746 
A. J. THOMPSON. 
tive ailments. Many practitioners place a great deal of confi¬ 
dence in them,but for my part I consider them almost valueless. 
’ Tis true rectal injections do no harm, and they afford a very 
good means of entertaining the owner and making him be¬ 
lieve you are earning your money, but for actual benefit I 
have failed to see where it comes in. If the rectum needs 
evacuating, be assured that nature will assert herself and do 
the work far more satisfactorily to the patient than the most 
careful practitioner can. The rectal injection of glycerine to 
relieve flatulence has been highly recommended by some 
good authorities. I have not tried it sufficiently to condemn 
the practice, but have, in the few attempts made, failed to 
get satisfactory results. 
While on the subject of glycerine allow me to offer 
a suggestion as to a new mode of administration. 
We no doubt have all been troubled with recurrence 
of flatulence, in some cases so persistent that we have to 
puncture many times, and in extreme cases leave our canula 
inserted for hours at a time, in order to give escape to the 
rapidly forming gas. I recently experimented on the injec¬ 
tion of six or eight ounces of glycerine into the colon through 
the canula before removal, after puncturing and allowing the 
gas to escape, with the satisfaction in every case of stopping 
short the formation of gas. It might be well for all to re¬ 
member this and try similar expeiiments, and report the 
results through some of our journals. The glycerine can 
easily be injected by means of a hard rubber syringe with a 
short, strong nozzle, by inserting into the end of the canula. 
There is but one case, to my knowledge, where the adminis¬ 
tration of medicine per rectum is better than other modes, 
and that is in tetanus. By preparing the medicine in the 
form of small suppositories, and, by means of a pair of long- 
dressing forceps, previously warmed to the temperature of 
the body, and oiled, slipping one from eight to ten inches 
into the rectum, if properly done, the patient will be less ex¬ 
cited than by any other form of administration in this trouble. 
Now a word about the application of heat and moisture. 
There are cases where dry heat is indicated, and others where 
