ON THE CHOKING OF CATTLE. 439 
means they admit of, and the bearing of the whole on the subject 
of cattle insurance. 
Case I. — Sunday evening, June 1, 1845, I was called to see 
a cow of rather delicate constitution at L . The owner keeps 
but one, and I had attended her about six weeks previous for a 
slight pleuritic attack. I found her labouring under considerable 
gastric disturbance, which I attributed to her having been feeding 
the day before on cut food, consisting mostly of aquatic unbelli- 
ferse and ranunculacese, the acrid qualities of which are well known. 
The pulse was full, hard, and about 70. I bled her freely, and 
ordered a pint of linseed oil to be given her ; but as it was likely 
to be some time before it could be procured, I did not stay to see it 
administered. It was given her late at night, and early in the 
morning the owner came to me, saying his cow was much worse, 
and would not live long. On seeing her now, I found the symp- 
toms altogether changed, and the animal presenting the appearance 
of a severe pulmonary inflammation. The pulse was 80, but 
sharp and contracted, instead of being, as on the previous night, 
full and hard. She remained obstinately standing wdth her head 
and neck extended, and breathing very fast and laboriously, and 
would neither eat nor drink : no appearance of purgation. I gave 
her a strong dose of a saline purgative, and ordered a dose of tar- 
tarized antimony and digitalis to be given every two hours ; 
thinking, from what I had seen of her before, that she was affected 
with inflammation of the lungs or pleura. I saw her again in the 
evening, twelve hours after the exhibition of the purgative. The 
pulse was then getting quicker and weaker ; breathing not so fast, 
but more laborious ; slight emphysema behind the shoulder on the 
left side over the upper third of the ribs ; medicine beginning to 
operate, but had tasted neither food nor water. I was now more 
puzzled with the case than before, and therefore commenced an 
examination of the organs of respiration with the ear. On applying 
it to the throat before the dew-lap, to the point where the treachea 
enters between the two first ribs, I could distinctly hear, or rather 
felt, as it were, something oscillating with the windpipe ; and on 
attempting to give her some of the sedative medicine as prescribed 
above, I found she had considerable difficulty in swallowing, but 
on examining the mouth and fauces I could find nothing amiss. 
The idea of a portion of the linseed oil having got into the trachea 
now occurred to me, and I commenced a cross-examination of the 
owner, who gave it, and another person who was present ; and, 
after some prevarication, got them to own that the beast had 
coughed violently when the oil was being put down her throat, but 
that her head was not let down till the dose was finished ; that she 
appeared very ill, and almost fell when the job was done, and that 
