GANGRENE. 89 



a fatal disease, if treated by low diet, bleeding, blister- 

 ing and physicking, because it always assumes a low 

 standard of vitality, or great weakness. Hence the 

 horse so affected, and so treated, has no chance for his 

 life, whatever. 



Symptoms. — As before stated, the horse has no cough 

 and the breathing not disturbed. The breath and mouth, 

 is not hot nor dry, but often the mouth is slimy, and to 

 such an extent is this sometimes, it looks as if the horse 

 was salivated. The legs soon swell, or become rounded, or 

 filled as they are often called. The swellings are not in- 

 flammatory, nor painful — they contain lymph, or plastic 

 matter from the blood, which disappear as they came, 

 when the strength of the horse gets up again, and the 

 disease subsides. The appetite is entirely suspended, 

 from commencement of the disease. There are one of 

 the many symptoms, which is never absent in this dis- 

 ease, and is very characteristic of its name and seat, and 

 this symptom is the foeces or dung is small, or in pellets, 

 and covered with slime, and portions of the mucous 

 membrane of the stomach and bowels, what the stable- 

 man call "very feverish." The great symptoms of this dis- 

 ease is great weakness, and this is the case, almost from 

 the first moment of the attack. 



Causes. — The cause of this as well as of all epizootic 

 diseases, are involved in not a little obscurity, and to get 

 out of this state of ignorance, and uncertainty as to the 

 cause, we are graciously pleased to call it Atmospheric. 

 This atmospheric influence, may be either electric, a 

 poison, or chemical element, capable of altering or 

 changing the various parts or portions of the body, most 

 exposed to its subtle influences. However, this disease 

 as before stated is a disease of the spring of the year. 



