NOTITIA VBNATICA. 79 



have another. Work this off in four or five hours with a dose of castor- 

 oil. If the dog" is much purged omit the pill and oil for one night, and 

 then dose again as hefore. Keep on with this remedy till a change takes 

 place for the better, such as absence of fever and increased strength ; 

 but do not weaken him with too strong purges. The dog must be fed 

 from the beginning, if he refuses his food, with a spoon on the best 

 beef or mutton broth, with a little white bread crumbed into it, or he 

 will become so weak that he Jwill die of exhaustion : this must be done 

 every two or three hours, or he will die. He must be kept cool (not cold), 

 dry, sheltered, and comfortable, with plenty of ventilation. If his eyes are 

 much affected, put a seton in the back of his neck. If too much purged, 

 feed also on arrow-root or flour-porridge ; and if he is very ill with a violent 

 diarrhoea, give him an ounce of barm, or yeast ; but if taken in time he 

 Avill not want it. If with the above treatment, with strict attention to feed- 

 ing the dog well upon good light but nourishing and Avholesome food, and 

 at the same time keeping him cool and dry, he does not recover, I fear 

 in vain must his owner seek otherwise for rehef. Many young hounds 

 die of absolute exhaustion, after the worst stages of the disease are 

 passed, from cruel neglect and idleness, when a little attention to merely 

 giving them nutritious food and strengthening medicine might un- 

 doubtedly have saved their lives. The following pill given to puppies 

 recovering from distemper, and also to older hounds which have been 

 debilitated in their constitutions, I have frequently found to have the 

 very best effect ; — Take of 



Quinine twenty-four grains 



Gentian powder half ounce 



Bark powder half ounce 



Cinnamon powder one and half drachm 



Sulphuric acid eight drops. 



To be made into eight balls \vith syrup, and one to be given every morn- 

 ing fasting. 



It has been supposed that this direful disease was first introduced into 

 this country from France, where it was designated by the term of "La 

 Maladie." It may now, however, be considered to have become natu- 

 rahzed amongst the whole of the canine race in this island ; and not 

 only are some kinds of dogs more subject to the disease than others, 

 but in some kennels this dreadful scourge seems inherent in particular 

 breeds ; I could enumerate several packs of hounds (but the exposing 

 the misfortunes of some of the most justly celebrated establishments of 

 the day is by no means my intention) where undoubtedly the distemper, 

 in a very aggravated form, has been handed down from one generation 

 to another until it has become one of the peculiar characteristics of the 

 blood. Mr. Blaine's remarks upon distemper are so excellent that I 

 woidd advise the reader to peruse them attentively ; they are far too ex- 

 tensive to insert in this short chapter ; but the few following lines are so 

 exceedingly descriptive of the cause of the disease that I shall insert 

 them without apology : — " The distemper has become so naturalized 

 amongst our dogs, that very few escape the disease altogether. A con- 



