollt anythin[!. to he seen or felt in the external parts o f the ear. Tn the 30 dogs killed or which died at the Alfort College for vari ous diseases or old age, N ocard did not find acari in th e ears of any. In orde r to prove whether th is parasite was reall y the ca u ~c Nocard placed some of the wax co nta ining the parasites in to the e'ars of non-affected or non-infested rlogs. In less th an a month the small amount of wax had given rise to numerous p rosperous colonies of the parasite, a nrl when these dogs so infested b ecame excited in the chase. t hey developed th e complaint. On the contrary, when he clisin fested the ears of the naturally infes ted dogs that had shown t he cha racteristic symptoms of the d isease there were no more attacks. Obse rvation has shown th at irritation or compression of the nerves of the semicircular canals of th e ear will occasion disturbed equilibrium , a nd fits of dera ngement, such as fury or sullenness, reflex acts of crying , screaming, scratching, etc. Nocard found no lesion in the affected dog's cars. But R ailliet and Cadiot have shown that these hysterical a ttacks of anricular origin a re ma nifested independ ently of direct stimulat ion of th e sensory nerves of the car as the' internal an d even the ex ternal ear may remain unaltered. I have given you this account by Nocard to show tha t the epizootic lYe have b en experiencing in these isla nds during the past five or six years is no new m alady. om e have s tated it was introduced from the American continent where it occu rs a nd is commonly known as the frights' disease. Why from the Ame rica n Continent when Europe , in which the disease has so long prevailed, is so clo e to us, is beyond my comprehension of the hi tory of plagues. Although Nocard did not obse rve any na ked eye lesions in the outbreaks he encountered irritation of the external ear with a more or less discharge, holding the head on one side or consta nt flapping of the ears, and the running about of the mites are frequently witnessed . But as Nocard observed , one must not run away with the idea that because no lesion s or ea r symptoms are to be seen there are no parasites. Beyond the characteristic terrified or anxious appearance of the a nimal, th e sudden yapping or barking a nd th e rushing away as fast as it can go until it is stopped by some obstacl e, or I: c. comes exhaus ted or fall s down in a convulsive attack, other symptoms without any t'xercise a re occasionally observed , such as a n occasional unaccountable

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howl or shriek as if in vain riuring the night , or fly-catching hallu cinations, -vr a n irresistibl e desire to bite a t the feet, hind or fore, or a peculiar neryous crouching on all fours. Ataxia, vert igo, pi voting on hi nd legs, etc .. a re sometimes seen . Whether the numerous cases of paralysis of the lowe r jaw seen nowadays h ave any thing to do with this malad ,' I a m not p repared to say. But I feel certain that m a n~ ' cases of t he nervous form of distemper a re confounded wi t h it. On the other ha nd, I t hi nk, however , it is permissible to allow t ha t t h i ~ disease m ay be coincidently associa ted with distemper, in whi ch a great pe rcentage of cases of in flamm ation of t he intern al ear is to be fo und . It is well to obse rve that all dogs seized with t he maniac:l.l or te rrified frigh t do not develop con vulsions. F a r from it ; the a ttack s may be shortened or a borted by coaxing. Not only do dogs, but a lso cats and ferrets show peculia r nervous ~ys tems due to t he ear parasites. hi ttens, high-bred on es, succumb to epileptiform CO Il vulsions, or ru sh all over the place or cli m b up curtain c; in an apparently frightened man ner . Even horses . cat tle, goats, etc. , ~how simil a r nervous symptoms. Many dogs in a n af:fected. ken nel ci a not manifes t a ny signs of t he malady, a great n um b er have no more th an on e attack, a nd ot hers ha ve severa l a nd eventually recover wi thout having recrived a ny ra tional treatm ent. A great p ropo rtion of the attacked have had d istemper, v arying from one month to two years or more, before. It is well to add , however. t hat some elogs ma y show the disease when in t heir kennel. N ow wha t is t he ca use of this widespread malady which a ttacks dogs of all ages afte r the weaning pe riod . male and female, of aU breeds, but t he more highly-bred than t he mongrel ? Although it is noticed more in kennels, it often attacks t he only dog in t he house when it ge ts wa rmed during exe rcise in the open, even a t nigh t time when it is dark. Noca rd thinks that inc reased wa rmth of the body during exe rcise favours stimula tion of the rd lexes. No end of theories h ave been wildly dissemina ted as to the ca use of this malady, but they have only a risen from the imagin a tion, a nd not ba sed on logical concl usions dra wn from a proper sequencf' of observed facts. Food has been adva nced as a ca use; tha t aIel bogy, and , I a m afraid , an everlasting one. " worms," which a re invoked as a cause of e\'er y imaginable complaint o f the dog , rheumatism, colic, and othe r supposed conditi ons have been used to account for the m ystery. The reason it is gene rally observed in a large nnmber of dogs is because the chances of getting the disease from one or a nother increase in direct proportion to the number . The single dog in a house sta nds

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a remote chance, unless it comes from an infested place, or, as l observed, a case in a country practice where some patient or other introduced it into the practitioner 's infirmary, so that his own dogs contracted it. Why dO·2s it occur as an epizootic or a panzootic after long periods of qui escence or mildness? I am afraid that can only be explained by that mysterious law of period icity not peculiar to the plagues of man, animals or plants, but to the appearance of plagues of lice, mice . irruption of rare birds into places not their habitat or of their usual migration; even of crime, fash ion , taste, idea, etc. Highly-bred dogs , which a re more likely to be kept in numbers . are more impressionable than mongrels, and their nervous system is more unstable. and in conseq uence they have in general more of the nervous temperament, and , therefore, they are more likely to be given to stampeding or become seized with a panic should one of their number during th e excitement of the chase develop an hysterica l attack. In fact, in such a condition they m ay de\"elop the malad\· by imitation, as we have seen in the human heing, horses, cattll'. sheep, pigs. birds. etc. 1 may add , in parenthesis, that some hi ghly-strung dogs develop nervous symptoms from fleas, lice, eczema or other fo rms of surfaq· irritati on. When the back of such is tickl ed or scratched. they manifest symptoms of th e Jacksonian epilepsy type. This is, howeve r, much commoner in the cat. It is observed more in the autumn. winter, and early spring. than during the warmer weath er. The reason of th is is .t hat most acari or mites which live on the surface of the body go deeper into the cavi ties to obtain more warmth during the colde r weather, and ill th e warmer weather they live more on the surface. This seems almost a law with acari affecting a nimals. Again, sporting dogs arc used for the chase during the colde r mon ths. There is only one exciting cause to this specific malady so far as my observations go, and tha t is the ear-mite, Symb1:otes auricularu111 . No English a uthor but Steel refers to this malady, but it appears in several transla tions from the French , in wh ose t extbooks it is described as th e epileptiform convu lsions of aur:Ctlla r origill of sporting dogs. Cadiot and Breton in their superb little work on canine medicine. designa te it as the contagious epilepsy of kennel h ounds. I ha ve never had the opportunity to examine a dog which has died of this malady, so that I am not in the position to say that when on e cannot see the parasites in an ordinary examination , they a re not present out of sight. Acari leave dead animals when cold , as Mr. Richardson , who is present , can tes tify from personal experie nce.

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So unless one examines a dead dog as soon as possible after death , one m ay not be able t o find them. There is one thing tha t is certain, and tha t is if the ears are disinfested, or rather disinfectation treatment is carried out, the disease disappears from a kennel or does not recur. In an outbreak in a kennel all dogs should be treated simultaneously and the place thoroughly disinfested to p revent re-infestation . By this treatment the place is ridded of the malady, whereas other systems adopted have generally failed a nd given rise to serious losses and much anxiety. D uring the attack the animal should, if possible, be seized and then confined in a dark, quiet place and left alone for it t o pass off. If it should be deemed necessary to give a sedative to cut short the excitement, it is best administered hypodermically. To prevent ner vous excitability after the attack, a saline sedative may be put in the drinking milk or water twice a day for a few days . On no account should a nervous person be allowed to interfere with a dog during a maniacal seizure, as such in losing control of himself or herself is likely subconsciously to place one or both hands between the dog's teeth when it is convulsively opening and shutting its jaws, and in consequence become more or less seriously bitten. Dogs in these attacks are not conscious of what they are doing, and therefore they should not be classified as savage. r have on ly dealt with this subj ect summarily, and from an effect to a cause point of view. If I had adopted the opposite-from cause to effect- I might have been able to show what numerous effec ts these mites in a nimals' ears have. They are the commonest cause of eartrouble, and a freq uent cause of nervous disturbance. In conclusion, let me repeat this is no new disease, and that it may be readily overcome if proper treatment is adopted or precautions taken.