354 CURABILITY AND TREATMENT OF ANIMAL INSANITY. 



6 There can be no doubt that the serpent-charmers (of the 



East) possess the power of soothing and taming 



the snakes, so as to render them harmless to themselves,' 

 by means of the ' shrill sounds of the flute' (Houghton). In 

 India a special class of musicians are sent for by the tenants 

 of houses infested by snakes. These ' snake-charmers,' 

 properly so-called, lure the dangerous serpents from their 

 hiding-places, produce in them a pleasant humour, in which 

 they become indisposed for the moment to use their poisonous 

 fangs, and even allow themselves to be handled with impu 

 nity. Here the very practical and important result of the 

 power of music, in the capture and subsequent destruction 

 of highly poisonous animals, becomes obvious. 



The old familiar drum or trumpet call stimulates and 

 revives the youthful spirit of the old military horse. Sing- 

 ing or piping to cheer the spirits and quicken the action of 

 their flocks and herds, has, from time immemorial been, and 

 still is, a common practice among Eastern shepherds. 



In abstinence from food, even when it leads to death by 

 self-starvation, it does not appear that veterinarians resort 

 to the means used by man in similar circumstances in human 

 insanity to the use, that is, of any form of artificial 

 alimentation. 



I quite agree with Pierquin in thinking it most desirable 

 and becoming that all forms of animal insanity should be 

 studied and treated in proper animal hospitals. There can 

 be no doubt that regular hospital treatment, similar to that 

 which is now bestowed in all civilised countries on the human 

 insane, would save much valuable life, both of man and other 

 animals, less directly than indirectly, perhaps, by the improve- 

 ment of our knowledge of the phenomena of animal insanity, 

 and by conviction of our errors, ignorance, and prejudices. A 

 due knowledge of the facts and phenomena of causation and 

 curability of animal insanity must obviously underlie, as a 

 basis, all systems of treatment. What is specially desirable at 

 present on the part of man is knowledge, and on that of animals 

 protection by and from man. It is ignorance, for instance, 

 that leads to those futile and mischievous attempts at the 

 cure of bad tempers or ill-nature the fruit of cerebral dis- 



