264 DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 



rubbing their heads or necks, manes, roots of their tails, 

 hind quarters, &c., and thus rendering those parts bare. 

 This is the simplest form of surfeit, and requires nothing 

 beyond some modification of the stable regimen : bran- 

 mashes in lieu of corn ; green-meat, if it be in season, or 

 additional work. The itchiness may be relieved by using a 

 lotion composed of half an ounce of sulphuric acid and a 

 quart of water : with this, the parts are to be wetted. 



There is a sort of cutaneous furor to which horses — pam- 

 pered and little-worked — are liable ; and which appears to 

 be constitutional in its origin. The horse experiences an 

 insufierable itching, and to allay this, will bite and tear 

 himself with his teeth, and inflict wounds in his skin upon 

 the places rubbed or pressed by the saddle or harness, and 

 by rendering them sore or raw, reduce himself to a state of 

 comparative uselessness. This habit, or rather disorder, 

 once contracted, is exceedingly difficult — in some cases, im- 

 possible — to get rid of. 



1840, May 3d. — A four year old mare, this morning had 

 four lumps make their appearance. Two upon the inner 

 part of each thigh, directly opposite, and touching each other ; 

 which were flattened, quite circular, and about the size of a 

 small captain^s-biscuit ; another somewhat smaller, appeared 

 upon the belly, and a fourth, still smaller, upon the back in 

 the place where the points of the saddle-tree bear. Their 

 singularity of character consists in the perfect roundness of 

 their figure ; only one of them, that upon the belly, having 

 a humpy sort'of divergence to one side of the circle. The 

 submaxillary glands of the left side were also enlarged, and 

 the Schneiderian membrane reddened. They made their 

 appearance quite suddenly. Since the attack, the mare ex- 

 perienced a violent fit of coughing ; and yet the appetite and 

 spirits are not aff'ected. Nothing done. May 4th. Since 

 yesterday, kept upon mashes. These large lumps have di- 

 minished and become more diffused, but numerous small 

 ones — of the ordinary size of half-marbles — have made their 

 appearance in all parts of the surface. May 5th. The lumps 

 have decreased, and appear to be on the decline. Prepare 



