DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 253 



English writers sa}^ that it is dangerous to leave a dog iu 

 the stable with the horse, lest he should go mad and bite the 

 latter. I^o such fears are ever entertained in our favored 

 Ian J, nor is there the least need that there should be. 



We rejoice to speak of this as so nearly a foreign disease 

 only, for all veterinarians concur in pronouncing it incurable. 



FITS, OR EPILEPSY. 



Though seldom met with, epilepsy is not unknown in the 

 United States! The horse suffering from fits approaches, 

 nearly to a condition of frenzy. He has a wild, fierce look, 

 rears and pitches about, and is generally unmanageable from 

 the very beginning of the attack. As the disease progresses, 

 nervous tremblings seize him, and, at last, he falls down in 

 utter stupor or fearful convulsions. The duration of these 

 fits varies, in different cases, from a few minutes to a con- 

 siderable length of time. 



After awhile the stupor passes away, or the convulsions 

 cease. The horse gets up, shakes himself, as though nothing 

 serious had happened, moves off, and goes to eating. 



As to a cure, it is doubtful whether one has ever been 

 effected in a case of genuine epilepsy. Some authors bid 

 the farmer set to work and discover the cause, and then tim- 

 idly bid him hope for a cure. But we have yet to learn of 

 such a discovery ever being made with any satisfactory de- 

 gree of certainty. A horse that is subject to fits must be 

 regarded as a dangerous possession, and the farmer will con- 

 sult his own interest and the safety of his family by putting 

 the poor creature beyond all opportunity of doing mischief. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN, OR PHRENITIS. 



This disease, though by no means a common one in this 

 country, is encountered more frequently than epilepsy. It 

 is of two kinds, or, rather, it may originate from two sources: 

 first, from the brain itself, in which case it is called spon- 

 taneous inflammation ; and, secondly, from some other dis- 

 ease, when it is described as symptomatic. 



