832 PERNICIOUS EFFECTS OF MERCURY ON RUMINANTS. 
sedative by the addition of a slight dose of camphor, suspended 
by the yolk of an egg. I also bled and gave emollient clysters. 
Friction with a brush was applied all over the animal; he was 
then covered up and kept warm. But all my efforts were vain ; 
the animal got worse and worse, and died on the 25th, in a state of 
complete exhaustion, and with every symptom of intestinal mor¬ 
tification. 
The post-mortem examination, which was immediately made, 
shewed me the following lesions :— 
The intestines presented some gangrenous spots; the mesen¬ 
tery was black, and also in a state of gangrene : its glands were 
infiltrated, and of four times their natural size; the peritoneum 
was of a red, violet, and blackish hue, and gave way if the finger 
was lightly pressed on it; the lymphatic glands of the groin 
were infiltrated, and as much increased in size as those of the 
mesentery ; there was no peculiarity of appearance about the 
other organs. 
The above disorders evidently indicate an acute entero-perito- 
nitis. There is not a shadow of doubt about this; but if I was 
certain as to the character of the disease, I was far from being 
so as to the cause. The history of the case, w’hich the owner of 
the animal gave me, did not in the least assist me as to the etio¬ 
logy of this disease, which came on so suddenly. 
Not finding any other probable cause, I thought on the mer¬ 
curial ointment; but the suspicions which I had were extremely 
vague. I had many times used it, both on the horse and mule, 
for similar affections to the one in question. I knew that it was 
confidently used in human medicine; and I had no reason to 
suppose that it would be hurtful to the ox. I had never read or 
heard of the use of it being injurious to animals of this species, 
and it required a second case to enlighten me on this point; and 
I soon had fresh proofs of the danger of its use, as will be seen 
in the following observations. 
CASE II. 
The 20th of March, 1815, I was sent for to see an ox which 
had on its cheek a scirrhous tumour qf a considerable size. I 
thought it might be possible to disperse it by friction, with a 
mixture of mercurial and marshmallows ointments; and accord¬ 
ingly I rubbed some well in before I left the animal, and ordered 
the herdsmen to do the same on the morrow, which they did. 
The 22d day they told me that the ox was very bad. 
I did not see it until the 25th ; when I found it dull, with the 
pulse very quick and hard, the respiration hurried, and an 
obstinate cough : there was an eruption of large buds over the 
