YEW. 589 



pulse, the animal, while at rest, usually appears to be in fair health ; 

 but if exercised, he will be seen, by knuckling over and staggering, 

 to have lost, more or less, control over his limbs ; and will have 

 great difficulty in breathing, and will roar. He may fall down in 

 a convulsive fit, from which he will, as a rule, recover in two or 

 three minutes j but these symptoms will reappear if he be again put 

 to work. This difficulty of breathing is due to paralysis of one or 

 both of the muscles which open the larynx (p. 380, et seq.). Fits 

 of convulsive breathing may take place when the horse is at rest 

 in his stall. 



MOHTALITY AND AFTER-EFFECTS.— The mortality varies 

 from about 10 to 30 per cent, of those attacked. Almost all the 

 horses which do not die from the immediate effects of the poison, 

 have their powers of usefulness permanently impaired; often to 

 such a degree as to incapacitate them from work. 



POST-MORTEM APPEARANCES.— After death from an acute 

 attack there will be found to be signs of death from suffocation, with 

 congestion of the lungs, bronchial tubes, larynx, upper portion of 

 windpipe, and spinal cord, and exudation of serum in the underlying 

 tissues. 



TREATMENT. — The only treatment which has shown up to the 

 present a marked good result, is the insertion of a tracheotomy 

 tube to save the patient from being suffocated during one of the 

 fits of difficulty in breathing to which he is liable. Little or no 

 benefit has been obtained from the administration of medicines. 

 We might give a full ball of aloes, to be followed by a course of ^ oz. 

 of iodide of potassium for, say, a fortnight ; should change the food 

 containing the objectionable vetches; and should allow jDlenty of 

 "green meat" and carrots. 



Yew. 



Although cases of death from eating yew, are not very uncommon ; 

 little is known about the nature or action of the poison. The male 

 yew is considered to be much more dangerous to life than the female. 

 I have no information to give respecting the amount required to 

 cause death, or the rate of mortality. In fatal cases, death usually 

 ensues in about four or five hours after eating the plant. In some 

 instances, the symptoms more or less resemble those of flatulent 

 colic ; in others, death comes on very suddenly, as if from failure of 

 the heart or lungs. For treatment, we might give 2 oz. of oil of 

 turpentine in a pint of linseed oil, to be repeated once or twice. 



