WEST OF ENGLAND VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 53 
Markham’s Masterpiece. I only noticed the review a few days 
since, or such a Masterpiece should not have remained so long 
sullied, for it is quite evident, from my own experience, that Gervase 
Markham’s treatment (although some part of it was very absurd) 
must have been very successful. 
Had Mr. Dyer given the essential part of it a fair practical trial, 
instead of theorising upon it, those few words, “ lots of walking 
exercise,” ironically placed in italics, would have been so placed to 
be understood in their literal sense. Again, he states, It is at once 
the most absurd and cruel mode of treatment that could be devised, 
and were I to know of his practice being carried out by any mem¬ 
ber of our profession I should turn common informer immediately.” 
Mr. Dyer has now an opportunity of carrying out his threat, or 
offering an apology for having so wrongfully sullied the name of an 
author who ought to be handed down to posterity as worthy of 
the greatest respect. I also found that two other veterinary sur¬ 
geons had alluded to exercise as being beneficial. The first is a 
gentleman who, in a discussion on a paper read by the late Mr. 
John Percivall, on inflammation in the feet of horses, at a meeting 
of the London Veterinary Medical Society, November 12th, 1828, 
stated that in cases of laminitis he kept the horses continually 
moving to prevent congestion. This opinion, however, found no 
supporter. The next case is that of the late Mr. J. Castley, V.S. 
12th Lancers, in the Veterinarian for 1830, page 199, when referring 
to the number of horses suffering from laminitis after three weeks’ 
voyage in the expedition to Corunna, he states that, “strange to say, 
many of them, even those that were severely affected, appeared to get 
better every day during the march; some few acute cases, indeed, and 
especially when the hind feet were attacked as well as the fore ones, 
we were obliged to leave behind. But we managed to assemble at 
Lugo and Villafranca about 400 horses belonging to the brigade ; 
of these at least one half had been left behind for this one com¬ 
plaint.” The above are the only allusions I can find in veterinary 
literature to the system of treatment as practised by the late Gervase 
Markham, 200 years ago, although I never noticed either of the 
opinions until after I commenced writing this article. In the 
Veterinarian of 1864, page 696, there is an article by Professor 
Williams, of the Edinburgh Veterinary College, in reply to a letter 
of Mr. Thomas Greaves, on laminitis. In that article Professor 
Williams has more clearly defined the nature of laminitis than I 
have seen in any other work. The disease may be conveniently 
studied under three heads, viz. the acute, sub-acute, and chronic. 
It is not necessary that the latter should be the effects of either of 
the former. It is quite unnecessary that I should occupy your time 
by relating symptoms, as you are all well acquainted with them. 
The causes of the difierent form's of laminitis are various, such as 
concussion from hard work, especially on paved streets, bad shoeing, 
long railway journeys or sea voyages, remaining a long time in a 
stall or small loose box without exercise. I have lately had two 
acute cases in the same stable under treatment at the same time. 
