ON CATARACT. 
374 
greater part of these cases of small cataract, without previous 
inflammation, will remain stationary for years ; but I never knew 
one to be absorbed. 
Mr. Cartwright mentions Mr. Croft's horse, but does not 
speak from his own knowledge : he “ ivas informed that his 
eyes were perfectly sound when Mr. Watson sold him. For 
twelve months after the discovery of the cataract, I had frequent 
opportunities of examining this horse, and during that time 
there was not the slightest alteration in the eye ; the cataract 
was quite stationary, getting neither larger nor less: he was 
then sold, and I have never seen him since. 
In Mr. Percivall's case, absorption must have gone on very 
rapidly; for it seems that the cataract was entirely gone in five 
days after it had been first detected by Mr. Percivall. 
Two years ago I bought a horse from a friend, and having 
known the animal for a long time, and being satisfied that my 
friend would not deceive me, I made no examination of him at the 
time of purchase; but on the morning after he was delivered 
I found one eye inflamed, and upon looking into it saw what I 
considered to be cataract, about the size of a rather large pin's 
head. I made up my mind that I was done, and wrote to the 
gentleman on the subject; who, in reply, declared that he had 
never seen or known any thing the matter with the horse's eye, 
but would take him back if required to do so. Examining the 
eye very attentively the next day, I thought I could perceive a 
slight motion in the speck; and that it did not exactly keep the 
same precise situation. 
I now began to waver in my opinion whether it was cataract, 
and resolved to keep the horse till I saw the result: in a few 
days the inflammation subsided, and in about a fortnight the 
opacity w'as gone. I had this horse in my possession lor four 
months, during which time he never evinced the slightest further 
disease of the eye ; 1 then parted with him, but have never heard 
any complaint of his eye since. 
I consider the opaque spot, in this case, to have been a small 
portion of condensed coagulable lymph in the posterior chamber 
of the eye—the product of accidental inflammation. I am quite 
convinced that, had this horse been brought to me for casual 
examination, I should have pronounced him to have had a cata¬ 
ract ; and had I not seen him again for some considerable time, 
and then found that the opacity was gone, I, no doubt, should 
have asserted that the cataract had been absorbed. 
I have only seen one case of congenital cataract. Five years 
ago, a gentleman of this neighbourhood wished me to examine 
