426 
ON cataract and hernia. 
eye of the horse he purchased a cataract; nor, I fancy, few others 
would, for there was inflammation existing at the time in the 
eye, and one would have naturally enough expected that the 
speck was the consequence, especially as he, on the following 
day, i( thought he perceived a slight motion in the speck.” 
I should rather be inclined to think that Mr. Hales is also a 
little singular in his opinion, in saying “ that a horse with a hernia, 
no matter how small , would constitute unsoundness.” I have 
seen scores of abdominal herniee in the horse, and cattle, that 
have never become strangulated or injured in any respect, al¬ 
though the former have been put to every work likely to produce 
strangulation. It certainly is not an impossible case that they 
may become strangulated ,* but I would say, from common ob¬ 
servation, that small ones, of about the size of a walnut, are not 
very probable to become so, especially after having existed some 
years; for, let him examine the parts, and he will find all around 
the opening remarkably firm, and not likely to give way, and 
the intestines, being large about the lower part of the abdomen, 
are not likely to be forced into the opening, so as to strangulate. 
I would say, that they were more likely to become strangulated 
when they were in young subjects, and before the walls were 
firmly formed. 
I would agree with Mr. Hales in respect of soundness, “ that 
if the probable tendency of any disease a horse may have is to 
render the parts affected with it incapable of performing their 
proper function, even at a remote period, I should consider it an 
unsoundness, although the animal may be perfectly capable of 
what is required of him at the time of sale but I would say, 
that if, from past observation, small hernise, similar to that 
of Mr. Croft’s horse, are found, in nineteen cases out of twenty, 
or a greater proportion, which I think is the case, not at all to 
injure them in their usefulness, then I should think we ought to 
consider them, not as Mr. H. does, but sound ; for it is a very 
different case to cataracts, or even incipient spavins, &c.: in the 
former case the probability is, that they icill not come against 
them , but in the latter there is every probability that they will . 
Mr. Cartwright had a claim upon us for the insertion of bis 
reply to Mr. Hales ; but as Mr. Clay has made no attack upon 
him in our Journal, and no new facts or cases, or illustrations of 
the subject, were given by Mr. Cartwright in that part of his 
letter, we have struck out all that relates to Mr. Clav. We 
shall be grateful for the communication of any facts which may 
add to our rapidly increasing stock of veterinary knowledge. To 
temperate and*friendly discussion on every point of theory or 
