44 
Pure and Mixed Linseed- Cakes. 
" A gentleman in the neighbourhood of Leeds lost six horses 
in a very sudden manner. The veterinary surgeons engaged, 
viz., Messrs. John Mitchell, Dray, and Cuthbert were unanimous 
in their opinion that poison, in some form or other, was the 
cause of death, notwithstanding that no poison could be traced 
by the chemist who examined the contents of their stomachs and 
intestines. The oats, beans, &c., upon which the horses were 
fed, on analysis likewise proved to be free from poison. 
However, three feeds of the suspected oats, given to a horse 
obtained for experiments, were found sufficient to produce death. 
Mr. Mitchell, in speaking of the oats, writes to Professor 
Varnell : — "The oats, which were foreign ones, consisted ori- 
ginally of 12 quarters, of which about 5 quarters now remained ; 
and with the exception of having a fusty smell, they presented 
nothing remarkable, nor did the bean-meal or bran, both of 
which had been purchased from a respectable dealer, and were 
unexceptionable in quality." 
Some of the oats were sent by Mr. Mitchell to Professor Var- 
nell, of the Royal Veterinary College, London, who tried the 
following experiments : — 
On the 10th Sept., 1861, a brown mare was procured by the 
college for the purpose of being fed upon the suspected oats. 
She was old, but apparently in a healthy condition. On the 
first day she had only one feed of the oats given her ; on the 
11th she had four feeds, and the same quantity on the 12th. 
On the 13th she had only three feeds, for during the afternoon 
of this day she was observed to have a staggering gait, and at 
six in the evening she fell and was unable to get up again. 
Her hind feet were nearly paralysed. Sensation was so be- 
numbed, that she scarcely responded to the prick of a pin. The 
visible mucous membranes were pale, the pupils dilated, breathing 
increased, apparently chiefly from the position in which she 
laid. The pulse numbered about fifty, and was very feeble, and 
her tongue protruded from her mouth. She did not appear to 
suffer much pain. She lingered on until the l;jth, when she died. 
The oats, which had been examined before by two competent 
chemists, residing in Leeds, were likewise analysed by Professor 
Tuson, Lecturer on Chemistry in the Royal Veterinary College, 
London, who also was unable to detect in them either any 
mineral or vegetable poison. They were damp, dark in colour, 
and had a very musty smell. Being more closely examined by 
Professor Varnell, it was found that many were matted together 
into lumps by a thready cobweb-like kind of material. The 
majority of them were covered with a smutty substance, and the 
interior of a considerable number was decayed, so that instead of 
the natural white flour of the oats, this was filled with granular 
matter, which had a blackish-prey hue, and which in many instances 
