— SSI — 



are not inflammatory nor painful ; they contain lymph, or plastic 

 matter from the blood, which disappears as it cam<3, when the 

 strength of the horse gets up again, and the disease subsides. The 

 appetite is entirely suspended from the commencement of the 

 disease. There is one of the many symptoms, which is never ab- 

 sent in this disease, and is very characteristic of its name and seat, 

 and this symptom is that the faeces or dung is small, or in pellets, 

 and covered with slime, and portions of the mucous membrane of 

 the stomach and bowels, or what the stable-man calls " very fever- 

 ish." The prominent symptom of this disease is great weakness, 

 and this is the case almost from the first moment of the attack. 



Causes. The cause of this as well as of all epizootic diseases, is 

 involved in not a little obscurity, and to get out of this state of 

 ignorance and uncertainty as to the cause, we are graciously 

 pleased to call it atjnospheric. This atmospheric influence may be 

 either electric, a poison, or a chemical element, capable of altering 

 or changing the various parts or portions of the body most ex- 

 posed to its subtle influences. However, this disease, as before 

 stated, is peculiar to the spring of the year, commencing as the 

 hermetically sealed earth begins to open its pores to the rain and 

 sunshine of spring. May there not be deleterious emanations 

 from the earth, or at least after great frost or snow, is there not 

 during the process of thawing a colder air or gas given forth from 

 the thawing process, than the animal is breathing a few feet higlier 

 up from the ground ? And in connection with this condition, we 

 have in horses, at least, a want of their usual protection, for with 

 the warm sun of spring, the animal throws off his hairy coat, thus 

 as it were unnecessarily exposing himself to these insidious causes 

 of disease. 



Treatment. When cases of this and other diseases of the same 

 type (gastritis mucosa) first came under my care, I treated upon 

 different principles and with different medicines than what are here 

 recommended. I look back with extreme dissatisfaction on the 

 false doctrines and false teachings of the books and the schools 

 which have led many inquiring minds astray since their day of 

 teaching commenced. The treatment now recommended is sound 

 and successful, and in a very short time tlie horse will be at work 

 again, as if nothing had been amiss. The first day of the disease. 



