VO** MEDICINE. 



AJ* YNS. Of these there _s but one in horse practice : Opium is the only 

 &-it \v :1 Jail pain. It may be given as an anodyne, but it will also be an astringen 

 li. doei-i of one, two, or three drachms. 



\NTMONY. There are several valuable preparations of this metal. 



Ths BLACK SESQUI-SULPHURET OF ANTIMONY, a compound of sulphur and antimony, 

 's a good alterative. It is given with more sulphur and with nitre, in varying doses, 

 according to the disease, and the slow or rapid effect intended to be produced. It 

 should never be bought in powder whatever trouble there may be in levigating it. for 

 it is often grossly adulterated with lead, manganese, forge-dust, and arsenic. The 

 adulteration may be detected by placing a little of the powder on a red-hot iron plate- 

 The pure sulphuret will evaporate without the slightest residue so will the arsenic : 

 but there will be an evident smell of garlic. A portion of the lead and the manga- 

 nese will be left behind. 



ANTIMONII POTASSIO TARTRAS, EMETIC TARTAR. The tartrate of potash and anti- 

 mony, or a combination of super-tartrate of potash and oxide of antimony, is a very 

 useful nauseant, and has considerable effect on the skin. It is particularly valuable 

 in inflammat : on of the lungs, and in every catarrhal affection. It is given in dosee 

 of from one drachm to a drachm and a half, and combined with nitre and digitalis. 

 It is also beneficial in'the expulsion of worms. It should be given in doses of two 

 drachms, and with some mechanical vermifuge, as tin filings, or ground glass, and 

 administered on an empty stomach, and for several successive days. Although i* 

 may sometimes fail to expel the worms, it will materially improve the condition of 

 the horse, and produce sleekness of the coat. To a slight degree the emetic tartar is 

 decomposed by the action of light, and should be kept in a jar, or green bottle. It is 

 sometimes adulterated with arsenic, which is detected by the garlic smell when it is 

 placed on hot iron, and also by its not giving a beautiful gold-coloured precipitate 

 when sulphuret of ammonia is added to a solution of it. It has also been externally 

 applied in cheat affections, in combination with lard, and in quantities of from one 

 drachm to two drachms of the antimony, to an ounce of the lard ; but, except in ex- 

 treme cases, recourse should not be had to it, on accour , of the extensive sloughing 

 which it sometimes produces. 



PULVIS ANTIMONII COMPOSITUS, THE COMPOUND POWDER OF ANTIMONY. Com- 

 monly known by the name of James's Powder. It is employed as a sudorific in fever, 

 either alone or in combination with mercurials. The dose is from one to two drachms. 

 The late Mr. Bloxam used to trust to it alone in the treatment of Epidemic Catarrh 

 in the horse. It is, however, decidedly inferior to Emetic Tartar. It is often adulte- 

 rated with chalk and burnt bones, and other white powders, and that to so shameful 

 a degree, that little dependence can be placed on the antimonial powder usually sold 

 by druggists. The muriatic or sulphuric acids will detect most of these adulterations. 



ANTI-SPASMODICS. Of these our list is scanty, for the horse is subject only to a 

 few spasmodic diseases, and there are fewer medicines which have an anti-spasmodic 

 effect. Opium stands first for its general power, and that exerted particularly in 

 locked-jaw. Oil of turpentine is almost a specific for spasm of the bowels. Cam- 

 phor, assafcEtida, and various other medicines, used on the human subject, have a very 

 doubtful effect on the horse, or may be considered as almost inert. 



ARGENTUM, SILVER. One combination only of this metal is used, and that as 

 manageable and excellent caustic, viz., the Lunar Caustic. It is far preferable to tht> 

 hot iron, or to any acid, for the destruction of the part if a horse should have been 

 bitten by a rabid dog; and it stands next to the butyr of antimony for the removal of 

 fungus generally. It has not yet been administered internally to the horse. 



A.RSENICUM, ARSENIC. This drug used to be employed as a tonic, in order to core 

 out old ulcers; but it is now seldom employed, for there are better and safer tonics, 

 and far better and safer caustics. The method of detecting the presence of arsenic 

 in cases of poisoning has been described at page 227. 



BALLS. The usual and the most convenient mode of administering veterinary 

 med.cines is in the form of balls, compounded with oil, and not with honey or syrup, 

 ->n arcount of their longer keeping soft and more easily dissolving in the stomach. 

 Balls should never weigh more than an ounce and a half, otherwise they will be so 

 large as not to pass without difficulty down the gullet. They should not be more 

 jhan an inch in diameter and hree inches in length. The mode of delivering balli 

 k no' difficult to acquire ; but the balling-iron, while it often wounds and permanently 



