ON THE EPIDEMIC OF THE SPRING OF 1828. 287 
nose was steamed with scalded bran and vinegar; the mouth washed 
with vinegar and water four or five times a day; and the regimen 
malt mashes, com, or whatever would please the appetite. 
On the fifth day he was something better, and the draught was 
repeated. • On the sixth day I found him decidedly worse; respi¬ 
ration laborious, and the discharge from the nose excessive; his 
breathing so offensive, that it was almost impossible to go near 
him. He died in a few hours, and, being immediately disposed 
of, no post mortem examination could be made. 
A mare belonging to the same gentleman was now taken ill: 
the symptoms were the same as in the former- case; treatment 
the same, and with no better success. She died on the seventh 
day. 
The Schneiderian membrane was found to be in the highest 
state of mortification, with several ulcers on its surface. A large 
abscess in the pharynx, full of the most oflfensive matter. The 
membrane lining the pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchise, and air 
cells, had the same morbid appearance. The substance of the 
lungs was not in that high state of mortification which is often 
met with after active inflammation, but contained several abscesses. 
The pleura very much inflamed, and the cavity of the chest filled 
with a mixture of serum and pus, having a very putrid smell. 
The result of these cases was very mortifying to me; and, see¬ 
ing that the disease was increasing in the neighbourhood, and not 
yielding to the usual treatment, I determined to adopt a different 
course of practice. I refrained from bleeding and rowelling; I 
supported the patient by liberal diet; and in those cases where 
the faeces were buttony, I gave ext. hyoscyami, liq. ammon. acet., 
sp. nitr. aether, and infus. anthemidis. I blistered the throat; 
ordered it to be gargled with the decoction of elm bark with honey, 
and a small portion of vinegar; the nose to be steamed with bran 
scalded with vinegar: the regimen bran, oat mashes, and grass; 
water always to be within the animaPs reach, and every attention 
to be paid to cleanliness. When diarrhoea appeared, I gave tinct. 
opii, sp. nitr. sether, creta pp., and infus. anthemid; ordered 
malt mashes, dry bran, with oats and hay; and where there was 
any tendency to putridity, I joined large doses of opium and yeast. 
Where the discharge from the nose had continued a long time, 
accompanied with debility and loss of appetite, I gave the acet. 
muriat. and sp. lavandul. compos, largely diluted with water. This 
had a very salutary effect: I have since treated more than forty 
cases, and, with this treatment, all have recovered. 
Observations, I am of opinion that this epidemic was prima¬ 
rily an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the pharynx and 
larynx, as was manifest in the post mortem examination of the 
