TETANUS. 133 



not demonstrated, and its employment, therefore, is 

 not justified. The best practitioners begin to doubt 

 the efficacy of the active tortures of the old school; 

 and to think that perfect quiet is of more use than 

 violent medicine. If the horse be costive, they ad- 

 minister a purgative, and a bold one; because an 

 ordinary purge will have no effect during the exist- 

 ence of tetanus. They then place the animal where 

 it cannot be disturbed and take care to visit it as sel- 

 dom as possible. The door is locked and the horse is 

 left alone ; every precaution being taken to prevent 

 the slightest noise. The absolute quietude thus ob- 

 tained has been found to be of more service than any 

 thinsr else : and the horse which has been thus shut 

 up in silence has more frequently recovered than the 

 one which has been continually annoyed under the 

 pretence of effecting its restoration. 



As for food — the horse is not able to take any solid 

 nourishment; but he may have a malt mash more 

 than usually wet in his manger, and a bucket of gruel 

 may be slung in some part of the box ; from either or 

 both of which he may, perhaps, contrive to extract a 

 little nourishment. The appetite of the tetanic horse 

 rarely fails him; though he may be unable to eat, he 

 will, under the influence of hunger, manage to imbibe 

 enough for his support. Even if he makes no attempt 

 to touch that which is placed before him, he should be 

 left some days before any effort is made to drench 

 him ; and if he takes only a little nourishment, a fur- 

 ther period should elapse before he is annoyed by 

 forcing food upon him. Should he, however, appear 

 to be losing strength and to be sinking, of course he 



