212 
A CASK POISONING IN PIGS. 
the body below the natural standard — she had been seen to void 
her faeces and urine on that morning — she frequently lay down 
and rolled about with great violence — she would often lie on her 
chest with her fore feet extended forward, and thus, for a few 
seconds, balance herself from side to side. ♦ 
I suspected a rupture of some of the viscera, and communi- 
cated my suspicion to the owner. At 6 p.m. she died. 
On the ciutopsia cadaveric , I found a rupture of the diaphragm, 
of an irregular shape, measuring from four to five inches each 
way. The edges were ragged, and seemed to indicate that the 
rupture had been caused by the sloughing of the parts. The 
remaining portion of the diaphragm was of a pale colour, and soft. 
There existed also a rupture at the cardiac flexure of the 
colon. This was about eighteen inches in length, and seemed to 
have sloughed away, as portions of the intestines could be traced 
among the ingesta. The intestines exhibited traces of inflam- 
mation throughout — the liver and urinary organs were healthy — 
the thoracic viscera presented nothing abnormal, except a greater 
quantity of fluid contained in the pericardium. 
If I may hazard an opinion on this case, I should say that the 
cause of these ruptures was a cancer, which seems to have de- 
stroyed the parts. The previous history of the patient will, 
perhaps, throw a little light on it. Rather more than a twelve- 
month ago, this mare began to lose condition, although her 
appetite seemed to increase. Previous to this she had always 
been difficult to shoe, but from that time she lost her vicious 
habits in this respect; and for the last six months she was as 
easy to shoe as any horse that came to the forge. 
I mention this circumstance to shew that she must have been 
gradually losing her health and strength. She was, however, 
never put under medical treatment, and was at work daily up to 
the day of her death. 
A CASE OF POISONING IN PIGS. 
By Mr. J. Tait, F.S., Melrose. 
The following narrative will, perhaps, be acceptable to the 
agricultural readers of The Veterinarian. 
A few weeks ago, I was requested by a gentleman in this town 
to look at three of his pigs that were taken suddenly ill. Before 
my arrival, one of them had died. The other two were lying- 
foaming at the mouth, with convulsive twitching over their bodies. 
