78 
POISONING BY ARSENIC. 
ample, which died at the College, the whole of this mucous track 
Was pale and flabby. 
From the foregoing statement, the evidence is strongly in 
favour of death having been caused by poisonous fungi, in, upon, 
and among the oats which the animals had partaken of, but 
still we are not in a position to assert positively that such was 
the case. We have seen that no injurious effects were ob¬ 
served until nearly half the quantity bought by Mr. Ingham 
was consumed, and we may not unreasonably suppose that 
the twelve quarters were not the whole of the oats of that 
peculiar quality which the cornfactor had originally purchased, 
but that others, from the same lot, were sold by him to different 
horse proprietors, and, for ought we know, their horses 
received no injury by eating them. 
This being the case, we can only suppose that the oats, which 
were originally of inferior quality, were placed in a narrow and 
deep bin, and that while there they underwent a change favor¬ 
able to the development of poisonous fungi, which we have 
clearly shown existed to a very great extent. This change 
probably took place in the centre of the bulk, as can be readily 
imagined, and as such it will account for the horses not being 
affected until that portion was arrived at. If this be not 
the true explanation, then the only other way we can account 
for the deleterious character of the oats, would be by sup¬ 
posing that some poisonous agents had been mixed with 
them at this stage of their consumption, and which has 
altogether escaped the search of the chemist. 
The above cases are highly interesting in several points 
of view. They will doubtless excite in the minds of many 
practitioners, when searching for the cause of disease, or even 
death, that other objects must be investigated beyond those 
they have been in the habit of looking for. 
POISONING BY ARSENIC. 
By It. Mackinder, M.R.C.V.S., Peterborough. 
I send you a few particulars relating to the cases of poi¬ 
soning which occurred to some animals the property of 
H. Bird, Esq., Gazley Hall, near Peterborough, should you 
deem them worthy a place in the pages of the Veterinarian . 
Case 1.—On the 28th of August last, I was requested 
to visit a fine chesnut hunter, degraded to work on the farm 
