194 
A CASE OF INFLAMMATION. 
would have found its way to the pages of The Veterinarian* 
I have never seen the disease described by any of our English 
authors; for although some of the symptoms have been detailed 
by them, there are several important characters not mentioned. 
The virulence of the complaint differed very much in different 
subjects; and I will proceed to mention the symptoms attending 
the most violent cases. 
Attention was invariably first called to the disease by the sud¬ 
den and total loss of appetite. On examination the mouth was 
found excessively hot, the bowels very costive, urine sparing, and 
high coloured; pulse from 70 to 90, and often intermittent; and 
one eye swollen. The treatment that I generally pursued in the 
first stage was venesection, from 8 to 15 pounds, according to 
age, strength, and size. The blood was never buffy, but gene¬ 
rally had the appearance of healthy blood, though sometimes it 
was of a dark colour. The bleeding in a few cases was re- 
peated the same day, and again the following; but most of the 
horses w r ere bled only once. As I have intimated, the bleeding 
did not appear to afford relief, but the symptoms generally in¬ 
creased ; from this, however, I must except the case combined 
with inflammation of the lungs. 
Conceiving the disease to be a specific inflammation of the 
mucous coat of the bowels, I wished to produce active purgation 
without running the risk of adding to the inflammation: with 
this view I administered linseed oil, a pint; aloes, 3ii; emetic 
tart. 3iss ; nitre, Sfij, in a draught. The linseed oil, in doses 
of 3vi, with the emetic tartar and nitre, was repeated every three 
or Wr hours; and sometimes the aloes was omitted, and digi¬ 
talis and supertartrate of potash added, in doses of one drachm 
of the former and three of the latter. Plenty of linseed and oat¬ 
meal gruel was frequently given, and oily injections often re¬ 
peated. It generally required a large quantity of oil to be 
given before catharsis w 7 as produced, which sometimes was not 
effected until the third day, and after two quarts of oil had been 
administered. In one or two cases the purging was greater than 
I could have wished : it continued for two days and nights, but 
was unaccompanied with any of those unfavourable appearances 
that generally follow the too large exhibition of aloes. As soon 
as the appetite in anywise returned, carrots and mashes were 
allowed, but no corn, and but little hay for some time. Some of 
the horses were attacked a second time, but in a milder form: 
this I attribute to having had some corn given to them too soon. 
The relapse was removed by the opening and fever medicines, 
without any bleeding. A complaint very similar to this raged in 
