YEW. 601 



l)ulse, 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; but these symptoms 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. 379, et seq). 

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

 rest in his stall. 



MORTALITY 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 under- 

 lying tissues. 



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

 shown 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. Give a 

 full ball of aloes, to be followed by a course of \ oz. of iodide of 

 potassium for, say, a fortnight; change the food containing the 

 objectionable vetches ; and allow plenty of '' green meat '' and 

 carrots. 



Yew. 



Although cases of death from eating yew, are not very un- 

 common ; 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, give 2 oz. 

 of oil of turpentine in a pint of lingeed oil, to be repeated onpe or 

 twice. 



