INFLUENZA IN HORSES 
507 
called to spasm of the glottis was exhibited, and even to such an 
extent that I seriously contemplated an operation for the animal’s 
relief. Inflammation of the lungs influenza has had a great dis¬ 
position to similate, and in several cases I have witnessed the dis¬ 
ease to be attended with colic and obstinate constipation. 
It would be vain to attempt to numerate the various charac¬ 
ters the epizootic has taken on; for so altered did it become, that 
Mr. Gowing, of Camden Town, for whose practical skill I enter¬ 
tain the highest respect, assured me he hardly knew how to tell 
when influenza was or was not present. Few men could afford to 
make so candid a confession; but that gentleman is by talent and 
experience placed in a position which allows him to acknowledge 
no interest but in truth. To him I am indebted for my attention 
being directed to the only symptom on which any dependence 
could be placed. All the recognized indications of influenza—the 
signs by which it had been formerly known and readily recog¬ 
nized—were mostly absent or confused. The head and eyes seldom 
swelled. The legs more frequently enlarged; but these were not 
commonly swollen. The discharge from the eyes and nose was 
rarely seen. Cough was mostly present; but in several instances 
even that was heard only when the acute stage had subsided. The 
pulse at first was not to be relied upon; but towards its termination 
it was always quick and feeble. Then, under such circumstances 
any sign, however slight it might be, which gave a reasonable 
ground for suspicion, was of the greatest value; and for the aid 
afforded by Mr. Gowing’s observation I can confidently assert I 
have many obligations to confess. 
When influenza is present, before the disease is well marked, 
and prior to the existence of the debility by which the true nature 
of the affection is absolutely recognized, the liver is deranged. 
The peculiar tinge of the conjunctival membrane enables us to 
detect this circumstance; and where that condition of the biliary 
gland has been indicated, however slightly, it has been with me, 
of late, a habit to treat the horse in which the symptom is observed 
for influenza, although apparently the animal was suffering from a 
different cause. I will not go so far as to declare this rule to which 
I have adhered may not have sometimes deceived me; but I can 
positively assert that I have no reason to repent the course it has 
induced me to pursue. This will be understood and admitted when 
I explain in what my treatment has consisted, and the reader is 
aware that the measure proper for the disorders which the pre¬ 
vailing disorder so frequently resembled would, by their activity 
during influenza, have proved fatal. 
The chief reliance I have placed on ether combined with lauda¬ 
num, in equal proportions. In a former communication I proposed 
