THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



213 



by which the heart expands af\er closing on and 

 propelling forward the blood in its ventricles, by 

 which the artery contracts on the blood that has 

 distended it, and by which many of the most im- 

 portant functions of life are influenced or governed. 

 This muscle ceases to act. The eye resumes its 

 natural situation in the orbit. There is room for 

 the fatty matter to return to its place, and it im- 

 mediately returns by the elasticity of the mem- 

 brane by which it is covered ; and it draws alter 

 it this cartilage with wffich it is connected, and 

 (he return is as rapid as the projection. 



"The old farmers strangely misunderstood the 

 nature and design of the haw, and many of the 

 present day do not seem to be much better in- 

 formed. Whenfrom sympathy with other parts 

 of the eye laboring under inflammation, and be- 

 coming itself inflamed, and increased in bulk, 

 and the neighboring parts likewise thickened, it 

 was either forced out of its place, or voluntarily 

 protruded to defend the eye from the action of the 

 light, and could not return, they mistook it lor 

 Bome injurious excrescence or tumor, and pro- 

 ceeded to cut it out. The "Aaif in the ej/es" is a 

 disease well known to the majority of grooms, and 

 this sad remedy for it is deemed the only cure. It 

 is a barbarous practice ; and if they were com- 

 pelled to walk half-a-dozen miles in a thick dust, 

 and without being permitted to wipe or to cleanse 

 the eye, they would feel the torture to which they 

 doom this noble animal, when afterwards em- 

 ployed in their service. A little patience having 

 been exercised, and a lew cooling applications 

 made to the eye while the inflammation lasted, and 

 afterwards some mild astringent ones, and other 

 proper means employed, the tumor would have 

 disappeared, the haw would have returned to its j 

 place, and the animal would have discharged the j 

 duties required of him, without inconvenience to 

 himself, instead of the agony to which an un- 

 guarded and unprotected eye must frequently ex- 

 pose him. 



"The loss of blood occasioned by the cutting 

 out of the haw may frequently relieve the infla- 

 mation of the eye ; and the evident amendment 

 which follows, induces those wise men to believe 

 that they have performed an excellent operation ; 

 but the same loss of blood by scarification of the 

 overloaded vessels of the conjunctiva,* would be 

 equally beneficial, and the animal would not be 

 deprived of an instrument of admirable use to 

 him." 



Of the lampas, and its proper treatment, the 

 highly valuable work just quoted gives the fol- 

 lowing account. 



"Some of the lower bars, (in the upper jaw of 

 the horse's mouth,) occasionally swell, and rise to 

 a level with, and even beyond the edge of the 

 teeth, and they are very sore, and the horse feeds 

 badly on account of the pain he suffers from the 

 pressure of that food on the bars. This is called 

 the lampas; and it may arise from inflammation of 

 the gums, propagated to the bars, when the horse 

 is shedding his teeth ; (and young horses are 

 more subject to it than others) ; or from some 

 slight febrile tendency in the constitution gene- 

 rally, as when a young horse has lately been 

 taken up from grass, and has been over-fed, or not 

 sufficiently exercised. 



* The conjunctiva is that membrane which Unes the 

 hds, and covers the fore part of the eye. 



"In the majority of cases the swelling will soon 

 subside without medical treatment ; or a few 

 mashes and gentle alteratives, will relieve the 

 animal. A lew slight cuts across the bars with 

 a lancet or penknife, and taking care to avoid the 

 principal artery* and vein of the palate, will re- 

 lieve the inflammation, and cause the swelling to 

 subside ; indeed, this scarification ofthe bars, will 

 seldom do harm, although it is far from being so 

 necessary as is supposed. To the brutal custom 

 ofthe farrier, who sears and burns down the bars 

 with a red hot iron, we do most peremptorily ob- 

 ject. It is torturing the horse to no purpose ; and 

 it is rendering that part callous, on the delicate 

 sensibility of which all the pleasure and safety of 

 riding and driving depend. It may be prudent in 

 case of lampas, to examine the grinders, and 

 more particularly the tushes, to see whether 

 either of them is eri'deavoring to make its way 

 through the gum. If with the gum lancet, or 

 penknife, two incisions across each other be made 

 on the tooth, the horse will experience immediate 

 relief.'' 



And now, Mr. Editor, before I conclude, suffer 

 me most earnestly to recommend the study ofthe 

 volume from which I have quoted so largely, to 

 all persons who may be desirous to become ac- 

 quainted with the anatomy of the horse — with 

 ihe various diseases to which he i^s subject, and 

 with the proper methods of treating them. Even 

 if they consult only profit, to the utiei; disregard 

 of humanity in the management of their horses, 

 they will find no work of its size, I believe, which 

 contains any thing like the same amount of in- 

 formation, both scientific and practical, in regard 

 to all they may wish to know of the subjects up- 

 on which it treats. Moreover, it is very enter- 

 taining as well as instructive, for the first part of 

 it contains many interesting anecilotes of cele- 

 brated English horses, and their extraordinary 

 performances. James M. Garnett. 



NOTES ON THE SANDY POINT ESTATE.— NO. I. 



To the Editor of ttie Farmers' Register. 



ISandy Point, March I7ih, 1841. 

 It has ofien presented itself to my mind, that if 

 some of your numerous contributors to the pages 

 of the Farmers' Register, instead of merely de- 

 tailing the results of some experiments, and these 

 generally only such as are successful, would favor 

 your readers with a series of communications, 

 which would not only embrace the result of any 

 particular set of experiments, whether successful 

 or otherwise, but which would also include a state- 

 ment of their whole practice and general mode of 

 management, that they would not only confer a 

 greater amount of benefit on the agricultural com- 

 munity, but, in return, would themselves derive a 

 greater amount of individual benefit. Do not sup- 

 pose that I undervalue these interesting reports of 

 experiments — they have doubtless been the means 

 of diffusing much valuable and useful informa- 

 tion ; but, as a large proportion of these reports 

 go no farther than a simple statement of results, 



• This vein is along the centre of the upper jaw, and 

 the artery on each side, about mid-way between thai 

 and the rows of teeth. 



