SYNOPSIS OF CONTINENTAL VETERINARY JOURNALS. 333 
at Alfort. M. Bouley promises us some remarks on the reason 
and aim of the institution of these new posts. 
At the meeting of the Societe de Medecine Veter inair e 
Pratique of 12th February, M. Rossignol, of Melun, made 
known the mode of working with the tliermo-cautery of 
Paquelin, and the results of his experiments on cauterisation 
with this new apparatus. “ I owe to M. Merelle, of Lagny, 
thanks for having been able to study the use of the thermo¬ 
cautery, and to make some experiments with it, which seem 
to me conclusive. That gentleman deservedly praised the 
new instrument. We have only to use it to be struck 
with the advantages it offers to veterinarians. By means of 
it all cauterisations, but especially those with moist and pene¬ 
trating points, may be performed. I shall show you the 
working of this, and hope you will be assured of its value. 
Its construction is based on certain properties of platinum, 
which metal, when raised to a certain temperature, becomes 
incandescent if it is placed in contact with a mixture of air 
and of hydrocarbonaceous vapour. We throw into a pre¬ 
viously heated hollow cone of platinum the vapours in 
question. The instrument becomes red hot at once, and 
constantly renews its heat, and so does not become cold at 
all during the operation. According to the relative propor¬ 
tions of the vapours will be the temperature of the plati¬ 
num cone. A substance in daily use, and easily procurable, 
essence minerale, will conveniently furnish the necessary 
hydrocarbon. So the Paquelin apparatus is composed of— 
(1) a true cautery ; (2) a flask for the rock oil; (3) a 
blower; (4) an alcohol lamp. The cautery is of two parts 
—the platinum cone, and a wooden canaliculated handle. 
The former is composed of a platinum plate, which may 
assume various forms. I show you one corresponding to 
our pointed iron, and also another, useful for needle cauteri¬ 
sation, similar to the instrument of MM. Bianchi, Lenek, 
and Foucher. The cone is placed ending upon a tube of 
metal, which is pierced near its free extremity by a trough 
for the passage of the products of combustion. It contains 
in its interior another tube, which is fenestrated at one ex¬ 
tremity, which meets the platinum cone, and at the other 
is terminated by a passage with a female screw. The 
wooden handle also has a canal, and this receives a metallic 
tube, which bears at one of its ends a passage with a small 
screw, and at the other a slight seat-like convexity. The 
flask is closed by a caoutchouc cork, which is traversed by a 
metallic tube, which bifurcates on emerging from the cork. 
One of its divisions receives the extremity of a caoutchouc 
