38 KENNEL SECRETS. 



action of the bowels — the great waste avenue or sewer — 

 which under their impulse carry from the blood more than 

 usual of its impurities ; and at the same time this vital 

 fluid feels directly some of the properties of the vegeta- 

 bles and is doubtless more or less purged by them. 



Onions, garlic, cress and other like substances of pun- 

 gent flavors have been credited with medicinal virtues of 

 marked character, while the first named is believed by 

 some to be a sure preventive as well as destroyer of 

 worms. They are all stimulants and cause an increased 

 secretion of the saliva and gastric juice, and in this way 

 favor digestion, provided they are used in moderation, 

 while like all other stimulants they cause irritation when 

 pushed too far. 



As for the supposed anthelmintic virtues of onions, the 

 only testimony offered that they possess any such comes 

 from a few breeders who, accustomed to flavor their soups 

 with them, and their dogs having fortunately escaped 

 worms, have jumped at the conclusion that the credit 

 belongs to this vegetable. It really contains an acrid, 

 volatile oil that is strongly irritating and stimulating, and 

 were worms to encounter it in goodly quantities and in 

 concentrated form it would doubtless prove anything but 

 pleasant to them, and might, like all other irritant oils, 

 have some destructive effect. But much of it is lost in 

 cooking. Moreover the proportion of onions to the other 

 ingredients in soups for dogs is scarcely greater than that 

 in like foods prepared for man, consequently it is not 

 reasonable to suppose that it has the reputed effect. 



From this brief consideration of garden produce the 

 conclusion is justified that vegetables can be advanta- 

 geously employed in feeding dogs, to vary the diet, render 

 certain foods more nutritious and wholesome, stimulate 

 the secretion of the digestive solvents, improve the action 



