164 INQUIRY INTO A DISEASE OF THE HORSE 
From this it is manifest that one essential vegetable organic 
principle is wanting in leguminous grain and fodder, which is 
the gluten or vegetable fibrine, necessary to the composition of 
the blood; whilst two of the essential principles, the legumine 
and the caseine, exist in so large a proportion, that the dose of 
azote furnished by them is even greater than is contained in 
the most nutritive of the cereal grains. 
Physical examination of the blood of animals long fed upon 
leguminous provender in abundance, presents, in comparison 
with the blood of animals fed upon meadow hay and oats, 
remarkable differences in the relative proportions of its fibrine, 
albumen, globules, and serum. But these we need not notice. 
With the view, however, of appreciating the physical con¬ 
dition of the blood of horses who, though in health, are predis¬ 
posed to take disease, I have collected blood drawn from such in 
a blood-measure (hcmatomctre), and have found that, in com¬ 
parison with blood taken from a horse in health under other 
hygienic conditions, it differed as follows :— 
BLOOD OF HORSES IN FULL 
HEALTH. 
1. Colour, deep bright red. 
2. Separation of the white 
clot from the black in from 
16 to 18 minutes. 
3. In a column 100° of 
height, white and black clots, 
each marking 50°. 
4. Coagulum quite firm in 
from 30 to 40 minutes. 
5. Contractions of the white 
clot, and expression of a quan¬ 
tity of serum, marking 50° in 
a .blood-measure of 100°. 
6. Globules, nothing re¬ 
markable. 
BLOOD OF HORSES PREDIS¬ 
POSED TO DISEASE. 
1. Colour, dull red. 
2. Separation of the white 
clot from the black in from 
12 to 14 minutes. 
3. In a column 100° of 
height, white clot marking 
from 60 to 65, black rising to 
40 and 45°. 
4. White coagulum re¬ 
maining of the consistence of 
tremulous jelly for two or three 
hours. 
5. Clot feebly contracting, 
and giving expression but to a 
very small quantity of serum, 
rising no higher than 15 to 20°. 
6. Globules, nothing re¬ 
markable. 
We may, therefore, conclude from what has passed— 
1 st—That the blood, to preserve its normal condition, should 
experience continual renewal from aliment containing such ele¬ 
ments as are necessary to its healthy constitution. 
2dly.—That the fodder and grain provided by nature contain 
these organic principles; while such aliments as are the produce 
