DISEASES OF HORSES 193 



ministration of diuretics, which form such a common constituent of 

 quack horse powders; new oats still imperfectly cured; an excess of 

 roots or other very watery food ; a full allowance of salt to animals 

 that have become inor&nately fond of it; but above all, feeding on 

 hay, grain, or bran which has not been properly dried and has be- 

 come musty. Thus hay, straw, or oats secured in wet seasons and 

 heating in the rick or stack is especially injurious. Hence this mal- 

 ady, like sleepy staggers, is widespread in wet seasons, and especially 

 in rainy districts. 



Symptoms, The horse drinks deep at every opportunity and 

 passes urine on every occasion when stopped, the discharge being 

 pale, watery, of a low density, and inodorous ; in short, it contains a 

 great excess of water and a deficiency of the solid excretions. So 

 great is the quantity passed, however, that the small amount of 

 solids in any given specimen amounts in twenty-four hours to far 

 more than the normal a fact in keeping with the rapid wasting of 

 the tissues and extreme emaciation. The flanks become tucked up, 

 the fat disappears, the bones and muscles stand out prominently, the 

 skin becomes tense and hidebound, and the hair erect, scurfy, and 

 deficient in luster. The eye becomes dull and sunken, the spirits are 

 depressed, the animal is weak and sluggish, sweats on the slightest 

 exertion, and can endure little. The subject may survive for months, 

 or he may die early of exhaustion. In the slighter cases, or when the 

 cause ceases to operate, he may make a somewhat tardy recovery. 



Treatment. This consists in stopping the ingestion of the faulty 

 drugs, poisons, or food, and supplying sound hay and grain free 

 from all taint of heating or mustiness. A liberal supply of boiled flax- 

 seed in the drinking water at once serves to eliminate the poison and 

 to sheathe and protect the irritated kidneys. Tonics like sulphate or 

 phosphate of iron (2 drams morning and evening) help greatly by 

 bracing the system and hastening repair. To these may be addeJ. 

 agents calculated to destroy the fungus and eliminate its poisonous 

 products. In that form which depends on musty food nothing acts 

 better than creosote, carbolic acid (1 dram), or oil of turpentine (4 

 drams) properly diluted. 



SACCHARINE DIABETES (DIABETES MELLITUS, GLYCOSURIA, OR 



INOSURIA) . 



This is primarily a disease of the nervous system or liver rather 

 than of the kidneys, yet, as the most prominent symptom is the sweet 

 urine, it may be treated here. 



Causes. Its causes are varied, but resolve themselves largely 

 into disorder of the liver or disorder of the brain. One of the most 

 prominent functions of the liver is the formation of glycogen, a prin- 

 ciple allied to grape sugar. This is a constant function of the liver, 

 but in health the resulting sugar is burned up in the circulation and 

 does not appear in the urine. On the contrary, when the supply of 

 oxygen is defective, as in certain diseases of the lungs, the whole of 

 the sugar does not undergo combustion and the excess is excreted by 

 the kidneys. Also in certain forms of enlarged liver the amount of 

 sugar produced is more than can be disposed of in the natural way, 



