FISTULA. 
537 
(i c ) I should have made a more careful internal examina¬ 
tion of the abscess in the first place and taken nothing for 
granted. I should also have removed the cotton personally. 
(d) We make a mistake always when attempting to treat 
a fistula at long range. 
Cases E and F were fully as interesting and difficult. My 
notes show B and G to have been very easy and rapidly suc¬ 
cessful. The next five cases appear among horses in the 
same pasture, all but one of which had poll-evil or fistula, and 
some both, during one spring and the early summer. I was 
first called July ist, 1891. The history of this outbreak is 
rather meager. I was only able to learn that case I was a 
brown mare, seven years old, previously in good health and 
flesh, exhibited a decided swelling over the atlo-axoid region 
about March 20th, 1890. This swelling subsided before 
March, 1891. Another swelling developed rapidly, soon rup¬ 
tured and discharged very profusely over the pastures and 
feed boxes. Some lung difficulty, probably septic in origin, 
developed, followed by a nasal discharge, and the patient 
died in June of the same year. Other cases followed rapidly. 
Case J, gray mare, 1400J, six years old, very fat at first, 
exhibited a double poll-evil aad a fistula on right side of 
withers, lost flesh very rapidly, and on my arrival was found 
to be very thin, weak and stiff. 
Case K, dark gray mare, five years old, 1100J-, also in good 
flesh at first. A double poll-evil began to develop June 16th, 
1891 ; very large at the time of examination, condition fair. 
Appetite poor in all these cases, and all showed 1.5 to 2.5 0 
elevations of temperature. 
Case L, dark gray, three years, I200f began, to swell on 
both sides of withers June 29th, 1891 ; in good flesh January 
ist, appetite good and no discharge. 
Sodium sulphite was alternated with arsenic, one dose of 
each daily. In none of these cases was the local treatment 
difficult to manage, and consisted of self-drainage by free in¬ 
cisions and a limited amount of antiseptic flushing by syringe 
with weekly stimulations. All recovered except I, which had 
died in June. 
