22 CASE OF INJURY TO THE TONGUE OF A MARE. 
The above are three well marked cases of spasmodic action of 
the diaphragm, and which will tend, in some measure, to settle a 
disputed point between Messrs. Nimrod, Smith, and Sewell; 
and they materially strengthen the position which your valuable 
correspondent (and, I may add, accurate observer),Mr. Castley has 
taken. In the first case, the mare had been driven slowly with 
a distended stomach; she had been just taken from grass, and 
had devoured no less than three pecks of oats. This weight of 
undigested matter limited, as well as rendered more laborious, 
the action of the diaphragm; and it was the mere labour, with¬ 
out rapid or extended action, which exhausted the muscle, and pro¬ 
duced the tendency to spasm. I conceived that the first indi¬ 
cation of cure was to give tone to a debilitated or, perhaps, in¬ 
flamed stomach ; and, in those cases of gastritis which have 
been intrusted to my care, the acidulated mixture has been sin¬ 
gularly successful after the stomach and bowels have been eva¬ 
cuated by an aperient, while the natural powers of the animal 
economy were sufficient to restore an healthy action in the dia¬ 
phragm. 
In the second case, the horse had been living in a state of rest 
for some time, and was forced to sudden and violent exertion 
with his stomach and bowels full of grass. But in the third 
case, the animal had been regularly worked, and was ridden 
gently a short distance two days previously to the attack of the 
bowels; therefore, the only violent exertion to which he had 
been exposed was that of roiling, pawing, &c.; yet it was suffi¬ 
cient to bring on this tendency to spasmodic action in the dia¬ 
phragm, or, perhaps, to cause it to sympathize with the disturbed 
action of the bowels. I wish Mr. Castley, or some other master 
mind, would take up this subject. It is a new and very inter¬ 
esting one. 
CASE OF INJURY TO THE TONGUE OF A MARE. 
Bjj Mr. C. D iCKiNS, V.S., KimhoUon. 
1832. May \9th .— My attendance was requested in haste to a . 
bay hackney-mare, six years old, the property of Mr. King, a re¬ 
spectable farmer, seven miles from this place. On examining her 
mouth, I found that a portion of her tongue, extending as far as 
the frenulum linguse, had fallen off, leaving the end of the re¬ 
maining part in a sad lacerated state, and fast approaching to 
mortification. The detached portion was found lying in the 
manger, in a complete state of decomposition, and had evidently 
dropped off during the night. I immediately had her cast. I 
