102 Grease. 



between the Grease and chilblains^ that I lay so much stress upon 

 the facts which I have stated^ but, because the inferences which 

 necessarily flaw from their being- established, are of the greatest 

 practical importance. For, if the views which I have taken of the 

 Grease in Horses, be correct and just, then will such a plan of treat- 

 ment suggest itself, to the candid and nnprejudiced, as will prove, 

 proverbially, better than any remedy, namely, a prevention of the dis- 

 ease. But, as long as Horses are kept crouded together, in hot, close, 

 ill-ventilated Stables, with their limbs enveloped in a hotbed of litter, 

 so long shall we see frequent instances of this complaint, especially 

 during severe winters and springs. Further, it will pretty uniformly 

 be found, that this disease will not only be more frequently met with, 

 but will be more difficult of cure, when it occurs in Horses kept in 

 large towns, than amongst those in other situations ; especially if 

 their labour be confined chiefly to the town, where the legs must, 

 inevitably, be exposed to the acrimony of the putrid matters, that 

 are constantly mixed with the dirt of the streets. In confirmation of 

 which opinion, I may mention the common and notorious fact, of 

 many stage-waggon Horses in England, continuing to perform re- 

 gular work, on chalky soils, with confirmed Grease, and getting 

 well, nevertheless, without the assistance of medicine of any kind. 

 '^But, though I have endeavoured to prove, that the] Grease is merely 

 a local, and not a constitutional disease, and that it is brought on 

 by external causes alone, yet, it is by no means to be inferred from 

 thence, that internal remedies are never to be had recourse to. 



For, it happens every now then, that the inflammation of the 

 affected limbs is so prodigiously high, that the constitution is found 

 to sympathize with the diseased parts, and general fever and de- 



