72 General Principles of Veterinary Medicine. 



lungs in breathing, and taking their temperature, by feeling 

 the skin and also by using a properly constructed ther- 

 mometer. He should watch the appearances of the eye and 

 tono-ue, and note the positions assumed when asleep and 

 awake. He should observe the character and frequency of 

 the discharges of the bowels and bladder, and the eagerness 

 of their appetite. For it is in the variations from health in 

 these particulars, that the veterinarian discovers the guides 

 which lead him to the recognition of the particular disease 

 he has to treat. We shall examine each of these items 

 separately, and assure our readers that if they will verify 

 our statements by practice on the living animals, they will 

 soon be in a position to take charge of them when sick, 

 quite as well and often a great deal better than the average 

 farrier, as he is to be found in this country. 



THE PULSE. 



The Pulse differs very much in the domestic animals. 

 In the full grown horse at rest, its beats are about 40 per 

 minute; in the ox, from 50 to 55; and in the sheep and 

 pig, about as in man, that is, averaging 70 to 80 beats in the 

 minute. In calves and colts, and in animals well advanced 

 in years, the pulse increases in health, to about twice these 

 figures : and it is also increased by hot, close stables, full 

 feeding, and the condition of pregnancy. 



The pulse may be felt wherever a considerable artery 

 passes over a bone. It is usually examined in the horse on 

 the cord which runs across the bone of the lower jaw, just in 

 front of its curved portion; or on the bony ridge which 

 extends upward from the eye; or inside the elbow. In 

 cattle, it is conveniently reached over the middle of the first 

 rib, or beneath the tail. There is a marked difference of 

 force in the pulse of the two species; that of the horse being 



