252 THE COMMON COLICS OF THE HORSE 



to remain, if only to serve as a reminder that the use of 

 aloes should be tempered with the greatest caution and 

 judgment. 



The most serious objection I saw at that time to the 

 employment of aloes was that its early administration in 

 cases of intestinal obstruction prevented me from after- 

 wards persisting in the vigorous stimulant treatment I 

 deemed those cases necessitated. What I always feared 

 was that a stimulant treatment following close on the 

 administration of aloes should induce a fatal attack of 

 superpurgation (see Chapter XVII.). 



So grave an objection did I find this that I altogether 

 discarded aloes, and for several years used only linseed 

 oil, this, to my mind, being a safer and less drastic 

 method of bringing about the requisite softening of the 

 bowel contents. In a great many cases, in fact, I used 

 no aperient at all, but relied solely on the stimulants. 



From this last statement I hope it will not be inferred 

 that I believe the one half of a correct method of treating 

 intestinal obstruction to consist in withholding aperients 

 altogether. What I have published before will show 

 that not to be the case. Such a method, in fact, would 

 be irrational to a degree, and I only practised it in a 

 long series of cases in order to quite convince myself 

 that the stimulant treatment which I so strongly 

 advocated was based on a sure foundation. 



It speaks much for the rationality of that treatment 

 that for quite a long while I was able in this manner to 

 deal successfully with cases of obstinate impaction. That 

 I was successful I proved to myself by making a practice 

 for some considerable time of attending the post-mortem 

 of every case I had die from 'colic' Practically no 

 death occurred which I was unable to trace to some 

 other cause very much more grave than that of mere 



