BOTANY AS APPLIED TO VETERINARY SCIENCE. 145 
the afternoon of June lOth^ I was requested to see them. I 
found the animal first taken ill standing by herself, a consider¬ 
able distance from the other beasts,andexhibiting the following 
symptoms : a wild and somewhat vacant look, the pupils of 
both eyes being much dilated; a quantity of frothy saliva 
hanging about the lips; breathing not increased, but 
heavy in character; pulse almost imperceptible, being very 
much oppressed; bowels relaxed ; and the animal frequentl}' 
grating her teeth. The other beast, which had been more 
recently attacked, I found with the other two at the further 
end of the field, and when approached she tried to gallop aw’ay 
with them, but reeled and staggered about, and, when ex¬ 
amined, exhibited in a milder form all the symptoms above 
described as existing in the beast that was first taken ill. 
I had her placed under a shed, and told the attendant to 
bring the one first affected also to the shed. With some 
difficulty she was made to walk slowly down the field, but 
had gone only a short distance when she suddenly turned 
round and commenced to run backwards, tossing her 
head about in the wildest manner; again repeating this 
strange proceeding after walking a short way. I ordered a 
strong liniment of turpentine and croton to be applied to 
the back of the head, and along the spine, and gave a power¬ 
ful stimulant to each animal, consisting of Spt. Ammon. 
Arom. et Spt. Ether. Nit., and in two hours afterwards ad¬ 
ministered half a pound of sulphate of magnesia. On the 
following morning 1 found the symptoms in both animals 
were worse than on the previous night; both being down 
and unable to get up, and quite unconscious of all around 
them. During the night the bowels had acted freely, the 
faeces being almost black in colour, and in the animal first 
attacked they were streaked with blood. I next examined 
the two other beasts, and found them apparently in health. 
Being struck with the peculiarity of the symptoms, &c., I 
was induced to ask the owner if any plant likely to be in¬ 
jurious w'as known to grow in the field ? He replied in the 
negative, but said he had noticed these two fellow-beasts 
frequently eating something out of a ditch on one side of the 
field. Upon examination I found the ditch to be covered 
with thorns, and growing through and entwining amongst 
them in great abundance and luxuriance, the Solanum dul- 
camara, which at this particular period, when just about to 
blossom, is in its most poisonous state. I also observed that 
considerable quantities of the plant, in different parts, had 
been recently bitten off by the animals ; and as a careful ex¬ 
amination of the other plants growing in the field gave no 
XXX VI, 10 
