DISEASES OF THE EYE. 415 



bleed a little before pinning them together, i. e. until bleeding stops, 

 which it does in a very few minutes. By that time a coating of lymph 

 will have formed, and will cause the part to adhere when the pins are 

 withdrawn or have fallen out. 



862. Diseases of the Lachrymal passages. 



When a weeping or flow of tears over the cheeks is permanent, the 

 cause will usually be found in some obstruction of the lachrymal ducts 

 or canals, which lead from the eyes to the nose, and by which in a healthy 

 state the tears are discharged. The obstruction is generally due to a 

 thickening of the membrane of the duct, arising from inflammation. We 

 are not acquainted with any remedy for this affection. It is unsightly, 

 but not serious. A similar effect may be produced by loss of the lower 

 eyelid. 



A trickling unconnected with disease may arise from an excessive secre- 

 tion of tears caused by some external irritation, by inflammation of the 

 conjunctival membrane, or from swelling of the eyelids, which then 

 obstruct the entrance of the tears into the lachrymal duct. Slightly warm 

 foments may be useful. In these cases the effect will cease with the 

 removal or cessation of the cause. 



863. Shying. 



When a horse has a trick of shying, it is always well to have its eyes 

 examined by a Veterinary surgeon. Defective vision or incipient disease 

 of the eyes is a common cause of this unpleasant habit. If however 

 examination fails to detect anything wrong with the eyes, and especially 

 if the horse is in other respects quiet and tractable, we are inclined to 

 think that the habit may arise from the animal being short-sighted, or 

 slow of sight. There is no anatomical reason why these defects should 

 not exist in horses as well as in men. Indeed, modern experience has 

 demonstrated its not infrequent occurrence, though it has as yet failed 

 to furnish a remedy. The adoption of glasses is impracticable. 



863a. Blind Horses. 



A blind horse at once betrays its malady even to the casual observer 

 by the one-sided carriage of its head, and the pricked though constant 

 moving of the ears, as they intently listen for every sound. These 

 peculiarities are as obvious with blinkers as without them. 



863fc. Worm in the Eye. 



Worm in the eye, a disease not very unfrequent in so'me parts of India, 

 has been treated of above in Chapter 54. 



