134 My Little Farm 



at a time. His belly was big enough for twice 

 the age, and there was an internal rattle when 

 he moved. There was acute indigestion, as long 

 standing as it could be, and complicated by an 

 advanced stage of gravel, with a taste for rubbish 

 and a distaste for proper food. In the house, he 

 resumed the hunt for rubbish. Having secured a 

 mouthful, he laid down, and would not rise for 

 any other purpose. On the hunt, he would not 

 leave a nook or corner without nosing into it, and 

 for his inquisitive talent, we named him Dominick. 

 I decided to experiment on Dominick with the 

 Hamilton mixture, but first gave him a big dose 

 of castor oil, followed by strong whiskey, which set 

 him blind drunk. He stretched his legs, stuck out 

 his tongue, rolled his eyes, breathed more fully, 

 and began to sweat. In due course, he discharged 

 a small cargo of foreign produce, and without 

 allowing time for reaction, I started him on the 

 tonic, at the same time dieting him as from birth, 

 on milk only, a pint three times a day, increasing 

 daily, and, after a few days, resuming the solids, 

 also at the baby rate. For two days after his 

 drunkenness, Dominick was unable to put a leg 

 under him, but, for all that, I could see by his 

 eye that I had " got " him. On his feet again, he 

 touched rubbish no more, but throve rapidly. It 

 was as if I had found in him a new stomach to 

 replace or supplement the old one and I question 

 whether the discovery is not more a fact than a 

 figure, for a large region at least of Dominick's 

 interior must have been out of action when he 



