248 
1ATAL CASES OF DISEASE. 
or the veterinarian’s unfortunate commencement would have 
stood in strong and striking contrast with the successful 
practice of his unprofessional predecessor. 
Case. — 1st Light Cavalry, E Troop, No. 1564. A chestnut, 
five-year-old horse, was admitted into the infirmary to 
be castrated. He was operated on on the 29th of January. 
Nothing unusual occurred, and all progressed favorably till 
late in the evening of February 5th. At four in the after- 
noon I had received a written report from the Farrier Major 
to the effect that all was going on well. I visited about six, 
when it was reported that the chestnut horse was not quite so 
well, but that he had eaten his small feed at midday. (I had 
myself seen the whole of the patients at seven in the morning, 
when there certainly was no sign of approaching illness.) I 
now found I had a serious case to deal with, and at once my 
prognosis was death. This event occurred at half an hour past 
midnight, or seven hours or so after the first symptoms of 
the attack. The post-mortem examination showed numerous 
ulcerations of the small intestines, from one of which faecal 
matter had exuded into the abdominal cavity. The liver was 
an old leathery whity-brown one; a most useless piece of 
lumber, about half the usual size, and incapable of performing 
any function. Was this a case of death from castration ? 
Undoubtedly it was, for the horse would in all probability have 
lived on had he not undergone the operation until some other 
powerful stimulus had roused the latent fire. Now, should such 
a case as this I have recorded occur to Captain Hickey, I hope 
he will not lose the opportunity of examining well the state 
of the parts operated on. The enormous extent of disease 
which existed makes it appear to me extraordinary that death 
is not a much more frequent result than it is. At any rate 
I feel quite sure that Captain Hickey’s humanity would be 
awakened in favour of his patient, and more than ten days 
given before being put to duty. In this instance death oc- 
curred on the ninth day, and it is something fearful to con- 
template a patient performing duty with an abscess of the 
cord as large as one’s double fist. 
SEVERAL FATAL CASES OF DISEASE. 
By Mr. Tombs, M.R.C.V.S., Stratford-on-Avon. 
Gentlemen, — The accompanying cases I have sent for 
publication in the 7 eterinarian, being at all times desirous to 
