416 
REPORTS OF CASES. 
as is consistent with practicability, yet I must admit that on a 
few occasions, when I have not been able to use aseptic meas¬ 
ures in the introduction of barium chloride into the jugular, 
when I have felt sure that I would lose my patient without its 
use, I have injected it and taken the chances, with no worse re¬ 
sult than that of a slight swelling around the point of injection 
the day following, which is preferable to a cadaver in place of 
the patient, especially as on each occasion when this swelling 
has appeared it has yielded readily to an application of canthar- 
ides ointment. In the great majority of cases, however, where 
the ordinary antiseptic precautions are used, no swelling what¬ 
ever appears at the seat of injection, or anything to indicate 
that an injection has been made at that point. 
Another point in favor of the use of this compound is, that 
there is no weakening of the animal by its use, such as is ex¬ 
perienced with eserine and pilocarpine, and you do not have to 
witness the distressing symptoms of the severe straining and 
salivation caused by the use of those drugs. 
Then, too, the action of barium chloride is more prompt. 
With eserine and pilocarpine as it is generally used, hypoder¬ 
mically, you wait forty to fifty minutes and sometimes longer ; 
with barium chloride you are gratified by witnessing a move¬ 
ment in from two to seven minutes, according to the severity of 
the case. It is easily prepared, so as to have it always ready for 
use, its cost is nominal, and from every standpoint, it recom¬ 
mends itself to me as a remedial agent, not for scientific articles 
alone, but for everyday use in practice, with no drawbacks (com¬ 
pared with its many advantages) in the hands of veterinarians 
exercising ordinary antiseptic precautions. I do not mean to 
convey that in my mind this compound takes the place of all 
other drugs in the treatment of flatulent colic, but that it is a won¬ 
derful addition to our present methods of combatting this class 
of cases; and often saves us the use of the trocar and. lessens 
to a great extent the number of deaths by flatulent colic prior 
to its use. 1 
In the treatment of the cases spoken of and ol. the large 
draft horses, my first procedure has been to inject the 
barium chloride, then immediately give two ounces of chlo¬ 
ral hydrate (dry) in gelatine capsules, then deciding whether 
the condition of the animal warranted my waiting for the action 
of the medicine administered (and in the majority of cases I 
was able to wait long enough for the barium chloride). If, how¬ 
ever, I decided there was not time to wait, I punctured and got 
