68 DEATH OF HORSES FROM OATS AFFECTED WITH FUNGI. 
Oh the 10th September, 1861, a brown mare was procured 
by the College for the purpose of being fed upon the suspected 
oats. She was old, but apparently in a healthy condition. 
She was placed in a loose box, and on the first day had only 
one feed of the oats given her. On the 11th, she had four 
feeds, and the same quantity on the 12th. On the 13th, 
however, she had only three feeds, for during the afternoon of 
this day, she was observed to have a staggering gait, and at 
six in the evening, she fell, and was unable to get up again 
Her hind extremities were nearly paralysed. Sensation was 
so benumbed, that she scarcely responded to the prick of a 
pin. The visible mucous membranes "were pale, the pupils 
dilated, breathing increased, apparently chiefly from the posi¬ 
tion in which she laid. The pulse numbered about fifty, and 
was very feeble, and her tongue protruded from her mouth. 
She did not appear to suffer much pain. She lingered on 
until the 15th, when she died, and immediately after death, 
an examination of the body was made. 
The stomach and intestines were found to be pale in colour 
and very flaccid. The liver was small, and also paler than 
natural; spleen very small; the mucous membrane of the 
stomach and intestines likewise, much lighter in colour than 
natural. On the surface of the lungs there were marks of 
long standing disease, but these could not have had anything 
to do in causing the death of the mare, and which I had no 
doubt whatever was caused by her eating the oats with which 
she had been supplied. 
In reflecting on the above facts, it is difficult to come to 
any other conclusion, than, that the death of all the horses, 
including the mare experimented upon at the College, was 
caused by eating the oats in question, although we may not 
be in a position to state, with any degree of precision, the 
nature of the poison they contained, or even whether it were 
mineral or vegetable. The oats, it is true, had been analysed 
by three competent chemists, two of them residing in Leeds, 
and a third in London, viz.. Professor Tuson, Lecturer on 
Chemistry at the Loyal Veterinary College. None of these 
gentlemen detected any mineral poison, and as the symptoms 
evidenced by the animals, as also the post-mortem appearances 
were such, as not to lead to the idea that agents of this class 
had been partaken of, I think a very strong inference may be 
drawn, that the death of the horses was not so caused. 
The next question which naturally suggests itself, is, what 
could there be in the oats themselves, or diffused among them, 
to have been so injurious to animal life? Again, it may be 
observed, that none of the chemists mentions his having 
