636 THE HORSE 



dozen have failed with twitch and gag and pulleys. It should be borne in 

 mind that the objection to swallow a nauseous potion is an instinct of 

 self-preservation displaj'cd by all animals, and children too young to 

 reason with, or not having implicit confidence in their nurses. The un- 

 necessary use of the twitch, thereby adding pain to nausea, is a survival of 

 that brutality which sanctioned nicking and cropping. A better use for 

 the twitch, provided the cord is long enough, is to pass the loop into the 

 mouth, over the nose and behind the upper incisoi'S, holding up the head 

 by means of the stick instead of the common and dangerous practice of 

 using a stable fork, the tines of which are liable to inflict injuries when 

 a restive animal throws his head from side to side. There are instances 

 where twitching the nose may be justifiable, but a wide experience is 

 in favour of the conclusion that it is very rarely indispensable. When an 

 animal rears there are other methods of restraint, as putting him in a low- 

 building and hobbling one leg, or the plan adopted for strikers, of attaching 

 a heavy bag of corn to a collar. Where spirituous pi-eparations are 

 prescribed, the tinctures for instance, they must of necessity be given in 

 the form of draughts, but an intimate knowledge of modern pharmacy will 

 enable the attendant in many instances to employ extracts or tabloids, 

 electuaries, suppositories, pessai'ies or injections, subcutaneous or otherwise. 

 The tabloid form of medicine naturally commends itself to the practitioner, 

 whether human or veterinary ; but it is not yet absolutely demonstrated 

 that the dry residues of evaporated tinctures are therapeutically of the 

 same value as the tinctures themselves, nor does analysis prove that, because 

 two substances give the same chemical formulae they are physically the same 

 thing. If it were so, we might flavour our hlanc-yncmges with turpentine 

 instead of oil of lemon. 



Portability is a great point in veterinary medicine, and it is receiving 

 increasing attention from our War Department. Balls and draughts are 

 alike unsuitable forms of medication in cases of sore throat, setting up 

 coughing and necessitating an attitude on the part of the patient both 

 irritating and dangerous. Balls are occasionally coughed up into the nasal 

 chambers, and draughts taken down the trachea, either accident producing 

 serious inconvenience, and often very grave results. Electuaries, in which 

 the medicinal agents are mixed with honey, treacle, or glycerine, are in such 

 cases the best forms of medicine to be used, the prescribed dose being 

 smeared upon a smooth spatula or flat piece of wood (as a lath) and freed 

 from rough edges, then placed upon the back of the tongue, which may be 

 drawn slightly forward with the left or disengaged hand. In cases of 

 sore throat this form of medication has the double advantage of acting 

 topically as a gargle would do, and further by its introduction into the 

 circulating medium in the usual way. 



Reduction of the bulky di'aught into the form of a powdered tabloid 

 thrown upon the tongue is certainly " elegant pharmacy," as the disciples of 

 that art are wont to claim, and if experience confirms the claims to physio- 

 logical or therapeutic results and accurate dosage made by lh3 various 

 manufacturers, many difficulties will be overcome in physicking animals. 



The adoption of subcutaneous injections by veterinary surgeons is a 

 distinct advantage in many acute diseases. Active agents like morphine, 

 aconitine atropine, etc., are sold in standardized solutions and the dose can 



