I or, A Manual of Veterinary Physiology. 



smegma is very considerable in the horse. The ear-wax 

 and eyelid secretion is also of a sebaceous nature. 



In the sheep a considerable quantity of fatty substance 

 is found in the wool : it exists in two forms, (1) as a fatty 

 acid united to potash to form a soap, and (2) a fatty acid 

 combined with cholesterin instead of glycerin : the latter 

 is known as lanolin, and is largely used as a basis for 

 ointments. It is also found in hair, horn, feathers, etc. 



The fatty substance in the fleece is known to shepherds 

 and others as ' suint ' : in merino sheep it may amount to 

 more than one-half the weight of the unwashed fleece, but 

 in ordinary weather-exposed sheep it may be 15 per cent, 

 or less. The large amount of potash in unwashed wool is 

 very remarkable ; a fleece must sometimes contain more 

 potash than the whole body of the shorn sheep (War- 

 rington).* 



The respiratory function of the skin, so marked in the 

 frog, is not very active in the higher animals : CO,, passes 

 out and passes in through the skin. The amount of the 

 latter for the horse, so far as I am aware, has not been 

 determined ; it is probably very little. 



Gerlachf is said to have collected \ oz. of carbonic acid 

 in 24 hours from the skin of horses at rest, and 3 ozs. at 

 work ; it is difficult to know how these figures were arrived 

 at unless the horse were enclosed in a rubber bag. 



Varnishing the skin will rapidly cause death in rabbits, 

 and more slowly in horses. Death is due to loss of body 

 heat, and not to suffocation as was at one time supposed. 

 Horses shiver when varnished, and the surface of the body 

 and expired air become cold, the visible membranes ar< 

 violet, and the animals die after several days (( ierlacli, ; 

 Bouley§) ; but according to Ellenberger, if only partly 

 varnished they do not die, but exhibit temporary loss of 

 temperature, and show signs of weakness. 



For absorption from the skin, sec article ' Absorption.' 

 p. is.".. 



* ' The Chemistry of the Farm.' f Quoted by fil'Kendrick. 



! Landoia and Stirling. ^ Colin. 



