190 
ROBERT W. ELLIS. 
draining damp pastures, and the destruction of animals dying 
from this malady. 
I have to thank Dr. F. E. Twining, Veterinary Bacteriolo¬ 
gist, of Fresno, Cal., for valuable assistance in the Kings 
County outbreak. 
ALKALOMETRY IN VETERINARY PRACTICE. 
By Robert W. Ellis, D.V.S., New York City. 
While the alkaloids, or active principles of drugs, have 
been used in veterinary practice for a considerable time, to a 
limited extent, hypodermically, as in the administration of 
morphine, atropine, physostigmine, pilocarpine, gelsemine 
and a few others for special conditions, “ alkalometry ” in the 
accepted sense of the term, which is the administering per 
orem of the measured or weighed alkaloids of drugs in granule 
form, as adopted by many thousands of physicians throughout 
our land, is decidedly a new departure in veterinary medicine ; 
and one we believe destined to increase in its popularity and 
become a permanent feature, more especially in that branch of 
veterinary medicine known as “ canine practice,” in which, 
with us, it has long since been regarded as indispensible. Alka¬ 
lometry possesses many features which commend it to us. Its 
certainty of strength, being the very salt or vital part of the 
drug, divested of all its crude properties, insures a certainty of 
action, so gratifying to practitioners. The fact that it is known 
what each granule contains by weight, makes the arranging of 
a dose possible without the necessity of scale or measure, hence 
their convenience and accuracy at any time or place. And the 
fact that the alkaloids are prepared in granule form, also makes 
their administration to the canine patient easy, by placing them 
well back on the base of the tongue, the dog swallowing them 
without realizing that he has been given a dose of medicine. 
This has the double advantage of causing the patient to get his 
proper dose (instead of losing a portion of it when given in 
liquid form), and of not exciting him, which in some cases 
