INFLAMMATION OF THE EYH. 115 



previous 01* approaching disease. They are a slight thickening of the lids, 

 or puckerin^r towards the inner corner of the eye ; a difference in the appa- 

 rent size of the eyes; a cloudiness, althoiii^h perhaps scarcely perceptible, 

 of the surface of the corn*ea, or more deeply seated, or a hazy circle round 

 its edge ; a gloominess of the eye generally, and duhiess of the iris ; or a 

 minute, faint, dusky spot in the centre, with or without little fibres or lines 

 diversring from it. 



The cause of this inflammation is undoubtedly a strong predisposition 

 to it in the eye of the horse, but assisted by the heated and poisoned air of 

 many stables. Some of our readers whose stables are not too air-tight, see 

 frequently a great deal of this disease ; but if they knew its ravages where 

 several horses are crowded together, and scarcely a breath of air admitted, 

 they would deem themselves comparatively fortunate. The heated air has 

 much to do with the production of the disease ; — the poisoned air a great 

 deal more ; for every one must have observed, on entering a close stable 

 early in the morning, strong fumes of hartshorn, which were painful to his 

 eyes and caused them to water. What must be the constant action of 

 this on the eyes of the horse ? The dung of the horse, and the litter of 

 the stables, when becoming putrid, give out fumes of volatile alkali or 

 hartshorn ; but besides this, the urine of the horse, for some purpose un- 

 known to us, possibly to teach us to take better care of this useful servant, 

 begins very soon after it is voided to give out an immense quantity of this 

 pungent gas. If we are scarcely able to bear it when we stand "in the 

 stable for only a few minutes, we need not wonder at the prevalence of 

 inflammation in the eye of the stabled horse, nor at the difficulty of abating 

 inflammation while the eye continues to be exposed to such painful excite- 

 ment. Stables are now much better ventilated than they used to be, and 

 this disease is not so prevalent as it was fifty years ago. 



The farmer may not be aware of another cause of this disease, to which 

 his horse is more particularly exposed, viz. confinement in a dark stable. 

 Many stables in the country have no glazed windows, but there is a flap 

 whicli is open for a few hours in the day, or while the carter is employed 

 in the stable, and when that is shut down almost total darkness prevails. 

 Let our reader consider what are his sensations when he suddenly emerges 

 from a dark room into the full glare of light ; he is dazzled and bewil- 

 dered, and some time passes before his vision is distinct. Let this be 

 repeated several times in the day, and what will be the consequence? The 

 sight will be disordered, and the eye irreparably injured. Then let him 

 think of his poor horse, who often stumbles and starts through no fault of 

 his own, although he is corrected for so doing, but because his eyes are 

 necessarily weakened by these sudden transitions, and disposed to take 

 on this sad inflammation with all its fatal results. 



The propagation of various diseases, and this possibly more than any 

 other, from the sire to his progeny, has not been sufficiently considered by 

 breeders. Let a stallion that is blind, or whose sight is defective, possess 

 every other point and quality that can be wished, yet he is worse than 

 useless ; for a very considerable proportion of his offspring will most as- 

 suredly inherit his weak eyes, or become totally blind. There is no fact 

 better established than this. 



The most frequent consequences of this disease are cloudiness of the eye, 

 and cataract. The cloudiness is singular in its nature. It will change in 

 twenty-four hours from the thinnest film to the thickest opacity ; and as 

 suddenly the eye will nearly regain its perfect transparency, but only to 

 lose it, and as rapidly, a second time. The most barbarous methods have 



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