WHAT TO DO IF ILLNESS COMES 57 



ended in that oblivion which is the penalty 

 in man and in animals of want of health, 

 because they overeat themselves, and suffered 

 from indigestion, and were drugged with nitre 

 till their kidneys suffered incurable damage. 

 Drugs in the hands of the semi-ignorant are 

 like firearms in the hands of children — neither 

 should ever be played with. Send for a 

 veterinary surgeon if anything is seriously 

 wrong. His opinion, at any rate, is sure to 

 be of use to you, especially if you can get the 

 opinion of an up-to-date one, such as are now 

 being yearly turned out by our Royal College 

 of Veterinary Surgeons in Ireland, or from 

 one of the Fellows of the College. In the old 

 days veterinary surgeons' treatment was too 

 much confined to the idea of balls or bullets. 

 I never give a horse a ball, except for the 

 purpose of expelling worms, if the state of 

 his skin and general health suggest that he 

 has them. And as to a bullet — the " friendly 

 bullet " as it is called — if some part of a 

 horse's structure has undergone such an 

 injury that he cannot regain his usefulness, 



