DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 163 



> j. 18. Powdered chlorate of potass 1 oz. 



Water £ pint. 



Should the animal show signs of debility or weakness, give one 

 mnce of fluid extract of golden seal every morning, before feeding. 

 Should the mouth appear to be sore, from the constant flow of 

 3aliva over its surfaces, or from any other cause, then the parts 

 should be sponged two or three times daily with a portion of 

 squal parts of powdered borax and honey, or with an infusion of 

 bayberry bark. 



When spontaneous salivation occurs in an aged horse, it denotes 

 debility, and thus points out the propriety of sustaining the pa- 

 tient's strength by administering tonics and diffusible stimulants. 

 The following is the best remedy for this state of the system : 



No. 19. Fluid extract of chamomile 1 oz. 



Fluid extract of ginger £ oz. 



Give as a drench, night and morning. The patient should hav« 

 a fair allowance of good nutritious diet. 



Secretion of Saliva in Horses. — From experiments lately made, 

 it appears that a healthy horse secretes from the paroted glands, 

 which are situated beneath the ears at the posterior angles of the 

 lower jaw, during active mastication, about one gallon of saliva 

 per hour, and other glands in the vicinity of the throat and mouth 

 secrete, in the same amount of time, three gallons, making in all 

 four gallons per hour, which is mixed with the food during masti- 

 cation. The following experiment was lately made on an aged 

 horse, 15 hands 2 inches in height. The tubes leading from the 

 paroted glands were divided on either side, and so fixed as to 

 throw their contents into vessels held for that purpose ; the ani- 

 mal was then fed on oats, which he masticated during a period of 

 thirty minutes, at the end of which time half a gallon of saliva 

 was caught. This calculation, however, will not hold good in all 

 cases ; for ravenous feeders, who do not thoroughly masticate their 

 food, fail to secrete the necessary amount of saliva ; hence the food 

 is not properly masticated nor insalivated, and can not, therefore, 

 undergo proper digestion; and when food is not thoroughly di- 

 gested, it imparts but little of its nutriment to the body. Slow 

 feeders, therefore, are more likely to accumulate flesh than the 

 voracious ones. 



