445 
A CASE OF BLACK QUARTER IN A BULLOCK. 
By Mr. J. Young husband, Grey stoke. 
May 24 th, 1S43, I was summoned to attend a two-year-old 
bullock, of the short-horned breed, belonging to a respectable 
tradesman living at Penrith, but who cultivates a small estate of 
his own near my residence. The subject of this communication 
w'as one of a herd of cattle brought to graze there during the 
summer; but being very poor at the time of his coming, and 
being put on good pasturage, the following disease, I believe, was 
caused. 
While travelling towards the residence of my patient, the herds- 
man said, from the appearance of its going, and the swelling ac- 
companying the lameness, he supposed that it had broke its 
thigh ; and, from the rocky ground on which it was kept, this was 
not an unlikely result. On my arrival at the place, however, 
and getting the beast on its legs, I at once saw that it was that 
most formidable disease denominated black quarter. 
We managed to get the beast home as well as we could, and 
then a very slight examination confirmed my first opinion, and at 
the same time there was a violent pneumatosis. Well knowing the 
difficulty, or I may almost say the impossibility, of curing such 
a disease, I told the attendant that I quite despaired of giving any 
considerable relief, and that we had better destroy the beast at 
once, or let the animal perish from the power of the disease alone, 
than add to his sufferings by trying to cure what I almost con- 
sidered an incurable malady. He, however, would not listen to 
this, and said that there were no impossibilities, and that I must 
pursue my best course of treatment : accordingly, after having 
ascertained that the beast had a full bounding pulse, I proceeded 
to abstract blood, and, regardless of quantity, I permitted the 
stream to flow until syncope was produced. I then took a large 
broad-shouldered lancet, and plunged it several times into the 
swelling. There escaped from it a great quantity of blood and air, 
similar to that which appears from the orifice of a wound in 
bleeding when air gets insinuated into the vein. Being near 
home, l went and prepared a strong stimulating liniment, taking 
with me one of my largest seton needles, with which T introduced 
three lengthy pieces of tape, smeared with strong blister ointment. 
After this, I rubbed in a considerable quantity of the liniment, gave 
a strong dose of purging medicine, and left him, expecting soon to 
hear that he was dead. 
25th . — Much in the same state as yesterday, except that the 
VOL. xvi. 3 o 
