EDITORIAL. 
use of cocaine in the diagnosis of lameness, which had recently 
been brought before the veterinarians of France, a process which 
has been resorted to for many years by American practitioners. 
The question of priority has no importance, yet I thought it 
might be well to establish the facts as they were, without any 
attempt or thought to take away any of the credit which be¬ 
longed to veterinarians on this side of the pond. Anyhow, the 
benefits that can be derived from the use of cocaine were not to 
be ignored, and, of course, trials were made in various direc¬ 
tions. Among the inquirers Mr. Pecus, veterinarian to one of 
the military schools of France (St. Cyr), was one of the most 
sanguine. With a certain object in view—viz., to find a prac¬ 
tical process to substitute for neurotomy, in obtaining an alter¬ 
ation of the nerve substance—he made numerous researches ; 
but, failing to find what he sought, he became satisfied to use 
cocaine alone, as a means of diagnosis. On account of the high 
price of the alkaloid he decided to combine it with morphine, 
and after a few trials adopted a solution of muriate of cocaine 
o gr. 15, muriate of morphine o gr. 10, distilled water 5 grams, 
and with this quantity, which he uses for one plantar nerve, he 
obtained results which throw a new light on the use of this 
compound. Indeed, while this ansesthetical association is not 
dangerous, it allows the practitioner to make a diagnosis in 
five or ten minutes, and, besides, its use is generally followed, 
between one and twelve days after the injection, by a disappear^ 
ance of the lameness for a period of time varying from zero to 
forever. A curative action, then, which allows the veterinarian 
to resort to neurotomy in entirely rebellious cases. 
In recording his observations Mr. Pecus divides the injec¬ 
tions into two groups. Those that are diagnostic and curative 
and those that are diagnostic only. In the first class the injec¬ 
tions have been diagnostic and certainly curative, because 
lamenesses of several months’ standing have disappeared pro¬ 
gressively in a few days and have allowed of the use of the 
animal for several years (two and three). In some cases, how¬ 
ever, the injection had to be renewed, but the final result was 
