VETERINARY MEDICINE IN AUSTRALIA. 319 
told you (in the true Irish style) some of those that do not. 
This country appears particularly free from, both as it re- 
gards man and beast, those pulmonary affections that are so 
frequently met with at home. The chronic cough likewise is 
seldom heard. Not that I by any means wish to convey the 
impression that chest diseases do not occasionally occur, but 
they are certainly less frequently met with here than in Eng- 
land, and when they do occur they may, in most cases, be 
clearly traced to gross negligence. This, I apprehend, the 
warmth and genial nature of the climate fully explains. Dis- 
eases of the abdominal viscera, from the overloaded stomach 
to inflammation of the intestines, occur daily in our practice. 
And the number of such cases surprises us but little when 
we recollect that many persons into whose hands horses get 
are but little acquainted with equine economy. Men come 
out here who, to speak vulgarly, hardly know a horse’s head 
from his tail. These we find carrying on at the tf diggings” 
a good speculation by spending their money in horses for the 
purpose, and then their ignorance often obliges them to refer 
to the “ doctor.” Besides this the variety of the provender 
used, and injudiciously used, often becomes a cause of these 
diseases. Ophthalmia and other affections of the eyes are by 
no means rare here ; neither is laminitis. Hard work on 
some of the hot roads, coupled sometimes with the bad 
shoeing to be met with in the interior, furnishes us with the 
reason for this. I have had several well-developed cases of 
sun-stroke during the hot season : such generally yield to 
prompt and energetic treatment. 1 think I have seen less of 
spavin in this country than at home. If so, why ? Accidents 
of a serious character annoy us much in practice; I say annoy, 
because of their frequent unsatisfactory termination. I have 
portions of the shafts of vehicles of all kinds and dimensions 
that I have taken from all parts of the body. Where death 
does not close the scene at once, and Nature bids fair for a 
cure, we are often not allowed the time that would effect it, 
from the great expense that would be incurred. The rapidity 
with which horses are broken in here, and the number of bad 
drivers, &c., sufficiently account for these calamities. I have 
found wounds of all kinds more difficult to heal than I ex- 
perienced when in practice at home. In the use of purgative 
medicines I soon discovered I could not adhere to my usual 
doses; increased quantities to produce the same effect ap- 
pearing to be called for. The union of gentian with aloes 
(acting on the suggestion of some Indian military veterinary 
surgeon, whose name I forget) I have found of much benefit. 
Will not the greater action of the skin in tropical climates 
