ANESTHESIA. 
313 
ministered safely without any special apparatus whatever, and 
I will give you briefly my experience with anaesthetics, in the 
hope that the subject will be fully discussed, and prove of bene¬ 
fit to each and all of us. 
The subject naturally falls into two divisions—general and 
local anaesthesia, ist. General Anaesthesia—Chloroform is the 
drug generally used for this purpose with the larger animals, as 
ether is less powerful and more expensive. The cheaper grades 
of chloroform seem to be equally effective with the best, and I 
consequently use a cheap grade, costing $1.00 per pound. The 
animal to be chloroformed requires no preparation in the way of 
dieting, as is sometimes advised. The nausea which often ac¬ 
companies anaesthesia in human beings is not seen in horses and 
cattle, unless the distaste for food which is sometimes shown for 
a few hours afterwards is taken as an indication. The animal 
is preferably cast and secured in the usual way with hobbles, 
but even this is unnecessary, and I have often chloroformed 
horses and cattle on their feet. However, if you have the op¬ 
portunity, it is better to secure the animal on the ground. I 
now take a good-sized sponge, which is slightly damp, and pour 
an ounce or two of chloroform upon it. This I apply lightly 
over one nostril while the other nostril is closed ►by the other 
hand. At each inspiration the sponge is lightly applied to the 
nostril, and at each expiration it is removed. This is to save 
chloroform, and is not essential. What is necessary is to avoid 
compressing the sponge with the hand or impeding the free pas¬ 
sage of air to the lungs through it. The animal’s head must be 
securely held during this stage, for the first whiff of chloroform 
is always followed by a violent struggle. Some long breaths 
follow this, and generally the succeeding struggles are less vio¬ 
lent. More chloroform is dropped on the sponge from time to 
time, and I find it a good plan to cut a groove down the cork of 
the bottle, from which the chloroform can be sprinkled on the 
sponge without waste. I do not measure the amount of chloro¬ 
form given, as I consider, with ordinary care, it is impossible to 
give an overdose to one of the larger animals. The respiration 
