92 
J. C. MEYER. 
small to allow such an animal to work. Prof. Vogel 
and Prof. Prosch are less favorably impressed by it; the 
former recommends Thompson’s as the most suitable. Be¬ 
sides other objections, they claim there is danger in operating 
with the Hayne instrument, in that it is likely to pierce a 
jugular. I once thought to have met with such an accident, 
a short account of which may not be out of place. 
One evening before sunset, summons reached me to come 
to see a dray horse, which just came in from work, whistling 
and roaring bad enough to suffocate, if not relieved soon. 
Provided with the instrument in question, I hurried to the 
place. Approaching the scene of trouble, I could distinctly 
hear the described noise, notwithstanding the crowd col¬ 
lected around the animal. Drawing nearer, I saw a well 
nourished black horse, very uneasy, with an anxious look, 
pumping flanks, and foaming from the mouth and nose. 
Under these circumstances I was obliged to operate without 
delay. I immediately grasped the trachea with the thumb, 
index and middle fingers of the left hand, about four inches 
below the larynx, pushing the sterno-maxillary muscles a 
trifle backwards from their lateral position, giving the trach¬ 
eotome a passage free from all other tissues; the trachea 
was then pierced through, from left to right, in an exact 
transverse direction, with the instrument held in the right 
hand, so that the central opening in the tube remained in the 
middle of the windpipe. The stylet was then taken out, and. 
the screws, (to make the canula stationary), adjusted, with 
allowance for some swelling. As the skin is the most sensi¬ 
tive tissue, it is advisable to first make an incision through 
the skin with a knife, before the trocar enters. Usually, 
upon withdrawing the stylet, air will follow, But alas! this 
time both openings discharged as much blood as their lumen 
would allow. The bystanders knew no better but than I 
was bleeding the horse, which they thought was well done; 
but my enthusiasm was easily controlled; the thought that 
the opposite jugular might have been struck appalled me ; 
still I managed to keep calm, walked leisurely around to the 
other side of the horse, inspected the outlet of the tube, and 
