36 THE PRACTICE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE. 



relief than any other position. Death may ensue in from 

 three to twenty days. In a case terminating favourably, a 

 general remission of the symptoms is noticed, the pulse be- 

 comes slower and increased in volume, the animal tempera- 

 ture decreases, the appetite gradually returns, and by auscul- 

 tation and j^ercussion we are enabled to detect the various 

 signs of improvement taking place within. Pneumonia is 

 not a very fatal disease if taken in time and treated properly. 

 Treatment. — Place the patient in a well-ventilated, dry 

 loose-box, free from draughts. An unlimited supply of pure 

 air and pure cold water are essentials in the treatment of 

 pneumonia. Blood-letting was at one time practised to a 

 great extent, but the practitioners of to-day know better ; 

 it is safer, as a general thing, to make a judicious use of 

 stimulants, but in those few and exceptional cases where a 

 sedative is required, aconite tr. (Fleming's), lT(^x., may be 

 administered occasionally until the desired effect is pro- 

 duced. Another agent useful as a febrifuge and diuretic 

 is potassium nitrate. It may be given in a draught or in 

 the drinking water of the patient, if he will take it — about 

 5vi. should be given in the course of twent3^-four hours : it 

 also exerts a beneficial action on the blood. \Vhen the 

 circulation is w^ak, stimulants are indicated, as liq. ammon., 

 acet. with seth. nitrici, spts, frumenti, etc., to be given in 

 the usual quantities, and as often as occasion requires. The 

 animal should be well clothed, according to the season of 

 the year ; the legs should be well hand-rubbed and band- 

 aged with flannel ; good nursing is indispensable and of the 

 utmost importance ; the appetite should be tempted by 

 tidbits, or the offer of relishable food in small quantities, 

 and of a kind nutritious and easily digested. Bran-mashes 

 do not amount to much in the way of nourishment, the 

 percentage of nutritive material being too small. A small 

 mash containing oats, or oats alone, boiled or raw, may be 



