Here is a sensible article on hydrophobia, published in Man's Best Friend, being an interview with 'John P. Haines, of New York City, the President of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a man who has had considerable experience:

"Hydrophobia is one of the rarest of diseases, and it is the height of folly to imagine that every dog that happens to suffer intensely from the heat is either mad or in danger of going mad. A mad policeman is every bit as dangerous as a mad dog, and probably in the past quite as many of the former as of the latter have been mad."

"Mr. Haines quotes from high authorities when he says that in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the poor brute which is destroyed while supposedly in the throes of rabies is merely suffering from excitement which will cure itself, and that a person bitten by an animal under such circumstances is absolutely in no danger of serious results unless he permits himself to become a victim of his own disordered imagination. Mr. Haines is himself authority for the statement that the cases of death from hydrophobia reported from time to time are wrongly diagnosed, and that, as a rule, they result simply from worry. The weather has nothing to do with the case, although no doubt dogs are less liable to sickness in cold weather than during the hot spell, a state of affairs due perhaps almost as much to the thoughtlessness or ignorance of their owners as to the weather conditions.

"A dog that has been properly fed and is being so fed, will suffer much less discomfort than another which has been stuffed with food calculated to heat the blood, and such a dog is, and especially when not overweight, far more liabel to escape illness than the fat, badly-conditioned animal that is quite 'above himself,' and ready to go wrong at any time.

"What are the dog days? They are the heated term in July and August, during which dogs are supposed to be peculiarly liable to rabies, or canine madness. That is one answer, but there is a better. There are no dog days, because there is no time of the year when dogs are especially liable to rabies. There are no more cases of rabies in July and August than in December and January. Moreover, rabies is one of the rarest of canine diseases. When you hear a cry of 'Mad Dog!' the chances are many thousands to one that the dog is not mad. When you read in the papers of someone being bitten by a mad dog the chances are thousands to one it is not true. A person bitten by a mad dog is not doomed to die a fearful death by hydrophobia. Not at all, for hydrophobia in a human being is much more rare than rabies in a dog. Expert physicians who have given special attention to the subject are convinced that hydrophobia is never caused by the bite of a dog, but is simply a hysterical nervous disease caused by an unfounded dread. Don't take this for granted; but remember these facts:

"First, That there are more than a million chances to one that any dog which is supposed to be mad is not mad at all; second, that, in all probability, any dog by which a person may happen to be bitten is not mad; and third, that even if a person is bitten by a dog that is really mad, the danger of hydrophobia is very slight indeed.

"If you will note the following facts you will probably find them to be quite different from the popular fancies by which most persons are misled. It is supposed that a mad dog dreads water. It is not so. The mad dog is very likely to plunge his head to the eyes in water, though he cannot swallow it, and laps it with difficulty. It is supposed that a mad dog runs about with evidences of intense excitement. It is not so. The. mad dog never runs about in agitation; he never gallops; he is always alone, usually in a strange. place, where he jogs along slowly. If he is approached by a dog or man he shows no signs of excitement, but when the dog or man is near enough he snaps and resumes his solitary trot. If a dog barks, yelps, whines or growls, that dog is not mad. The only sound a mad dog is ever known to emit is a hoarse howl, and that but seldom. Even blows will not extort an outcry from a mad dog. There-' fore, if any dog, under any circumstances, utters any other sound than that of a hoarse howl, that dog is not mad. It is supposed that the mad dog froths at the mouth. It is not so. If a dog's jaws are covered or flecked with white froth, that dog is not mad. The surest of all signs that a dog is mad is a thick and ropy brown mucous clinging to his lips, which he often tries vainly to tear away with his paws or wash away with water. If your dog is bitten by any other dog, watch him carefully. If he is infected by rabies you will discover signs of it possibly in from six to ten days. Then he will be restless, often getting up only to lie down again, changing his position impatiently, turning from side to side, and constantly licking or scratching some part of his head, limbs or body. He will be irritable and inclined to dash at other animals, and he will sometimes snap at objects which he imagines to be near him. He will be excessively thirsty, lapping water eagerly and often. Then there will be glandular swellings about his jaws and throat, and he will vainly endeavor to rid himself of a thick, ropy, mucous discharge from his mouth and throat. If he can, he will probably stray away from home and trot slowly and mournfully along the highway or across the country, meddling with neither man nor beast, unless they approach him, and then giving a single snap. The only exception to this behavior occurs in ferocious dogs, which, during the earlier stage of excitement, may attack any living object in sight. These symptoms of rabies are condensed from valuable information received from physicians of undoubted authority."

The following interesting article was written by Mrs. Sarah K. Bolton, the eminent authoress, who has written many books on animals, and who is a great friend of dogs, is clearly entitled to space in this book. Mrs. Bolton's last book, "Our Devoted Friend, the Dog," should be read by every dog lover. It is published by L. C. Page & Co., Boston, Mass.-Send and get it.