406 
ON DROPSY OF THE HEART IN LAMBS. 
By Mr. W. C. Spooner, V. S., Blandford. 
I was requested the other day, by a friend, to give my opinion 
as to the probable cause of a disease that has made some ravages 
in a flock of sheep about twenty miles from this place. The cir¬ 
cumstances were communicated to him by letter ; and I will sub¬ 
join a description of the complaint in the writer’s own words:— 
** The whole flock appears to be diseased, except the lambs, with 
Dropsy of the Heart, which is most certainly ascertained, the 
bag which contains the heart being quite full of clear water, 
and, in many of them, appears to form itself into a chrystal jelly. 
The sheep seem in a most healthy state before taken: after the 
animal falters, it seldom lives more than six to twelve hours; 
three to eight of a day and night have died from all ages. The 
farm on which they are consists of arable, water, meadow, pas¬ 
ture, and down land. A small complaint of rot was supposed to 
have affected the ewes two years ago, since which, up to the pre¬ 
sent time, salt has been given them.” 
Will you be so good as to favour me with your opinion on the 
above in the next number of The Veterinarian ? and if you 
would call the attention of your readers to this complaint, it 
may be the means of eliciting some useful information. 
May not the salt, by occasioning a great degree of thirst, pre- 
dsipose the animals to the complaint ? 
A SERIES OF ESSAYS ON THE BLOOD, BLOOD¬ 
VESSELS, AND ABSORBENTS. 
By Mr. R. Vines, V. S, Royal Veterinary College. 
Having been taught during my pupillage at the Veterinary 
College, as also when I attended lectures on human anatomy 
and physiology, certain acknowledged theories respecting the 
blood, bloodvessels, absorbents , process of absorption , &c. both in 
the foetus and adult, and holding my preceptors in the highest 
estimation, I gave implicit credence to their opinions. Some 
years afterwards I was appointed, by the governors of the Ve¬ 
terinary College, an assistant to Professor Coleman; and then 
being in the constant habit of dissecting and minutely injecting 
the bloodvessels for anatomical purposes, as likewise attending 
the various slaughter-houses in the metropolis, where so many 
horses were destroyed under a variety of different diseases, cir- 
