9! 
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A CASE OF LUMBAR ACCESS. 
By Mr. Spalding, of Reading. 
IN the early part of May last, I attended a young mare, the pro¬ 
perty of a respectable farmer in this neighbourhood, with an in¬ 
flammatory sore throat; and she, with several others, recovered 
by the usual means. On the 16th, she had considerable inflam¬ 
mation of the hind leg: with bleeding and physic, she recovered 
of this also. On the 20th I was again sent for to her, she 
“ having lost the use of her hind parts/ 7 as the carters said. On 
examination I found her lame on the near hind leg, and the upper 
part of the hip swelled: the vagina was evidently injured, the 
skin being abraded an inch or two within. I gave a fevei ball, 
and ordered a fomentation to the part, which was continued, day 
and night, to the 25th, when it broke near the tail, the men de¬ 
claimed ft had discharged half a pail-full of matter by the time 
I saw her, ten o’clock the 26th. I ^ should here mention, 
that she had taken cinchona 3j, nitre 3fs in gruel every day. 
On the 15th of June, violent swellings made their appearance 
along the belly, chest, and fore legs, ending with a shelf, as it 
were • the nose so much swelled as to endanger suffocation. 
I gave a physic ball, and, on the 17th, began a course of alterative 
ba On the 25th she appeared much better, and I believe, had she 
been turned to grass in the day-time, to have had more ail and 
exercise, would have recovered. The swellings were rubbed with 
the black oils in common use with farmers for their cattle, which 
raised a thick scurf, and seemed to repel the cedomatous swellings. 
The parts swollen were scarified several times, and discharged 
so much thin fluid, that the straw was quite wet where she stood. 
A rowel had been inserted in the commencement of the disease. 
July 10th, considerable swelling returned in both hind legs, 
quite up to the hip on the near side, and, themaie, being ltduced 
bv the great discharge from the abcess, and in great pain, hei 
master had her destroyed. I was informed by the pci.son wlio 
opened her, that there was an abscess near the vertebrae of the 
sacrum, and a space capable of containing a pint of matter. 1 lie 
wound had been injected daily with a detergent mixture; but I am 
of opinion it did not reach the bottom of the wound. 
I am happy to find, from the comment on the case sent by, 
Mr. Leaver, that a more liberal spirit pervades your journal than 
is to be found in some veterinary surgeons, who have asserted 
“that a farrier cannot possibly know any thing of the tieat- 
ment of horses/ 7 forgetting that many of them have been as well 
educated as themselves. 
