561 
TRISMUS, OR CHORDS. 
By Mr. John Tombs, Pershore. 
May 13///,.—An aged roan horse was supposed to have hots 
by the proprietor. When I saw him he was standing in a 
hovel, lifting up his fore feet incessantly ; his pulse 40, and 
strong. When taken out he walked particularly stiff, and very 
reluctantly : he could not reach the grass. The muscles of the 
back and neck were contracted ; he moved similar to an animal 
with all the dorsal and lumbar vertebrse united together by 
ossific matter : he fed sparingly. Laxatives were exhibited. 
June^th .—The symptoms are precisely the same, with the 
exception of the animal being emaciated. Tonics were given oc¬ 
casionally. From this time to the beginning of July the symp¬ 
toms remained the same, when a powerful blister was applied 
along the back, from the withers to the pelvis, which afforded 
considerable relief: in a fortnight after he could graze, gained 
flesh rapidly, and was very active. From the time the blister 
was applied he gradually improved, and in the latter part of 
August he was quite well. 
EARLY AND FREQUENT CESTRUM IN A HEIFER. 
By M. S. F. 
Sir, —My present object in writing to you is, to communicate 
a fact respecting a calf of mine, which I consider extraordinary. 
I have for some time past been endeavouring to improve the 
breed of Shetland cattle, by selecting the best natives, and 
keeping their offspring well. The points 1 have been chiefly in 
pursuit of are, docility of temper, early maturity, and the quality 
of yielding abundance of milk. 
In the month of June last, one of my cows produced a quey 
calf, which was and is still allowed to suck the mother; and in 
order to enable the mother to do justice to her offspring (which 
was got by a favourite bull) she was allowed to range through a 
rye grass and clover park of some extent, which was afterwards 
cut for hay. Now, the fact I want to bring to your notice is 
this,—that this calf shewed a desire for the bull at Jive months 
old, and has gone on since that time shewing a return of the 
ccstrum at very short intervals. At last, about three weeks 
ago, she became so troublesome, by riding down and injuring 
