CATARACT. 821 



Those cases require prompt attention, in order to ward oflf 

 the serious consequences which otherwise are in store for the un- 

 fortunate animal. The bowels should first be opened with the 

 purging ball recommended in simple ophthalmia. Give bran 

 mashes only, and when the bowels are opened, give one of 

 the following powders night and morning on the tongue : — 

 pulverized colchicum, one and a half ounces ; saltpetre, two 

 ounces ; divide into twelve powders. These will last one 

 week, and by that time the eye will usually become clear and 

 bright. Use as an injection for the eye, tincture of opium, 

 one ounce ; rain, or distilled water, one pint : — or, if more con- 

 venient, mix half an ounce of the extract of belladonna in 

 one pint of water, and use in the same manner. If the animal 

 is in a plethoric condition, bleeding will be found advan- 

 tageous ; the quantity to be regulated by the condition of the 

 pulse. Place the animal in a cool, well-ventilated location, 

 free from any ammoniacal gases. 



CATARACT. 



This disease, which is one of the terminations of specific 

 ophthalmia, is an opacity of the crystalline lens, situated 

 directly behind the pupil, through which it is visible. The 

 first indications of cataract noticed are one or more white 

 Bpots making their appearance within the eye, gradually en- 

 larging, and at last blending with each other until the animal 

 becomes totally blind. Not much can be done in such cases 

 by way of treatment. Its removal by the operation practised 

 upon the human eye, and known as "couching," is hardly ad- 

 visable, as the horse is forever after unsafe, being very apt to 

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