ELBOW-JOINT LAMENESS. 231 



way of remedy for it. In this state of mind I was, I may say, 

 driven to attack the shoulder, every other joint likely to harbour 

 disease having been already tested or treated for it. I therefore, 

 as a sort of hit-or-miss treatment, had a large quantity of blood ab- 

 stracted from the plat vein, and an ample blister applied around 

 the off shoulder joint; cathartic medicine being at the same time 

 given, as on former occasions. After this was done, instead of 

 being allowed any motion on the limb, he was kept tied up in a 

 stall in a state of absolute rest and quiet. 



January came and passed, February came, still no relief; on the 

 contrary, he had, under all the treatment described, become gradu- 

 ally lamer and lamer; insomuch that now, at the latter end of 

 February, he was going, after all this rest, actually lamer than I 

 had ever seen him go before. Several of my veterinary friends 

 had the kindness, at my request, to look at him and examine him, 

 after hearing my account of his case. Two thou^^ht he was lame in 

 the shoulder, another in the foot, a third in the spine ; all, however, 

 agreeing that his case was a hopeless one, although, in considera- 

 tion of his age and undisturbed good health, inclined to the opinion 

 that he should not be given up without further experiment: since 

 pure matter of experiment had his case now become. 



The time is now arrived for me to enter into a more particular 

 account of the symptoms his lameness presented, and particularly 

 for the three or four weeks antecedently to his being destroyed. 

 During the early period there was nothing to strike notice in his 

 manner of projecting or putting down his lame limb, save that he 

 evidently did all he could in action to throw the weight of his body, 

 as it appeared to us, upon the heel of the foot ; so that I more than 

 once suspected chronic laminitis, and had on that supposition in- 

 serted a seton through the frog*. When he had become lamer, and 

 was consequently more unwilling still to impose weight upon the 

 lame limb, he evinced a sort of dragging of the limb after him in 

 his going; which symptom it was, combined with an increased 

 manifestation of it in his side movements, that disposed us to think 

 his case was one of shoulder lameness. By the time, however, that 



* In the performance of this operation he plunged and fell, and, as I after- 

 wards thought, hurt himself; though, from the sequel, I am satisfied no hurt 

 took place. 



