PERITONITIS AND ASCITES. 
481 
quence of this was a pretty sharp attack of inflammation of the 
lungs. His malady, however, was got under in a few days, by 
the active means usually had recourse to ; and, at the expiration 
of three weeks, the horse was sufficiently restored to return to his 
own stable, to recruit his strength and condition, neither of which, 
however, had suffered very perceptible diminution. 
Taking it for granted that my convalescent, whose malady had 
been so summarily cured, and with such little apparent expense 
to himself of strength or embonpoint, could not fail to go on well, 
I lost sight of him almost for a fortnight afterwards: about that 
period he was brought to me again, with the complaint of a 
swelling of the sheath and belly. I found on examination that 
this was nothing more than common anasarca; and I prescribed 
some aperient and diuretic medicine to be taken daily, and gave 
directions that he should be walked out for an hour every morn¬ 
ing and afternoon. 
The medicine operated, and the tumefaction abated; but it did 
not altogether subside, although I confidently expected that it 
soon would. 
No sooner, however, was the operation of the medicine com¬ 
pletely passed over, than the sheath and abdominal parietes 
(which, indeed, had all along remained unnaturally puffy) began 
again to fill. I now bled him, and afterwards prescribed as 
before. 
A second time I succeeded in reducing the swelling, but not 
to the same extent as before : however, shortly afterwards I found 
myself compelled a third time to take measures to put a stop to 
the course of this obstinate anasarca. On this occasion I also 
bled him; but this bleeding I followed up with purges more 
potent, and in larger doses than I had given on the former occa¬ 
sion. I succeeded their use with the administration of the follow¬ 
ing ball morning and evening, and continued the exercise twice 
a-day:— 
R. Powdered digitalis and calomel, each half a drachm ; 
Nitre, half an ounce; and 
Treacle sufficient to make the ball; 
and I followed up this with the exhibition of a tonic medicine : 
the one I used was half an ounce of sulphate of iron, dissolved 
in a pint of strong ale, giving this dose morning and evening. 
My patient improved most of all under the operation of active 
purges; less under that of the sedative and diuretic medicine; and 
least of all under the influence of tonics. I had all along suspected 
the water was accumulating within the abdominal cavity, and of 
late I had felt daily more and more persuaded that my prognosis 
was turning out to be but too well founded. The pulse hud been 
