REPORTS OE CASES. 
715 
Undoubtedly, a purgative given in the beginning of the case 
would have sustained the action of the bowel and eliminated the 
all-night session with the stomach tube. 
Case No. 2. This animal was used for farm work—when he 
was not laid up with colic. He was subject to colic. Every time 
he did a day's work, it was colic at night, but never any colic un¬ 
less he worked. I was called in the forenoon, reaching the case 
late in the afternoon. The owner telephoned the horse was bet¬ 
ter and not to come, but I failed to receive the message, as I was 
already on the way. When I arrived, however, he wished me to 
look the horse over and give him something. 
For two years this horse had been subject to these attacks 
after working, and had been turned out all summer to outgrow 
the trouble if possible. They put him at work the day before 
with the usual results. The horse had been in some pain all the 
forenoon and had eructated sour-smelling gas and some particles 
of feed. The sour smell and ingesta were in evidence about the 
horse's nostrils and in the feed box. 
I examined the horse and found the pulse and breathing prac¬ 
tically normal, no tympany and no pain, a very slight peristalsis. 
This horse was under observation for an hour before any 
medicine was given, the owner being quite interested in discussing 
the case. The case was diagnosed as colic, due to embolism, and 
the owner was informed that the horse was liable to< a ruptured 
stomach at any time under such conditions as were present. He 
laughed and said the animal had always recovered before and he 
was not alarmed this time. A purgative was given and an ounce 
of aromatic spirits of ammonia and a hypodermic of eserine sul¬ 
phate. Just as I withdrew the needle the animal retched and im¬ 
mediately there was a change in its demeanor. I knew the stom¬ 
ach was ruptured and informed the owner the animal would die. 
He did not seem to believe me—because the animal had been sick 
so many times and had never died before. The post-mortem 
showed a ruptured stomach and an embolism in the posterior 
aorta anterior to the caelic axis. 
LACTATION IN AGED VIRGIN MARE. 
By Dr. W. J. Ratigan, Camden, Ohio. 
An old man came to my office one morning and stated “ he 
had an old mare suffering from diabetes.” I asked him how he 
knew, and he replied he had read the disease up in a stock book. 
I questioned the old man closely and became convinced he had 
a lot of faith in his book. I gave him some medicine, and several 
