562 
OBSEUVATIONS ON STERCORAL COLIC. 
The prognosis is always unfavourable when the respiration 
is short and frequent, the swelling considerable, the .pulse not 
to be felt, the body cold, and there are partial or general sweat¬ 
ings, or the animal trembles all over, and it is difficult or im¬ 
possible to move him. 
On opening horses that have died of this disease, we con¬ 
stantly find, and oftenest imbedded in one of the cells of the 
floating portion of the colon, a mass of stercoral matter, which 
constitutes a concretion of considerable hardness, and the form 
and size of which are variable. The part of the intestine occu¬ 
pied by this concretion presents a dilatation, proportioned to the 
volume of the ball. The corresponding mucous membrane is 
thick, black, and sphacelated : I have never observed any rupture 
of the intestine. 
The causes of stercoral secretions are numerous. Old ani¬ 
mals are in general most exposed to this disease, because the 
food having been only imperfectly submitted to the operations 
of mastication and insalivation, arrives at a stomach, the diodes- 
tive action of which is impaired by age ; and thus only grossly 
masticated, and no longer finding in the gastric juice a suf¬ 
ficient solvent, is imperfectly elaborated, and consequently apt 
to be arrested in its progress, and to collect together and form 
concretions in these lower passages. But that which contributes 
most of all to the formation of these concretions is certain ali¬ 
ments, such as the green leaves of some vegetables ; the clip¬ 
pings of vines ; and more particularly the use of wheat, and espe¬ 
cially that portion of it which has been deprived of its farina¬ 
ceous principle. The frequent usage of this food in our country 
is the chief cause of stercoral colics. 
Treatment .—At the appearance of the first symptoms, it is 
often sufficient to give, and to continue during several days, fre¬ 
quent mucilaginous drinks; to whiten the water with the fa¬ 
rina of rye or barley ; to administer emollient injections com¬ 
posed of solutions of soap, or neutral salts; and to presciibe a 
very restricted diet. Little bags of boiled wheat often renew^ed, 
and applied to the parietes of the abdomen particularly, over the 
left flank, will procure a little ease when the horse is in pain. 
But if the benefit produced by this treatment is but momentary, 
and is not sufficient to cause the expulsion of the stercoral con¬ 
cretion, there is nothing more to do than to attempt to palliate 
that which we cannot cure; and then at the end of some time 
the symptoms will reappear under a severer character, and at¬ 
tended by more pain. 
It is after having made use of this antiphlogistic treatment 
for several days, that I have recourse to the tartrate of potash 
