REMARKS ON PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. 199 
difference to those in other diseases, having a white areola instead 
of a red. 
This case excited great attention at the time, and our surgeon 
was requested to attend at Chatham with the drawings, which were 
carefully copied and deposited in the medical museum. 
REMARKS ON MR. NICHOLSON’S CASE OF PLEURO¬ 
PNEUMONIA*. 
By J. Z. N. 
To the Editor of “ The Veterinarian .” 
Sir,—WHEN reading your last number of The "VETERINARIAN, 
my attention was directed to an article on pleuro-pneumonia treated 
Avith the actual cautery : the result of such treatment in the case 
mentioned certainly appears very satisfactory. The disease in 
question being one of such great importance to all parties that 
are in any way concerned in treating it, I trust you will excuse 
my addressing you on the subject. My only motive in doing so 
being to inquire how much the cauterization assisted the cure in the 
case alluded to, I will without farther delay state the impression 
which I had in my own mind of the state of things in this case. 
I think all will allow the action of the actual cautery is precisely 
the same as other counter-irritants. Although we must admit it 
to be the most potent irritant we can apply, yet is the principle 
upon which it acts precisely the same, whether inflammation be 
produced by the hot iron or by any other of the numerous ap¬ 
plications made use of for that purpose. But, in the case above 
alluded to, the milder means had failed to give relief, while the 
animal had become extremely debilitated, so much so that the pulse 
could scarcely be felt and the respiration was difficult. Such 
symptoms may frequently be witnessed during certain stages of 
this disease, and yet the animal may recover without the further 
use of counter-irritants; the symptoms depending, in these cases, 
not so much on the progress the disease has made as on the de¬ 
bility it has caused, and on the treatment necessarily had recourse 
to by the practitioner to arrest the progress of the disease. In a 
disease of such a character we can do very little more than en¬ 
deavour to arrest it; having succeeded in which, our object should 
be to support nature by tonics, gruel, &c. at the discretion of parties 
* The case in question will be found in our last Number, at p. 136. 
