564 
HEAD GROOMS, AND GROOMS IN GENERAL. 
and more latterly of cod-liver oil. The last agent is known to contain 
iodine, and probably bromine, in chemical combination, to which 
are ascribed, I think justly, much of the benefit resulting from 
its use. The specific action of iodine on diseased depositions 
(I use the word advisedly) is so peculiar , having been so frequently 
brought under my notice, that I cannot consistently refuse to be 
convinced. From these observations, the motives that actuated 
me on the use of the agent may readily be gathered. I ascribe to it 
no miraculous power. I esteem it valuable in affections simulating 
phthisis; first, because it furnishes a large quantity of hydro-carbon 
for the support of combustion; and, secondly, because it contains in 
iodine a means of restoring healthy action in diseased structures, 
the appetite being repaired and the tonicity of the system aided 
by tonics and generous diet. 
Apologizing, Sir, for intruding so much on your valuable time, 
I will merely pause to remark, that I considered the case chiefly 
interesting from the length of its duration, the frequent recurrence 
of violent symptoms, and the successful termination; which latter 
circumstance caused many persons who had watched the pro¬ 
ceedings from the first to express, in homely terms, their conviction, 
“ that the horse had as many lives as a cat.” 
HEAD-GROOMS, AND GROOMS IN GENERAL. 
Mr. Editor, 
For the last dozen Numbers of your valuable Journal I have 
been looking for an observation headed “ The Greatest Plague of 
Life,” at least to the veterinary profession; it is the Head Grooms, 
and Grooms in General, I allude to. These devils walk into the 
profession with the most brazen assurance, and, if you don’t walk 
down their throats to find their hearts, it is ten to one but you 
have to leave this “ vale of tears” without ever witnessing one. 
There are no people under the sun so well done by as gentlemen’s 
servants; they live on the fat of the land, have no cares, no anxie¬ 
ties, and are paid out of proportion to their labour. But inflate 
the groom with beef and beer, and the boasting braggart will assert 
he can do this and that better than any veterinary surgeon or far¬ 
rier. Instead of seeing his saddle-room shelf studded with bottles 
and boxes, his master ought to insist upon seeing a good assort¬ 
ment of combs, brushes, scissors, towels, buckets, sponges, leathers, 
knee pads, and such like things; and, above all, in grooms, abilities 
to use them properly. We think of an old saying of the Earl of 
