OPERATION OF ALOES ON THE HORSE. 
189 
Case 4. — While travelling with a number of horses in the 
summer of 1839, 1 had a four-year old mare that was attacked 
with colic on the top of the Simplon mountain. It was a fair 
day’s work for my horses to travel up, but after refreshing them 
it was indispensable for me to descend the other side, for want 
of accommodation at the inn for the large number of twenty- 
five horses. I was placed, therefore, under the worst conditions 
to treat an ailing animal. I restricted my treatment to clysters, 
watching the symptoms, which were truly urgent. The faeces 
which were brought away with the injections were found to 
consist of coarse, undigested masses of hay and straw. For 
four hours that I stayed at the inn, the clysters were con- 
stantly used at varying intervals, and I did nothing more 
beyond attending to the mare’s comfort, and giving her a 
pailful of warm water, in which was thrown about half a 
peck of fresh bran, allowing her, however, to drink the fluid 
part only, with the farinaceous matter it suspended. The 
colicky pains thus gradually gave way to clysters alone, and 
the mare being eased and refreshed, was led with the other 
horses the next stage, and with continued care to diet she 
remained well. 
In the mountainous districts, as through the valley from 
the Lake of Geneva to the Simplon, I have found a fertile 
source of many derangements of the digestive organs in the 
forage, and especially in the hay and straw. The first of 
these is often hard, wild grass ; but mostly rushes, whilst 
the straw is of rye, clean, tough, and woody, which at the 
end of the summer is new and sweet. The horses travelling 
long journeys -eat, and require, a liberal quantity of good hay; 
and not getting this, they eat the litter or anything they can 
obtain. Such w 7 as the case with the mare just spoken of. 
Case 5. — A young, entire, thoroughbred horse, the pro- 
perty of the Marquis of Pucci, of Florence, fed and took his 
exercise as usual on the morning of the 28th of July, 1848. 
At eleven o’clock a.m., he began to show the first symptoms 
of spasmodic colic, and the coachman gave some injections, 
and walked the horse about. I was sent for, but being in 
the country did not reach the stable until four o’clock, when 
I found the animal standing in his loose box, being prevented 
lying down by several persons in attendance. The following 
alarming symptoms presented themselves : — cold sweat, with 
haggard and exhausted countenance ; extremities cold, con- 
junctiva injected; pulse quick and indistinct; with much 
convulsive agitation all over the body. 
To a few hasty questions, I received the following answers : 
xxix. 23 
