614 MEDICINES. 



Lime. 



One part of lime is soluble in 1,500 parts of water. This solu- 

 tion (lime water) is beneficial to foals suffering from a deficiency 

 of bone-forming material, and in diarrhoea when acidity is 

 present. It may be given to yearlings in J-pint doses three times 

 a day. 



Linseed. 



Cold drawn linseed oil is a safe and valuable laxative, in doses of 

 from 1 to 2 pints. It forms an excellent vehicle for the administra- 

 tion of turpentine or carbolic acid. In small doses, it allays irrita- 

 tion of the mucous membranes, and appears tO' be particularly 

 beneficial in diseases of the urinary organs. Its good effects on the 

 skin are well marked. It may be given in doses of 2 oz. mixed 

 through the food three times a day. See page 592. 



As linseed oil is subject to much adulteration, we should take 

 special precautions to obtain it pure. The linseed oil sold by oil 

 and colour merchants, usually has been boiled and freely mixed with 

 litharge (oxide of lead), which is a poison, or black oxide of man- 

 ganese, so as to increase the drying property of the oil for the 

 benefit of painters. 



Magnesia, Sulphate of. 



See ''Epsom Salts." 



Mallein. 



DESCRIPTION.— Mallein was first manufactured by Kalning 

 and Hellmann in 1891. It is a filtered liquid which is made from 

 a pure culture of the bacilli of glanders, and which has been 

 exposed, during its preparation, to a degree of heat that is 

 amply sufficient to destroy them. It contains products formed 

 by these microbes ; but as it is entirely free from the presence 

 of these organisms, it is incapable of causing this disease. 

 It is prepared in bacteriological laboratories (for instance, that 

 of the Royal Veterinary College, London), and can be obtained 

 from them and from wholesale chemists, with directions as to 

 its use. " Mallein should be kept in a cool place, and protected 

 from light. Should it lose its transparency or become cloudy, 

 it must not be used " {]\{cFadyean). 



THE USE OF MALLEIN depends on the fact that a properly 

 performed injection of a certain quantity of it under the skift 



