482 MATERIA MEDICA 



frequently slinking the bottle which contains the mixture, and 

 keeping it in a warm place ; after eight or ten clays it is to be 

 strained off, and kept well corked. Some add to this a little 

 sublimate and oil of origanum, or camphor. There is another 

 kind of tincture, made by digesting the powder in a strong 

 solution of potash, which also acts very violently. In powder- 

 ing euphorbium, the mortar should be placed where there is a 

 current of air, so that the dust which arises may be blown off; 

 otherwise, it would get into the nostrils or throat, and prove ex- 

 cessively troublesome, sometimes causing bleeding at the nose 

 and swellinof of the intesfuments of the head. I do not consider 

 euphorbium an eligible ingredient in blisters, as there is some 

 danger of its causing ulceration of the skin.* 



EXERCISE. We have observed, imder the article diet, that 

 the horse's exercise should be always proportionate to the quan- 

 tity and quality of his food ; or rather, that the latter should be 

 adapted to the former, in order to preserve him in health. We 

 have further to remark, that in other points of view exercise is 

 of great importance. In training a horse for the turf or the 

 chase, it is by exercise properly conducted, and a well regulated 

 diet, that we enable him to perform those wonderful exertions 

 that are required from him, and bring his wind to the highest 

 degree of perfection which it is capable of attaining. In 

 training a horse, whether he be designed for the turf, the chase, 

 or the army, this precaution must always be observed, — that 

 his exercise never exceeds his streno;th. Manv horses have 

 been destroyed by neglecting this precaution, particularly in the 

 army, where we too often see horses recruited of three years old. 

 "When first brought to the regiment (perhaps from a consider- 

 able distance), they are weak and out of condition, often suf- 

 fering from strangles, which, from their weak state, do not come 

 forward properly, but affect chiefly the internal parts, causing 

 pain and difficulty in swallowing. At this time they are unfit 

 for any kind of work, and require two months to be brought 

 into proper condition for the riding school. However, they 

 are not, in general, allowed half that time, but are brought too 

 hastily into the school, where, being unaccustomed to that, or, 

 indeed, to any kind of work, they become excessively fatigued ; 

 and to young horses in a state of debility, particularly if they 

 are not immediately attended to, and taken great care of when 

 bi'ought sweating from the school, this exercise, I am convinced, 

 is often attended with destructive consequences. Exercise, 

 therefore, should always be moderate at first, and adapted to 

 the animal's strength ; by increasing it gradually, and in pro- 

 portion to his condition, he may soon be brought to bear, without 



* As this medicine produces so much irritation, it is better to avoid its use 

 altogether, as we have other stimulants that will supply its place. —Ed. 



