DISEASES OF THE THROAT. 281 



inflammation increases. The empoisoned virus of the blood 

 rushes to this more-heated part as surely (and on somewhat 

 the same principle, too) as the oil flows through the wick to 

 the flame of the burning lamp. 



"We have pursued this subject at some length, because 

 right here is the ground- work of the difficulty^ Here are 

 the fountains of disease, whose streams so often ruin the 

 horse. In seven cases out of ten, disease is generated by 

 mismanagement, bad treatment, and exposure, and thou- 

 sands of the best horses in the United ' States die annually 

 from these causes. 



This great aggregate of unnecessary suflering, and these 

 vast sacrifices of pecuniary interest consequent upon it, 

 might be saved by better practices on the part of the 

 farmer and horseman. When a system of humane and ju- 

 dicious treatment has been univei'saljy adopted in respect 

 to the horse, the pristine vigor of his race will perhaps be 

 nearly attained, even in circumstances of servitude to man ; 

 and, .at any rate, the field of labor of the veterinary surgeon 

 will be "not a little circumscribed, and his practice greatly 

 simplified. 



In the moral universe, no relation can exist without some 

 corresponding obligation. Man's relation to the brute cre- 

 ation is that of lord, of master, and by that he is obligated 

 to become, at the same time, a protector and provider. As 

 a moral duty, the prevention of sufl:ering is made binding 

 upon him by the law of the Creator, of whose ordaining it 

 is that the brutes have been made subject to his dominion, 

 or even capable of subserving his purposes. An act of cru- 

 elty, whether we commit it ourselves, or simply permit it 

 to be done, is a grievous wrong, and it is a sin against God. 



The weather being unfavorable, if the horse is much 

 heated from his daily labors, by all means give him a good, 

 warm, dry stable, with a clean bed of straw, and have mat- 

 ters so arranged that he can lie down and rest during the 

 night. If very cold, cover his body with a warm blanket. 

 It would be no more than you should be prompted to do, 



