SUSPECTED POISONING. 
441 
About the commencement of the last month there were 
evident appearances of the animal losing condition. His 
coat began to stare, the appetite was irregular, a cough was 
present, the bowels were frequently relaxed, the visible mem¬ 
branes injected, and, at times, a good deal of fever with a 
general failure of physical strength was manifested. Aperient 
and febrifuge medicines were administered, but they afforded 
very little, if any, relief. As the winter was approaching, I 
determined on placing the animal in a cool box. This 
seemed only to aggravate the aforesaid symptoms. Now, 
however, there was evidence of the liver being deranged, by 
the mingling of bile with the blood. I therefore gave small 
doses of calomel and opium, with some appearance of benefit. 
This, however, continued only for a short time, as the animal 
was soon again in the same state. General and great emacia¬ 
tion was present, associated with extreme debility and an irre¬ 
gular state of the bowels. There was also a most anxious 
expression of the countenance, and a frequent looking round 
at the sides, accompanied with heavy sighs; he likewise fre¬ 
quently lay down, although not for any lengthened time. 
Such medicinal agents were given at different periods, as the 
symptoms indicated, but without any good resulting. As time 
passed on every symptom became worse, until February the 
14th, when, the animal having become a living skeleton 
merely, death closed the scene. 
The very unsatisfactory and inexplicable symptoms and 
appearances in this case, in conjunction with some other 
facts, led me to suppose that there was something seriously 
wrong in the treatment of my horses ; and, a searching 
and strict inquiry being instituted by me, and from sub¬ 
sequent collateral circumstances, I ascertained that the man 
in charge of them had been in the habit of administering 
some drug or drugs, for the purpose of producing a shining 
coat—in other words, to make the horses look well. Of 
course a denial of this was given when I asked what was the 
agent he had used. Circumstantial evidence, however, was too 
strong to be thwarted, and as far as my investigation went, I 
was led to believe that sulphuric acid at one time, and 
arsenious acid the other, were the agents that destroyed my 
horse.. 
Chemically reasoning, you mav perhaps be able to account 
for the state of the liver from the effects of one or both of 
these drugs. You will perceive the organ is studded with 
granular matter. The illness first commenced the latter 
end of September, although a month previous to that I had 
observed a variable appearance in the horse, he being at 
times off his feed for a short time. 
