466 ' HEALTH AND DISEASE 



tives are desirable, as they reduce the irritability, and give rest to the 

 glands whose office it is to secrete the juice. 



Carminatives or Ant-Acids are those remedies which are employed 

 to correct acidity of the stomach, a form of indigestion which is often 

 persistent, causing pain and discomfort, which is more or less relieved by 

 eructations from the mouth and the passage of gases from the bowel. 

 Chronic " wind-suckers " often suffer in this way. 



Bitter Tonics, by their action on the stomach, increase the flow 

 of gastric juice and excite the nerves which regulate the muscular move- 

 ments; the appetite is thus increased as well as the power of digestion. 

 The bitter vegetable drugs most generally employed for horses are gentian, 

 calumba, quassia, hops, chamomile, and cinchona. They may be given in 

 the form of powder mixed in the food, previously damped, and to which 

 a little table salt has been added. Most horses will take bitter drugs in 

 this way, and if one refuses, he may be made to take them in the form of 

 a ball, or a draught may be made of the infusion or extract. Some of 

 these remedies have excellent effects in small doses, but prove hurtful if 

 habitually used over long periods. 



Calumba Root is one of our most valued drugs in flatulent forms 

 of dyspepsia with loss of appetite. It is more likely to be refused in the 

 food than some of the other bitters, and gives better results when used 

 in the form of infusion and prescribed in conjunction with nux.vomica 

 and mineral acids. In the acid forms of stomach trouble it is combined 

 with bicarbonate of soda with good results. The infusion must not be 

 made with hot water, on account of the starch contained in the root, and 

 must be quifce fresh, as it is prone to rapid decomposition; but a tincture 

 may be prepared which will keep indefinitely. 



Cascarilla Bark and infusion or extract of Chamomile Flowers 



have the same effect as the remedies previously mentioned; but it is found 

 that some individuals will not tolerate one kind of bitter, while they may 

 derive much advantage from another- hence the desirability of considering 

 a variety of tonics of this class. 



Gentian Root is the favourite par excellence in veterinary practice, 

 and appears to be beneficial where a stomach tonic is indicated. Most horses 

 will take the ground root in their food, and it may be variously combined 

 with the bicarbonates of soda and potash. It may be given as a recently 

 made infusion, or the extract dissolved in water, or incorporated in a 

 bolus. 



Quassia. Chips of quassia wood are infused and employed as a bitter 

 tonic, more especially when intestinal worms are supposed to be the cause 

 of digestive troubles. The infusion is also injected into the bowels to 



