24 
JNO. A* BELL* 
generation of the lens not unfrequently taking its start from 
the capsule.” 
Lenticular cataract is the one that the veterinarian sees as 
a rule. His attention will not be called until the case is so 
well advanced that the entire lens is more or less implicated. 
Partial, if not complete loss of vision in the eye affected, will 
be one of the main symptoms which will confront him, as com¬ 
plete cataract can be produced in a few days or weeks, accord¬ 
ing to the influences which aggravate and produce the disease. 
Treatment is not always expedient, and much more is it un¬ 
successful. The only specific is the knife. And that also is 
governed by circumstances, followed by a line of treatment 
which is not always successful. Finally, in the treatment of 
diseases incident to horses' eyes, the main specific to have at 
hand is common sense and a little ingenuity. Be able to cope 
with the situation as you find it. Be careful about your diag¬ 
nosis. Give no opinion until you are sure that you are right, 
and especially render no opinion if subsequent events can 
prove that you were wrong. 
ERGOTISM. 
By Dr. Jno. A. Bell, Watertown, N. Y. 
(A Paper read before the New York State Veterinary Society.) 
I am sorry to say that since we last met business, profes¬ 
sional and otherwise, has so occupied my time that it has been 
impossible for me to give thought and attention sufficient to 
prepare a paper suitable to be read before this Society. How¬ 
ever, as my name has been put down for something, I con¬ 
cluded it would not do to back down entirely and, having had 
quite a number of cases among cattle of what I diagnosed as 
ergotism, within the last few years, and never having seen a 
case previous to that time, to my knowledge, I concluded to 
write' 1 a few rambling remarks on this subject. Although 
veterinary literature on this particular subject seems to be 
quite limited, at least so far as I have been able to learn, I have 
endeavored to give you some practical statements from my 
