620 
JACOB HELMER. 
by various changes in each case according the natural history of 
the disease and the age, temperament and vitality of the patient. 
There were differences, but it was not reasonable to refer them 
to anything besides natural causes. There was no noticeable 
effect of the remedy upon the pulse, respiration and tempera¬ 
ture. Practically in horses I found no difference between the 
first or third or thirtieth potencies in non-critical cases of pneu¬ 
monia. In acute non-critical cases of disease in the horse of 
whatsoever nature the experience was the same. The hygiene 
and diet were made the best possible. The superiority of the 
regular treatment was established in its power to abort colds 
and incipient diseases of the respiratory tract. In some acute 
critical cases nature seems powerless when rational treatment 
may and does save life. Rational after-treatment lessens the 
convalescing period and prevents relapses. I had no success 
with homeopathy in cases of toxic poisoning. In cases where 
pain was an element to subdue. In impaction of the bowels, 
anaemia, vitulary fever in cattle, azoturiea, colic, chorea, diabetes 
insipidus, laminitis, tetanus, purpura, rheumatism, and collapse. 
I do not mean that cases so treated did not recover, but cases 
treated placebo recovered. But the action of the remedy could 
not be traced, no desired effect could be produced. My tools 
were not tools. But acute critical cases will do better without 
medicine, unless such treatment be intelligent and not a hind¬ 
rance to nature. Regular treatment not intelligently used is 
worse than no treatment. Here homeopathy may win a few 
laurels and somebody think they have made a valuable discov¬ 
ery. An unsuccessful regular practitioner in using drugs to al¬ 
leviate disease, can become a successful homeopathist. Nature’s 
tendency to heal must be fully recognized. In cases in which 
the regular treatment was of no value in my hands, homeopathic 
treatment did not demonstrate its superiority. 
In the study of the principles of homeopathy one is sur¬ 
prised at the large number of the same or similar symptoms 
produced by drugs of a dissimilar nature. Again, the number 
of diseases dissimilar in their nature and manifestation that are 
