PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 



A T the commencement of a volume, be it small or large, 

 it is usual to make a few prefatory remarks. The cus- 

 tom is a wise one, for it enables the author to state the 

 various conditions and circumstances that brought the 

 book into being, to put forth clearly the object and 

 general scope of the work, and to apologize, where need 

 be, for the imperfections it contains. Lastly, it affords 

 an opportunity to inform the reader of the sources whence 

 the material for the work was obtained. 



The conditions and circumstances that brought this 

 little volume into existence are few but important. 

 The practice into which I settled soon after qualifying 

 was one in which cases of so-called ' colic ' bulked very 

 largely. Their extreme importance to the stock-owner, 

 the large measure of anxiety and responsibility they give 

 the veterinarian, and the short time the horse will suffer 

 before succumbing, are all circumstances that render 

 their accurate diagnosis and treatment a matter of the 

 utmost urgency. 



The gravity of the cases, and the urgency with which 

 they impressed me, compelled me to look round in our 

 literature for more than the ordinary text-book treatment. 

 This I was unable to find, except by careful and 

 wearisome plodding through masses of journals and 



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