20 
MESENTERIC TUMOUR TAKEN FROM A HORSE. 
cutting his intestines to pieces. The knives taken from his 
body after death were preserved in Guy^s Hospital.^^ 
If the needles and fish-hooks were intentionally given to 
this poor mare by some person, as we fear they were, we may 
rest assured that his conscience does now, and will ever con¬ 
tinue to be, severely pricked, and that his sufferings will 
far exceed those of his dumb victim. 
It is pleasing to find that the inhabitants of Webheath, 
the parish in which the owner of the mare resides, have taken 
the matter up in the way they have, as will be seen by this 
extract. 
Diabolical CRUELTY. —Our readers will recollect that, some five weeks 
past, we recounted a singular injury to a horse belonging tg P. Shirley, 
of Webheath—a pointed wire protruding out of its side, and which we 
then thought it might have swallowed by accident. The horse, having 
since that time gradually sunk in health, was destroyed ou AVednesday 
last, as utterly incurable, by Mr. Boulton, veterinary surgeon, of Tutnell; 
and a post-mortem examination made by him has brought to light a most 
extraordinary state of things in the poor animal’s internal parts. Mr. B. 
fully expected to find some more needles, but not what he did discover— 
handfuls of needles and fish-hooks. The needles had wandered and 
pierced all the viscera, and every vital organ except the heart; in the 
liver, the lungs, and right through the kidney; while in the duodenum a 
great number had fixed crossway. The fish-hooks had not travelled far 
out of the alimentary passages ; of these we saw eighty-three counted, 
but that was not nearly all; they were generally small river hooks, but a 
few were sea hooks, say about 1:|- inch long by | inch acros.s the bend. 
There were also some few nails, crooked tin-tacks, and machine-made 
building nails. Mr. Boulton has parts of the animal which he intends to 
lay before the College of Veterinary Surgeons in London. He has never 
met with a case at all similar before, except it be that in a cow belonging 
to Mrs. Greaves, of Scarfield’s AVharf, he some time since detected a 
needle, which occasioned an abscess in the heart, causing death. Now, if, 
as the universal impression is, some miscreants maliciously administered 
these needles and hooks to the poor creature, what punishment do they 
not deserve ? We sincerely hope the police will trace home the crime. 
The owner, Shirley, gave, we learn, £18 10s. for this horse, and cheap 
it was considered at that sum. His neighbours, who respect him as an 
industrious and honest man, are raising a subscription to assist the poor 
fellow in buying another. AVe have been asked to receive any small 
donations the charitable may feel inclined to bestow; we shall be happy 
to do so, and to hand them over along with our mite. 
MESENTERIC TUMOUR TAKEN FROM THE 
ABDOMEN OF A HORSE. 
By F. Fletcher, M.R.C.V.S., Lincoln. 
Dear Sir,— Yesterday I sent per Great Northern Rail¬ 
way a hamper containing a tumour taken from the abdomen 
