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SOCIETY MEETINGS 
M‘Gavin, Welshpool; Mr. Roberts, Kendal; and Mr. Baird, Jr., Edinburgh. 
The President, in closing the discussion, said lameness was generally due to pain, 
but frequently to defective action. In the prosecutions for cruelty to animals 
there were many instances in which it was said that it would be cruelty to woik 
the animal, although in reality it suffered no pain whatever, but was simply lame 
from defective action. These were the cases in which veterinary evidence was 
of value. He could not see how any veterinary surgeon could make a mistake 
in distinguishing between knee and foot lameness; but generally in diagnoscing 
the best thing to do was to follow the legal example in Scotland, and “ take the 
case to avizandum.” On the motion of Principal Williams, seconded by Mr. 
M‘Callum, Edinburgh, Mr. Hunting was cordially thanked for his paper. 
THE USE OF ANAESTHETICS. 
The next paper taken up was one by Professor W. O. Williams, Edinburgh, 
and Mr. R. Roberts, Kendal, on “Anaesthetics and Anaesthesia in Relation to 
Veterinary Practice.” The writers submitted a table of queries put to the heads 
of the various veterinary schools in Europe on the use of anaesthetics and the 
replies received to these queries. They gave their own experience as follows 
“Chloroform is the best general anaesthetic. For the horse, from one and a a 
to two ounces usually suffices to produce insensibility for a sufficient length of 
time to perform a short operation. For the cow, about two ounces is required; 
and for the dog, about an ounce. We find that to produce a short and per ect 
anaesthesia the less air admitted the better. In fact, we not only cause chloroform 
anaesthesia, but also carbonic acid anaesthesia. It takes from five to ten minutes 
to produce this condition, and with this method there is little or no excitement, 
but when the chloroform is administered with a large quantity of air there is 
almost always great excitement. If the animal does not recover from the nar¬ 
cosis in from ten to twenty minutes after the inhalation has been stopped we 
apply cold water to the head and give inhalations of ammonia. Neither of us 
have had a single death, and we have both performed very serious and long 
operations. Mr. Roberts administers anaesthetics in castration, parturition in 
mares, cows and bitches, removal of tumors, colic and intestinal pains, also to 
cause the painless death of animals. Mr. owen Williams administers anaesthetics 
in castration of cryptorchids, removal of tumors, extraction of teeth in dogs and 
cats, and in causing painless death in old or useless animals, and in all serious 
operations. As a local anaesthetic we used cocaine, varying in qnantity according 
to the affection, and paint it on to the parts at intervals of five minutes for halt 
an hour before operating. Mr. Owen Williams has used cocaine in painful eye 
affections, has relieved the pain, and been thus enabled to apply other drugs to 
the parts without irritating the patient; he has also used it for the remova o 
vaginal tumors in the bitch, and in one case the animal watched the operations 
without either being tied or muzzled, and showed no symptoms of pain. We o 
not think that the administration of chloroform or cocaine interferes at all wit 
the healing of the surgical wounds. Mr. Simpson, Windsor, who openedj e 
discussion on the paper, said the study of anaesthetics was one of the most prom¬ 
inent subjects before the veterinary world, and they must expect before ong 
that they would be called upon to introduce chloroform and other agents^exten- 
sively. Mr. Olver, Tamworth; Mr. M‘Gavin, Welshpool; Mr. Toop, Knares- 
