MR. WILSON S REPLY TO MR. HILL. 
817 
suspicion, as, in some experiments previously made with it, 
the tenth part of a grain caused instant death in mice and spar- 
rows. On the other hand, I once saw a horse that almost 
collapsed from the effects of the administration of two grains ! 
not of the same strychnia, however, as the old cow got. 
I find no good results from aconite in doses as commonly 
used. I have given a dog a fluid drachm of Fleming’s Tincture 
of Aconite, and secured his jaws so to prevent vomition, without 
any serious effects. I have had good results from doses of thirty- 
five minims given to cattle and repeated every second hour — 
I mean Fleming’s tincture — but as regards such doses as ten 
and fifteen minims I am almost certain they are harmless. 
In my opinion practitioners are guided too much by what 
they have heard or read ; that which I would have them guided 
by is what they have done ! When no effect follows a pre- 
scribed course, let us alter the prescription, and not go on 
remorselessly dosing our poor dumb patients in expectation of 
the desired effect sometimes coming to hand ! 
[We may safely leave these opinions and statements to the 
tender mercies of our readers. — Eds.] 
MR. W. A. WILSON’S REPLY TO MR. HILL, ON 
THE USE OF THE ACTUAL CAUTERY. 
In last month’s number of The Veterinarian , I find some 
comments on the use of the actual cautery, by Mr. Hill, veteri- 
nary surgeon, Wolverhampton, wherein he states that “he 
was rather astonished ” at some remarks made by me upon 
the following operations, which appeared in the number for 
July last. 
Mr. Hill objects to the system, advocated by me, of deep 
firing in cases of ringbone, ossified cartilage, quittor, farcy, 
thick leg, &c., in which diseases I stated that I sometimes 
penetrated to the depth of an inch. Indeed, in cases of 
quittor and ossified cartilage, I might have added that I fre- 
quently exceed this depth. 
I repeat that very often, after the superficial or common 
method of firing in the foregoing diseases, the lameness 
remains; whereas, if the deep firing had been applied, in 
most of the cases, in all probability the lameness would, after 
a lapse of sufficient time, have disappeared, and all that we 
desired would be thus obtained. 
Since my remarks appeared, I have performed the opera- 
