256 MEDICINES. 



ranee will slough off and healthy granulations will spring up. A surer 

 application however is the nitrate of silver. 



Acidum Hydrocyanicum (Prussic Acid). This is an excellent appli- 

 cation for the purpose of allaying irritation of the skin in dogs ; but it must 

 be very carefully watched. I have seen a drachm of it diluted with a pint 

 of distilled water, rapidly allay cuticular inflammation. The dreadful de- 

 gree of itching which had been observed during the last two or three years 

 yielded to this application alone ; and to that it has almost invariably 

 yielded, a little patience being used. 



Acupuncturation is a practice lately introduced into veterinary surgery. 

 It denotes the insertion of a needle into the skin or flesh of a person or 

 animal suffering severely from some neuralgic affection. The needle is 

 small and sharp : it is introduced by a slight pressure and semi-rotating 

 motion between the thumb and fore-finger, and afterwards withdrawn with 

 the same motion. This should always employ a quarter of an hour at 

 least, and in cases of very great pain it should continue two hours ; but 

 when the object is to afford an exit to the fluid collected, mere puncture 

 it sufficient. It is attended with very little pain ; and therefore it may be 

 employed at least with safety if not with advantage. The operation was 

 known and practised in Japan many years ago ; but it was only in the 

 seventeenth century that its singular value was ascertained. In 1810 some 

 trials of it were made in Paris, and M. Chenel took the lead. He had a 

 young dog that he had cured of distemper, except that a spasmodic affection 

 of the left hind leg remained. He applied a needle, and with fair success. 

 He failed with another dog ; but M. Prevost, of Geneva, relieved two mares 

 from rheumatism, and an entire horse that had been lame sixteen months. 

 In the Veterinary School at Lyons acupuncturation was tried on two dogs. 

 One had chorea, and the other chronic paralysis of the muscles of the neck. 

 The operation had no effect on the first ; the other came out of the hospital 

 completely cured. In the following year acupuncturation was tried with- 

 out success in the same school. Four horses and two dogs were operated 

 upon in vain. 



Adeps ( Hog's Lard) forms the basis of all our ointments. It is taste- 

 less, inodorous, and free from every stimulating quality. 



Alcohol (Rectified Spirit).^- This is principally used in tinctures, and 

 seldom or never administered to the dog in a pure state. 



Aloes, Barbadoes. From these are formed the safest and best aperi- 

 ents for the dog consisting of powdered aloes eight parts, antimonial 

 powder one part, ginger one part, and palm oil five parts ; beaten well 

 together, and the size of the ball varying from half a drachm to two 

 drachms, and a ball administered every fourth or fifth hour. Mr. Elaine 

 considers it to be the safest general purgative. He says that such is the 

 peculiarity of the bowels of the dog, that while a man can take with im- 

 punity as much calomel as would kill two large dogs, a moderate-sized 

 dog will take a quantity of aloes sufficient to destroy two stout men. The 

 smallest dog can take 15 or 20 grains ; half a drachm is seldom too much ; 

 but the smaller dose had better be tried first, for hundreds of dogs are 

 every year destroyed by temerity in this particular. Medium-sized dogs 

 usually require a drachm; and some large dogs have taken two or even 

 three drachms. 



Alteratives are medicines that effect some slow change in the dis- 

 eased action of certain parts, without interfering with the food or worlc. 



