122 DADD S VETERINARY MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 
was involved in disease. The animal had no appetite, yet waa 
thirsty ; and when urged to move, would utter a gruut, indicative 
of pain. It was evident that the relapse was, or might be, con- 
sidered a case of pleurisy, ending in effusion into the chest. The 
worst feature of the case was that the animal purged violently 
(liquid stools), having a very strong odor of linseed oil; it covered 
a large space on the floor, and ran down his hind extremities 
This seemed to me to render the case hopeless; for super-purgation 
of itself will often cause the death of an otherwise well animal. 
But this poor creature was laboring under a malady frota which 
few ever recover. However, I thought that while “there is life 
there is hope,” and I commenced the treatment by performing 
the operation of tapping for dropsy of the chest. 1 drew off 
three and a half gallons of fluid, of a light straw colur, from the 
right cavity of the chest. On auscultating the chest, both sides 
appeared resonant, showing that the waters must have occupied 
both cavities; hence, the mediastinum (the membrane which di- 
vides the thorax into two equal cavities) must have been ruptured 
thus permitting an influx and reflux of the fluid. Next, counter- 
irritants were applied to both sides of the chest. The patient was 
properly clothed, tonics and astringents were given, and the case 
was left in the care of an attendant for the night. Next day | 
found the patient was respiring very comfortably. The tapping 
of the chest seemed to have done much good, yet the purging still 
continued; so I ordered scalded milk and charcoal, and adminis- 
tered tonics and stimulants, as before. But it was very evident 
that the animal must die of super-purgation, and next morning I 
received word that death had taken place. It was unfortunate. 
under the circumstances, that the owner should have given linseed 
oil; for it ‘s a very powerful irritant and cathartic, and produces 
much irritation and inflammation on tne surface of the interior 
of the stomach and intestines, as well as uncontrollable purga- 
tion. It is a remedy which is very quickly absorbed, and finds its 
way into the blood in a very few minutes, as the following case 
will show: I once gave a horse a dose of linseed oil for the pur. 
pose of experiment. (He happened to be in good health, or I 
should probably have lost him.) Ten minutes after administer- 
ing the dose, I applied a linen handkerchief to the highly organ- 
ized membrane lining the eyelid, and both the odor and color of 
the oil could easily be detected. On exposing the handkerchief 
