268 
TREATMENT OF PRURITUS, 
and consequently its vernal value as a consumer of fodder 
and a producer of flesh. In order to obtain the truth of this 
proposition, it was necessary to ascertain by experiment 
whether the development of the pulmonary organs really 
coincides with the development of the thoracic region. M. 
Baudemont, therefore, commenced a series of experiments on 
102 individuals of various breeds of horned cattle, from which 
he has deduced the following conclusions: 
1. As the animal gains in thoracic circumference, weight, 
and surface, its lungs generally increase in size, but not in 
the same progression as those three elements. Hence the 
development of the thorax does not give the measure of the 
development of the lungs. 
2. The weight of the animals being the same, the lungs 
are large in proportion to the height of the animal. 
3. They are larger in proportion as the animal is younger. 
4. In subjects of about the same age and in a nearly equal 
condition, the absolute weight of the lungs is generally less 
in proportion as the thoracic circumference is greater, the 
relative weight (that is, to the weight of the whole live animal) 
is always less. 
5. In those breeds which weigh less, the lungs are propor¬ 
tionally heavier. 
6. Among oxen of the same breed, the lightest lungs 
belong to the heaviest animals, and conversely. 
7. Among oxen of precocious breeds, the weight of the 
lungs is inferior to that of slower breeds. 
8. Hence those animals which are most remarkable for 
their weight, precocity, and development of the thoracic 
regions, are precisely those the lungs of which are smaller. 
9. Therefore in these the activity of respiration is less 
than in others, so that the fattest animals are those which 
breathe least. 
TREATMENT OE PRURITUS. 
We find the following lotion recommended in the Gazette 
des Hojritaux for cases of local pruritus. Instances of this 
kind are not unfrequently met with among the lower animals, 
affecting the anus, vulvae, &o., which are often exceedingly 
difficult of cure 1 Take of bruised white hellebore 20 parts, 
water 750 parts; boil down to 500 parts, strain, and employ 
as a lotion* 
