746 NORTH OF ENGLAND VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
recommend them to do so. Warm water enemas should be repeatedly 
administered, and hot fomentations applied to the abdomen. In all cases 
the bladder should be examined, and if full the catheter passed. In 
flatulent colic the pain is not so acute, but more constant, the abdomen 
is more or less distended, breathing difficult, nostrils dilated, pulse quick 
and feeble, walking round and round the box, frequent attempts to lie 
down, and when the animal does lie he does so cautiously, seldom or ever 
rolls, and gets up immediately. In the latter stages the extremities 
become cold, there is more or less delirium, twitching of the muscles, 
reels to and fro, and if not relieved death generally ensues from rupture 
of some portion of the intestines. 
Treatment .—I have been most successful with linseed oil, turpentine 
or ammonia, enemas, and hot fomentations to the abdomen. Kneading 
the bowels does good, and should always be resorted to. Some prac¬ 
titioners recommend puncturing the colon, especially our friends across 
the Atlantic. This operation I have never tried. 
With this, gentlemen, I ought to finish; but as many diseases of the 
bowels terminate in inflammation I will, with your kind permission, give 
you my ideas upon enteritis, concerning which I have no doubt there 
will be various opinions. Undoubtedly we often have cases of inflam¬ 
mation of the bowels which I consider are only secondary. A great many 
acute cases of colic are often said to be enteritis, which, unless imme¬ 
diately relieved, terminate in inflammation. In my opinion, when in¬ 
flammation sets in, it always terminates fatally. I am open to correction, 
and will gladly admit my error, if any gentleman will prove to me that 
these cases are curable. I have no doubt there are many here who have 
thought (if I may be so bold) that they have treated such cases success¬ 
fully. I have no doubt these successful cases have been very acute 
cases of colic, and have only pulled through by the skin of their teeth. 
Fortunately for the animal, we cannot get inside to see the exact state 
of affairs, but when they die we always find the bowels in an awful state, 
black and congested, and the exudation so great that it is often half an 
inch or more in thickness. These are the reasons why I contend en¬ 
teritis is incurable. In all cases of inflammation we get congestion and 
exudation; consequently, to a certain extent, loss of vitality of the part 
or parts affected, gangrene and sloughing setting in so rapidly that it 
carries the patients off before nature gets a chance at recovery. With 
these remarks I will conclude. 
This paper contains many imperfections, which I hope, gentlemen, you 
will kindly overlook. I trust I have said that which will provoke dis¬ 
cussion, and tend to the establishment of truth. I have stated freely, 
and with little regard for the opinion of others, my own views of the 
subject. We are all prone to err, and if it can be proved that I am 
in any part mistaken, I shall not be loth to acknowledge it, for we lose 
nothing by eliciting truth.” 
A very animated discussion followed the reading of the paper, as to 
whether linseed oil or aloes was the best aperient to give in cases of dis¬ 
eases of the bowels requiring opening medicine, in which Messrs. H. 
Hunter, Macgregor, A. L. Butters, Corbett, A. Hunter, Anderson, 
Hedley, Mulvey, Stephenson, and the President, took part. 
A vote of thanks having been proposed and carried unanimously to 
Mr. Elphick for reading his paper, and to the President, the meeting 
terminated. 
G. R. Dudgeon, Hon. Sec. 
