EDITORIAL OBSERVATIONS. 
476 
supervention of tetanus from castration ? ” Ilurtrel 
d’Arboval informs us that, at a remount depot for cavalry, 
established at Bee (Departement de PEure ), twenty-four horses 
were castrated on the same day, and afterwards were made, 
four times a day, to take a cold bath in water derived from 
an eminently cold spring; and that the consequences were, 
that sixteen out of the twenty-four died of locked jaw ; and 
that the Americans, who make use of the actual cautery in 
castration, produce tetanus so frequently in their castrated 
horses, that a gelding, safely over his troubles, is worth 
double the price of an entire horse. In India, tetanus after 
castration appears by no means infrequent; whereas in our 
country it is so rare a sequel that nobody hardly thinks 
about it. Should Mr. Hurford not have embarked for 
Madras by" the time these observations have passed the pub¬ 
lishers’ hands, w T e have little doubt but that we shall hear 
once more from him on the subject. His pen is “ the pen 
of a ready writer;” and he has—what we most earnestly 
wish more members of our brotherhood would show —a love 
for his profession , displayed in the interest he takes in the 
promotion of the science of it. Were we all Hurfords, to what 
an extent would the pages of “The Veterinarian” monthly 
run over with copy for the printer ! Apologising for this 
digression, Percivall says *—“ Tetanus may ensue either 
before or after the period of suppuration : arising, probably, 
from the compression (of the clams) upon the nerve being 
insufficient to annihilate sensation. Certain irritable horses 
are most liable; and the disease has been observed to occur 
oftener in summer than in winter. In both cases, however, 
the cause may be the same. Tetanus may result from a 
current of cold air (or from cold water) interrupting the sup¬ 
purative process, and occasioning metastasis. An obvious 
indication of cure (in such a case as this) will be to re-establish 
suppuration.” In Mr. Gavin’s case, to be found at page 429 
of our Journal, tetanus appears to have resulted from the 
heat of the weather, which we opine was about that time (the 
first week of the present July) excessive. 
* Hippopathologv, vol. ii, p. 426. 
