726 
N. R. MACAULAY. 
GOLD APPLICATIONS VERSUS COUNTER-IRRITATION IN 
PNEUMONIA. 
By N. R. Macaulay, V.S. 
(A Paper read before the Indiana Veterinary Association). 
I am privileged to present for your consideration and crit¬ 
icism a few remarks on the actions of counter-irritants and 
cold applications in pneumonia. In bringing this subject be¬ 
fore you I feel that there is no apology needed on mv part, 
as the disease is one with which we are all familiar, being met 
with in practice as frequently, perhaps, as any, and the appli¬ 
cation also of counter-irritants in this trouble is one to which 
I think none of us are strangers, while with cold applica¬ 
tions we are not so familiar, very few of us probably knowing 
much about them, practically, in pneumonia. I have never 
used them myself, but my attention has, in numerous in¬ 
stances, been drawn to the effects of counter-irritation in cases 
of pneumonia, that were very far from being beneficial, and it 
was these observations that led me to study more closely the 
disease and remedy, and that really led to the writing of this 
paper. 
To compare satisfactorily the effects of these two agents, 
so entirely opposite in their actions on pneumonia, let us for¬ 
get, if we can, that we have ever seen a case where the coun¬ 
ter-irritant has been applied and, if possible, for the time, let 
us drown any prejudice we may have formed in our minds 
against the use of cold applications, and try and settle by rea¬ 
soning which should be the proper mode of treatment. To 
do this, and be sure we are correct in our conclusions, it is 
first necessary that we thoroughly understand the pathology 
of the trouble we are dealing with, and secondly, the physio¬ 
logical action of the remedies we apply. 
Pneumonia or lung fever, as it is very commonly termed, 
is generally ushered in with a “ chill,” or “ chills.” In almost 
all, or l might say in all of our cases of pneumonia we can 
find some direct cause for this “ chilling.” The horse may 
have been out in some cold rain ; or—as is frequently the case 
