COLEUS. 
just above the places whence the leaves of pre- 
vious years had fallen. 
COLEUS. A genus of elegantly - flowering 
plants, of the labiate order. They are easily dis- 
tinguished from all other genera of that exten- 
sive order by having all the filaments of their 
flower connected at the base into a tube, which 
sheathes the style. The bearded species, C. bar- 
batus, is a native of the mountainous districts of 
Abyssinia, India, and Nepaul, and was introduced 
from the first of these countries to Britain in 
1806. It is an evergreen undershrub of from 18 
inches to 34 feet in height, and of very remark- 
able and imposing appearance. Its stems or 
principal branches are somewhat recumbent, and 
recurve upward at their extremity ; and its flow- 
ers have a blue colour, a fine pubescence, and a 
very elegant form,—they are produced, during 
October and November, in whorls of six on a like 
spike,—they have their lower lip turned down, 
and show their interior form above,—and their 
regularity of whorl, their remarkably shaped co- 
rolla, and the varied colours of their parts of fruc- 
tification are well exhibited by their’ peculiar 
habit of growth.—The fragrant or aromatic spe- 
cies, C. aromaticus, was introduced in 1826 from 
India. It is also an evergreen undershrub; but 
has pale violet-coloured flowers, and blooms from 
March till May. Some botanists have ranked the 
bearded species as a plectranthus; and others 
have ranked the fragrant species as a gesneria, 
About a dozen other species have been scienti- 
| fically described. 
COLEWORT. See Canpacz. 
COLIC. A very painful disorder of the intes- 
tines of animals. Spasmodic colic is somewhat 
frequent in the horse, and occurs much oftener 
in the small intestines than in the large. It is 
caused by costiveness, by strictures in the bowels, 
by tumours in the mesentery, by a feed of succu- 
lent herbage after a course of dry feeding, by the 
sudden application of cold water to the hot skin, 
and by the drinking of cold water while the 
system is heated. 
Its symptoms are usually sudden, frequently 
violent, and sometimes liable to be confounded by 
an unprofessional observer with those of widely 
different diseases. A horse attacked with colic 
suddenly evinces great uneasiness, shifts his po- 
sition from side to side, paws his litter, and im- 
patiently stamps with his feet. An observer of 
limited experience might readily suppose him to 
be suffering inflammation of the bowels; but 
may, by five well-defined points of diagnosis, 
readily distinguish between that disease and 
colic. In inflammation of the bowels, the attack 
is progressive, or passes from mere indisposition 
to violent pain; but in colic, the attack is quite 
sudden: in inflammation of the bowels, the pulse 
is very quick and small; but in colic, the pulse, 
though sometimes a little quickened, is natural: 
in inflammation of the bowels, the horse lies 
down, suddenly rises, and seldom rolls upon his 
COLLAR. 843 
back; but in colic, he lies down, remains some 
time down, and rolls abundantly on his back: in 
inflammation of the bowels, the legs and ears are 
generally cold; but in colic, the legs and ears are 
generally warm: in inflammation of the bowels, 
intermissions never occur; but in colic, short in- 
termissions are frequent. 
The necessity of discriminating between in- 
flammation of the bowels and spasmodic colic is 
very great; and before a remedy in any case is 
applied, the discrimination ought to be fully. sa- 
tisfactorily, and promptly made. When colic is 
seen to exist without symptoms of inflammation, 
an antispasmodic mixture ought to be speedily 
administered, and, if requisite, repeated at an 
interval, according to the severity of the symp- 
toms, of from one hour to four hours. Any of 
the three following mixtures is confidently re- 
commended by Blaine ;—first, half an ounce of 
ground pepper, three ounces of spirit of turpen- 
tine, one ounce of laudanum, and four ounces of 
soured ale; second, one ounce of sulphuric ether, 
two ounces of laudanum, one drachm of oil of 
peppermint, a quarter of a pint of common gin, 
and a quarter of a pint of soured ale; and third, 
two ounces of spirit of turpentine, one drachm of 
oil of peppermint, six ounces of castor oil, and 
six ounces of watery tincture of aloes. Bleeding 
ought, in every very severe case, to be speedily 
practised ; and it ought to be more or less copious 
according to the comparative violence of the 
symptoms. Other suitable and concurrent reme- 
dies, in bad and prolonged cases, are smart fric- 
tion on the belly, relaxant glysters, very hot fo- 
mentations, and a brisk five or ten minutes’ trot. 
When the colic proves to be flatulent, and 
develops itself in great and very painful disten- 
sion, the accumulated gas which causes it, and 
which is usually a combination of hydrogen with 
some other gas, must either be chemically de- 
stroyed by some such means as a drink of watery 
dilution of chloride of lime, or drawn off by punc- 
ture with the trochar; but the latter remedy 
should not be used unless the former cannot be | 
had, and the case appears to be one of imminent 
danger.—Cattle also are subject to colic; and re- 
quire to be treated for it in nearly the same man- 
ner as horses. Frequent popular names of colic 
are gripes, cramp, fret, and gullion. 
COLLAR. The part of harness which encir- 
cles the neck, receives the attachment of the 
draught, and presses against the shoulders of a 
horse or other animal of draught. 
or straw, within canvass, and covered with lea- 
ther; they ought, in every instance, to be so 
formed and adjusted as to offer a cushiony re- 
sistance to the utmost available pressure of the 
animal’s power; and they require to be sur- 
mounted with such a cape as shall prevent rain 
from getting between the cushion and the shoul- 
der, there to heat, irritate, and even blister the 
skin. A large, erect, spreading collar-cape, very 
Horses’ col- | 
lars are usually made of a stuffing of hair, tow, | 
