Senn Usvianieve ts onset eit ecto kt ACaC NTU P AGS NEU BNE ne ERS nal ES \ ANNE SON » A WS, NS Aun ‘] eS ASA ratte Seana nib ioe a KT eh NO AN ie Sart : ; wieaytnr) at ce eer uateene ¥ yb i NT hy Rah (ee Sen! ree asa CEES oy ihe ye Doel ey SN ey, rep ii tae PNR sis Entiat edie hg Ave ,%. UT >Doctorsof+VeterinarysSurgery~< PHILADELPHIA, PA. OFFICE: No. 1513 Race Street. Graduate of American Veterinary College, University of the State of New York. S = a oe ee — Se ee Fis 6/9 THE Véecshoswmell Pp. Flomer Library THIS BOOK IS THE GIFT OF Digitized by Microsoft® Cornell sn Library SF 915.G19 1868 i] iii sil Digitized by Microsoft® SNVINWNISSLIA SUPT stl ote ey MA Digitized by Microsoft® - THE VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. BY JOHN GAMGEE, PRINCIPAL OF THE ALBERT VETERINARY COLLEGE, LONDON 5 AUTHOR OF “‘ OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE.” SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED. LONDON: © THOMAS C. JACK, 30 LUDGATE HILL; : EDINBURGH, 59 SOUTH BRIDGE. 1868. Digitized by Microsoft® This book was digitized by Microsoft Corporation in cooperation with Cornell University Libraries, 2007. You may use and print this copy in limited quantity for your personal purposes, but may not distribute or provide access to it (or modified or partial versions of it) for revenue-generating or other commercial purposes. Digitized by Microsoft® PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION, Tue first edition of this work has been out of print for some time. A new edition being called for, it has been carefully revised and considerably enlarged. In its improved form it is hoped that the work will continue to be serviceable to members of the profession, as well as to all others who require the help of - such a manual. . It is not necessary to dilate on the contents of the following pages, beyond stating their plan of arrangement. Part I., devoted to the VETERINARY PHARMACOP@IA, is written on the much-approved plan of the Physician’s Pre- criber’s Pharmacopeia. “I should have ventured a new classi- fication, but did not consider it of great importance in a practical point of view, and therefore adhered to one already accepted. I availed myself of a suggestion in Geffcken’s Pharmacopeia Veterinaria Germanica, and, for the sake of brevity, classified Digitized by Microsoft® iv PREFACE. the domestic animals under three heads—a, 6, c,—thus avoiding unnecessary repetition in mentioning the doses of medicines. The horse and ox are represented by a; sheep, goat, and pig, by 6; dog and cat by c. In numerous instances, however, when the doses differ much between different animals of the classes formed, the animals are separately named. Part IL, Formunarium VETERINARIUM, contains a large number of prescriptions (many in this edition being new,) to suit many tastes, and to answer many purposes; but its object principally has been to show young practitioners how medicine should be combined. Each formula is printed in Latin and English, for those who do not possess the advan- tage of even an elementary knowledge of Latin. Let it be distinctly understood that the formulary is not a collec- tion of specifics or nostrums, each suited for a specific pur- pose. Their employment in the treatment of disease calls for knowledge alone possessed by the educated Veterinarian. Part ITI., Memoranpa Toxicotocica. This division of the book has been prepared on a scale somewhat more extended than the others. I have drawn largely from the works of Orfila, Magendie, Taylor, Christison, Tabourin, Hertwig, and: others. Much valuable matter has been obtained from the elaborate article on Vegetable Poisons by Professor Webs, of the Stuttgart Veterinary School, and published in the Reper- torium der Thierheilkunde. Digitized by Microsoft® PREFACE. v Part TV., Memoranpa Tuerapeutica. This section contains a List of the Diseases of the Domestic Animals in alphabetical order. The list is far more complete than in other British Veterinary works ; and I have endeavoured to render it so by consulting many authorities, British and Continental. The practical injunctions are practically those I follow and approve of, though necessarily the matter is not altogether original. I have consulted my case-books, as well as the works of others, and have been careful to maintain under each head an order of succession in the remedies suggested corresponding with the method of employment in treating disease. The numbers refer to the prescriptions ; but I repeat, the prescriptions are not sufficiently numerous to serve every purpose, and those referred to in the Therapeutic Remembrancer are merely suggestive, and not indispensable forms. It has been my purpose that this little work should embody as much of the “whole truth” as possible. More might have been given; but as regards quantity, it was difficult to decide how little or how much should be found in a Veteri- narian’s Vade Mecum. In conclusion, I cannot refrain from thanking my friend Mr James Gardner, of George Street, Edinburgh, who, as a Phar- maceutist, has devoted much of his long life to the preparation and dispensing of Veterinary Medicines. Mr Gardner revised the proofs of the first and second parts, and offered me many valuable suggestions. Other friends have assisted me in a Digitized by Microsoft® vi : PREFACE. similar manner, and more especially Dr Monastier, in col- lecting information on Poisons; Drs Douglas Maclagan and Stevenson Macadam, of Edinburgh, in revising Bie of the tests for Poisons ; and Mr Charles Hunting, of South Hetton, for the careful reading of the Fourth Part. To them I tender my grateful acknowledgments, Lonnon, January, 1868, Digitized by Microsoft® CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. ‘ FORMS OF MEDICINES AND THEIR ADMINISTRATION. I. Solid Forms. Balls, . Lo , , xiii ) Extracts, ‘ ‘ : XvVili Pills, . F ‘i f xvi | Poultices, . ° . ‘i xvili Powders, . ‘ ‘ xvii | Ointments, . : xviii Electuaries, . , ‘ xvii | Plasters and Chinrwes, : xviii Conserves, . i i xviii Il. Liquid Forms. Mixtures : . 3 xix | Wines and Vinegars, : xix Solutions, . ‘ ‘ xix | Syrups, , 5 ‘ xXx Infusions, . : , xix | Honeys, 5 , ; xx Decoctions, . 3 ‘ xix | Fluid Extracts, , % Xx Tinctures, . P ’ xix Administration of Fluid Medicines. To the Horse, 3 : xx | Injection of Fluids in the 3 OX > xxii Mouth, Fi ‘ XXXV » eee and Goat, xxvi | Injection of Fluids i in the » Pig, ‘ 2.) Xxvi Nose, : XXXVI » Dog, . , z xxvii | Injection of Fluids i in the —» Cat, . ‘ : XXvVili Rectum, . . XXXVii Injection of Fluids in Injection of Fluids i in’ the Veins, 2 : xxviii Urethra and Bladder, 3% eel Transfusion of Blood, : xxix Remedies in the Form of Gas or Vapour, xliii. Digitized by Microsoft® CONTENTS. Metallic Irritants—continued. Salts of Nickel and Cobalt, Chrome, Gold, Trritants. Savin, A Oil of Savin, Rhus Toxicodendron, Ericacez, Rhododendron, . Oil of Tar, Oil of ‘Taspentine, Naphtha, Decayed and Diseased Vows: table Matters, , Musty Hay, Rusty Straw, Mouldy Bread, Ergot, Animal Irritants. Silver—Nitrate of Silver, 186 Iron—Sulphate of Iron, 186 Bismuth and its Salts, 187 Vegetable Aloes, 188 Anemone, " 189 Arum maculatum, . 190 Bryony, 190 Castor Seeds, 190 Creosote, 191 Croton Seeds and Oi, 191 Mercurialis annua, 195 Mercurialis perennis, 196 Buxus sempervirens, 196 Jalap, 197 Ranunculus, 197 Marsh Marigold, 198 Cantharides, 209 Sausage Poison, 210 Train Oil, - 212 Animal Poisons — ~Cestaplons Diseases, 212 Anthrax Poison, 214 Variolous Poison, . 215 Aphthous Poison, 215 Virus of Glanders, 216 Narcotic Papaveracee, 225 Papaver Rheeas, 226 Opium, 2 227 Hydrocyanic Ada, 230 ' Hyoscyamus mee 232 Lactuca, 233 Poison of Rabies, Syphilitic Poison, Virus of Eruptive Disease of Stallions, Poison of Contagions Typhoid in Cattle, . Poison of Venomous Sempente and Insects, Poisons. Solanum, Camphor, . ; Ordeal Bean of Gellaban, Alcohol, fi : Ether and Cilenskoesi, 4 @ Digitized by Microsoft® 187 187 188 199 201 201 202 202 202 202 203 204 206 206 217 220 220 221 222 233 234 234 237 238 Cocculus Indicus, . Darnel Grass, Foxglove, Digitalinum, . ‘ Hellebore, White, . Hellebore, Black, . Hemlock, Water Hemlock, Oenanthe Crocata, Phellandrium aquaticum, A®thusa Cynapium, Cherophyllum sylvestre, Sium latifolium, 7 Ammonia, Carbonic Acid, CONTENTS. Narcotic-Irritant Poisons. 239 239 242 243 245 246 248 250 250 251 251 251 251 Ipecacuanha, Colchicum autumnale, Aconite—Monkshood, Aconitia, ‘ Deadly Nightshade, Strychnos Nux-Vomica, The Bean of St ae Rue, . Thorn-. Apple, Tobacco, Woorara, Yew, ‘ Mushrooms, Poisonous Gases, _ 268 268 Sulphuretted Hydrogen, IV. MEMORANDA THERAPEUTICA, Digitized by Microsoft® xi 251 251 . 255 256 256 257 257 262 262 265 265 266 266 270 271 xii _ Fie. I IL. III. IV. VI. Fig. 14, 15. 16. WG 18. 19. 20. 21. CONTENTS. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PLATES, The position of the Hands in giving a Ball to a Horse. One method to hold a Horse and exhibit a Drench. Another method to effect the same with Horses that have a short neck and heavy head. How to hold an Ox and administer fluid medicines to him with a. Horn. z $ . a. How to fix a Dog’s mouth in giving a Bolus or Pill. }. How to fix a Dog’s mouth in exhibiting doses of liquid Medicines. How to hold a Cat in giving Medicines, or whilst performing operations, such as that of Castration. WOODCUTS. . A Balling Iron. Ditto, for mouths of different sizes. . A Balling Gun. Ditto, a more simple en . A Form of Drenching Horn. . Another Ditto. A Gag, as drawn in Professor Hering’s Work. . Another and more simple form of Gag. A Cylindrical Trochar. . A Flat Trochar. . The position of the Rumen in the Ox, showing the part where it may be opened or punctured. . and 13, Represent two different azpects of an Instrument to exhibit draughts in the Pig. A Muzzle for a Dog to fix the Mouth in exhibiting Medicines. Helper’s Funnel for the injection of fluids in the Veins. Hering’s Instrument for the same purpose. Rey’s Tube for the injection of fluids into the Nose. An Enema Pump. : A Tube to which a Bladder may be attached to exhibit Clysters. The Enema Funnel. The Urinary apparatus of the Ox. Digitized by Microsoft® Mes eA My. Qeonoriown, “THIRD UCHTOR a FORMS OF MEDICINES, AND METHODS OF THEIR ADMINISTRATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. I. Solid Forms. I. A Baw (Bolus) is a compound of various agents, solid, semi- solid, and liquid. These are mixed into a mass sufficiently firm to admit of being formed into cylindrical rolls, about two inches in length and three-fourths of an inch in diameter. The active ingredients are in the shape of powder, extract, and even in ‘solution, incorporated in linseed-meal, or liquorice and treacle, soft soap, honey, or syrup. The size of the bolus is entirely regulated by the capacity of deglutition in different animals; excessively large balls may lodge in the pharynx, or be swallowed with difficulty. In exhibiting them to the horse, it is essential to wrap them in paper, which should not be too thick, but firm in texture. Deliquescent or copiously efflorescent substances are not adapted for exhibition in this form, and care should be taken not to render the balls too hard, or too insoluble in the gastric secretions. Dexterity in the exhibition of balls is a very useful acquire- ment for the Veterinarian ; but comparatively few people suc- ceed in effecting their object with neatness and precision. I have been somewhat surprised how in France practitioners shrink from introducing their hand into a horse’s mouth, and resort rather to other methods of giving medicine. Digitized by Microsoft® Xiv INTRODUCTION. The rules to be attended to in administering medicine in this form to the horse are :—I1stly, Turn the horse from his manger, with a halter on, held by a groom or assistant. Attempting to give a ball to a horse tied up in a stall has before this proved a fatal experiment to the operator. 2ndly, It is extremely danger-_ ous to resort to twitching with awkward horses, as our power in keeping the mouth open depends on the moderate stretch on the tongue, which is not felt or cared for by a horse severely punished with a twitch onhis ear. 3rdly, Stand on the off side of the horse’s head, with a towel in the left hand to wipe the mouth, should there be, as in some cases, an excessive amount of secretion to interfere with holding the tongue; the left hand is placed on the horse’s crest, whilst the right is introduced into the angle of the mouth, the tongue is seized gently, wiped if necessary, grasped with the left hand as in Plate I., and drawn downwards. Some persons introduce the left hand so as to compress the tongue against the left side of the lower jaw, bring- ing it between the molar teeth on that side; and others drag the tongue out of the mouth, and holdit firmly. It is extremely important to hold it so that, in any movement the horse may make, there is a point of support for the hand against the lower jaw. (See Plate I.) Pulling on the tongue may give unneces- sary pain, make a horse restless, and in tossing his head about the organ may be severely lacerated. 4thly, The ball, which has been ready all the time in the assistant’s hands, or in the waist- coat pocket, or grasped by the lips of the operator, is seized as in Plate I., and, avoiding unnecessary bustle and hurry, it is carried up the middle of the mouth and dropped on the back of the tongue; at the same instant the tongue is quietly let loose, and, as the horse draws it back, the ball is engaged in the pharynx, whence it cannot return unless by a fit of coughing. As soon as the hands are withdrawn, the mouth is kept closed, and the left side of the neck watched to see the ball pass down the esophagus, This may occur before looking round to the neck, so that, after waiting a little, if the ball be not seen, the horse should be Digitized by Microsoft® INTRODUCTION. XV caused to drink a little water. The practice of giving a little water to drink after giving 4 ball should always be adhered to, as it is disagreeable to leave an animal, and when the operator’s back is turned, the ball be coughed into the manger; moreover, in niorbid conditions of the system, and in the unnatural man- ner in which the bolus is swallowed, the passages are not well lubricated, and the ball may be some time before it penetrates the cardiac orifice. . With vicious horses, horses with narrow mouths, and in cases of trismus, when balls are to be given, instruments should be used. Balling irons, to prevent the closure of the mouth, have been constructed of various kinds; the simplest, represented by fig. 1, is made of malleable iron, and is adapted to the average size of a horse’s mouth. Perhaps the most useful is Mr Var- Fig. 1. nell’s improved balling iron, fig. 2. _ It may prove serviceable in cases where with difficulty a horse is made to open his mouth as Digitized by Microsoft® Xvi’ INTRODUCTION. wide as it is desirable, and if, instead of giving balls, the teeth and other parts of the mouth have to be examined and ope- rated on. In very narrow mouths, in young animals, and in cases of Fig. 3. spasmodic contraction of the masseter muscles, balling pistols must be employed. Occasionally * @ sharp-pointed stick. fixed into the ball is suffi- cient to carry the latter and deposit it into the - pharynx. At other times the instrument shown in the accompanying fig. 3 had better be used; or the more simple, and perhaps equally effective, contrivance of a hollow stick, with a wooden cup at one end, and provided with a central rod of iron to push the ball out of the cup, will suffice for most purposes. See fig. 4. Boluses are often given to the dog, the mouth in this animal being held as in a, Plate V. Some practitioners prescribe balls for cattle, but only when rumination is suspended. They should be, and indeed practically are, discarded from cattle practice. II. Prtxs (Pilule) are preparations similar to balls, but smaller and spherical. They are much used for dogs. If composed of vegetable substances, they should not exceed 4 or 5 grains; if of metallic ingredients, they may average from 5 to 10 grains. They may be coated with gela- tine if containing medicines offensive to taste or smell. To exhibit a pill 10 a dog, the animal _ Should be placed between the knees, the head grasped, so that the jaws are forced openas in a, Plate V., and the pill’ dropped at the back of the tongue, the Digitized by Microsoft® INTRODUCTION. Xvi mouth suddenly closed, and efforts to deglutition excited by gently manipulating the throat. IIT. Powprrs (pulveres) are very convenient to mingle with the food, to dissolve or suspend in the animal’s beverage, to be applied over absorbing surfaces, or placed on the tongue to be swallowed. They may be destined to exert a local effect, as astringents or caustics, on congested or sore surfaces. Medi- cines may be more or less finely powdered by pounding, grind- ing, levigation, elutriation, precipitation, etc. Animals in dis- ease may have no appetite, and, what is more rare, present a disinclination to drink. In these wads powders are inadmis- sible. They are very serviceable if agreeable to the taste; if not, unless tasteless, animals will refuse them. ‘The form of powder is unsuitable for deliquescent substances, and for com- binations consisting of agents which become liquid or semiliquid by chemical reaction, as is the case when acetate of lead is mixed with the sulphate of zinc. It is a convenient method of giving medicine to vicious or unmanageable animals. Powders are frequently prescribed for dogs, cats, and pigs. Mineral tonics, such as the preparations of iron, are best given in the form of powder in food, so that they enter the stomach when the secretion of gastric juice is excited. IV. Exectruariss (electuaria) consist in soft solid prepara- _tions, containing medicines that are tasteless or agreeable to the taste, and not too bulky. The materials with which the medi- cine is mixed, are honey, treacle, sugar and gum, linseed and water, etc. Hlectuaries should be more used in Veterinary practice. They are very useful in prescribing astringent or sedative substances when there is much irritation of the throat and cough. I avail myself of them much in treating the dis- eases of young animals, and largely for horses. They are best used with wooden or metallic spoons, and are smeared on the tongue or on the inside of the cheeks. Digitized by Microsoft® xviii INTRODUCTION. V. Conserves (conserve) and confections are very rarely employed by Veterinarians. The only preparations of this kind I use are the confections of senna and of roses—the latter sim- ply as a vehicle. VI. Exrracts (extracta\ consist “of the active ingredients of complex medicinal substances, extracted by water, alcohol, or acetic acid, or by expressing the juice of plants, and then evapo- rating to solid consistence.” They are modes of pharmaceutical preparation, rather than forms for administration. Some of them, such as the extract of belladonna, may be smeared over the tongue; others may become so dry as to admit of being given in the shape of powder; but they are most frequently added to mixtures, or given in the form of pill. VII. Cataptasms or Pourices (cataplasmata) consist in soft, moist, and somewhat tenacious applications to the external sur- face of the body. They may be cold or hot, and used for pro- ducing a local impression in virtue of the water or medicine they contain, or an impression on the system by absorption of a medicinal ingredient. VIII. Ornrments (wnguenta), Crrates (cerata), are soft solids for external use. The first contain fat or oil, and must be applied with friction; the second are of a firmer consistence, owing to the admixture of wax with the greasy matter of oint- ments. Cerates are intended for their local effects, but oint-- ments may become absorbed, and act very powerfully on the system. IX. Prasters and Cuarcrs are now very rarely used in Veterinary practice. The first only differ from cerates in pos- sessing firmer consistence, and requiring heat to soften them that they may spread. Charges are plasters applied by pouring the melted ingredients over the skin, and covering them with tow and rag. Digitized by Microsoft® INTRODUCTION. xix II. Liquid Forms. Medicines in the liquid form are exhibited internally, or used for external purposes. I. Mixtures.—Fluids containing substances in solution and suspension. It is extremely convenient to prescribe insoluble preparations in this way. Oleaginous substances and syrups are sometimes combined, such as in the castor-oil mixture used for dogs. II. Soxrvtrions—Liquores.—Fluids containing completely soluble medicines. Some of the active ingredients are tinc- tures, extracts, and other fluid preparations obtaimed by dissolv- ing from a substance the essential principle. III. Inrustons.—These are obtained by pouring over vege- table substances cold or hot water. The active principles are soluble, and hence obtained in solution; to effect this, too much _ heat is sometimes to be guarded against in using warm water, and sometimes cold is objectionable, as being tardy and dissolv- ing vegetable albumen. IV. Decoctions, prepared by boiling agents derived from the vegetable kingdom, in water.—Sometimes a degree of heat short of the boiling point will serve to remove the active ingredient of a medicine, which, by being volatile, would pass off if the material was absolutely boiled. Hence the value of preparing decoctions, etc., by steam. V. Tincrurns.—The active principles of medicines dissolved in aleohol, by steeping substances in spirit for a certain time. Spirits differ from tinctures in being obtained by distillation. VI. Wines and Vinecars being solutions of medicines in wine, vinegar, or dilute acetic acid, are rarely employed in Veterinary medicine. — Digitized by Microsoft® XX INTRODUCTION. VII. Syrups are valuable in treating the diseases of dogs. Simple syrup is often the menstruum employed into which tinc- tures are dropped, extracts dissolved, and powders suspended. But there are officinal preparations, consisting in watery solu- tions of sugar, impregnated with the active principles of medi- cinal agents, such as the valuable syrup of the iodide of iron, and the syrup of poppies. VITI. Howzys and Oxymers,—the first being like syrups, only containing honey instead of sugar; and the latter being a mixture of vinegar and honey containing other preparations,— are not frequently employed in Veterinary practice. IX. Fru Extracts.—“ Highly concentrated solutions of the active constituents of medicines, or the active constituents themselves extracted in the liquid state; they are often very convenient and efficient preparations.” Administration of Medicines in the liquid form.—l\stly, To the horse. We prefer the form of ball for the exhibition of medicines to horses; but we are often called upon to exhibit draughts or mixtures. Draughts should not be too bulky; if possible, not nauseous, and not so stringent or caustic as to interfere with animals swallowing. Mixtures are given from bottles made of glass, tin, or other material, or from horns. The latter are much to be preferred. The objection to the bottle form is, that from a narrow neck the liquid does not flow steadily and at will, from the difficulty with which air enters a narrow neck to displace the contents of the bottle. This is the objection to the form of horn in fig. 5.. Persons are attracted Digitized by Microsoft® INTRODUCTION. xxi by the handle, the neat manner in which the horn may be closed at its narrow end; but practically, it is not so handy and efficient as a horn the natural shape of which is preserved, ex- cept at the opening at its broad end, which is cut obliquely. The horn is to be chosen, so that the apex turns downwards when the oblique opening has an upward direction; and the accompanying fig. 6 represents one of very good shape. — Fig. 6. As regards the process of exhibiting a drench to a horse, it is not always well understood; and hence serious and fatal conse- quences have resulted from the exhibition of remedies in the liquid form. The rules to observe are:—Istly, Hold the horse’s head up at a moderate height, so that the line of the face is horizontal. 2ndly, Secure the tongue to prevent the lapping out of the liquid, but allow of sufficient movement of lips, tongue, cheeks, and jaws, so as not to interfere with the first act of swallowing. To draw the tongue forcibly outwards is very injudicious, as if the tongue be stretched it does not aid in pressing back the fluid, which gravitates as the tongue is pulled upon, and the larynx and pharynx advance ;—the animal may thus be choked. 3rdly, If an animal makes an effort to cough, rather lose the draught than risk the danger of suffocation, which so readily occurs if fluid be suddenly thrown over the tongue. 4thly, Entice efforts of deglutition, should the horse obstinately and artfully retain the liquid in his mouth. This is effected by manipulating the throat, and exerting pressure in the intermaxillary space. Digitized by Microsoft® xxii INTRODUCTION. The methods of holding horses during the exhibition of a draught are various, but the most important ones are three. In the first place, by ropes and pulleys a horse’s head is pulled up from a beam or other high object in a stable or shed. This is very objectionable, especially in a vicious horse; and we have never found it to answer better than the second manner of introducing a rope-noose over the upper jaw. This noose is attached to a stick, or slipped over a stable-fork prong (see Plate III.); and a man can then hold up the head of the heaviest horse and follow him in his movements. It requires manage- ment. I do not like the fork, as it is a dangerous instrument, and prefer an ordinary twitch. In Plate II., the third manner of holding a horse’s head up and exhibiting a drench is repre- sented. It is the most simple and useful method. It only requires one person, who holds the tongue, places his thumb round the lower jaw, aud with his fingers causes the horse to open his mouth whilst the draught is poured out of the horn with the right hand. In cases of lock-jaw or tetanus, it is difficult to exhibit even fluid medicines to horses. There are two useful methods, how- ever, to accomplish this. The first is by the introduction of a tube into the esophagus through the mouth; and the second is by pouring or pumping the fluid through the nose. The objec- tions to the latter procedure are not so weighty as at first sight may appear, provided the fluid is a perfect solution, and poured down the inferior or posterior meatus with care. Qndly, The exhibition of drenches to the Ox. — The horn should always be used. The manner of holding the horn, of securing the animal, and giving the drench, is clearly repre- sented in Plate IV. The chief points to attend to are—a. not to irritate the animal; 6. always to attempt the operation from the right side; c. seize hold of the upper jaw by passing the left hand over the head; and bend the latter far round to the right; this simple contrivance very effectually tames or disarms even @ vicious bull, ox, or cow; d. the operator should stand well Digitized by Microsoft® INTRODUCTION. XXili with his back against the animal’s shoulder, propping himself up with the right leg; to do this the animal should, especially if awkward, be against a wall on its left side. I have known an incautious person to be severely bruised and thrown into the manger by proceeding up to the head of a cow, not getting full command of the animal, and presenting his back to its hind extremities, with which an ox can strike effectually forwards. Sometimes the organs of deglutition are paralysed in cattle, as in cases of parturient apoplexy; at other times there are foreign substances impacted in the cesophagus. With the view of displacing the foreign object in the one instance, and of in- troducing medicines in the fluid state in the stomach under any emergency, a hollow probang is used, precisely like the hollow tube of the enema-pump drawn at fig. 18, page xxxviii., with the - end drawn in 8 to it instead of the one a affixed, as shown in the drawing mentioned. The fluids may also be forced into the stomach by the pumping action of a syringe. The probang is guided through the centre of the mouth by a gag. We give the drawing of two forms. Fig. 7 is, in our opinion, the best. Fig. 7. The drawing is copied from one in Hering’s Operationslehre 3 and the advantage over the common gag is, that it is tied bya rope on to the mouth, and then, in virtue of its shape, it isa more com- Digitized by Microsoft® XXiV : INTRODUCTION. plete guide to the probang than the instrument represented at fig. 8. The latter is the common gag, to be held inthe animal’s mouth by an assistant, whilst the operator uses the probang. Fig. 8. As the first stomach of ruminantia is very capacious and lying flat against the left side of the belly ; moreover, as cattle are not very subject to peritonitis from punctured wounds of the abdomen, an expedient has been adopted of puncturing the stomach to evacuate it, or to introduce into it medicinal agents. The stomach is punctured by trochars, such as are represented by figs. 9and 10. The first has a cylindrical canula and stilet, the canula being somewhat less than a third of an inch in diameter, and three and-a-half inches in length. The one re- presented by fig. 10 is flattened, and the canula half-an-inch in its greatest width, and four and-a-half inches in length. These trochars are used in the following manner :—A spot is chosen Fig. 9. Fig. 10. midway between the last rib and antero-inferior spine of the ilium, and about eight or nine inches - below the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebre ; a small incision is made through the skin with a lancet or bistouri, and then the trochar is pushed with sufficient force and impulse at once to penetrate the abdomi- nal parietes and rumen. The accompanying engraving (fig. 11), copied from a woodcut in Hering’s Operationslehre, will show where the rumen is situated, and how Digitized by Microsoft® INTRODUCTION. XXV extensive the space is over which we may select the seat of puncture. Fig. 11.* I may mention that the canula is usually introduced into the “paunch to admit of the escape of gases in tympanitis, and which are not readily neutralised by substances given by the mouth. When the canula is in, neutralising agents and other medicines are poured through it. Sometimes the rumen is full of green food undergoing decomposition ; and it is expedient to make a broad incision through the abdominal wall and coats of the rumen, to evacuate the latter mechanically. This is effected by a bold incision with a knife, at least four inches long and one broad, with a stout handle; the knife is imbedded sharply at the point where we have recommended to introduce the trochar, * a, Last rib. e. The abdominal walls. b. Transverse processes of lumbar ff. Left sac of the rumen. ‘vertebra. g. h. Horns of uterus. ¢. Antero-inferior spine of theileum. 1. Left Fallopian tube. ' d, Hind extremity. a k. Left ovary. Digitized by Microsoft® XxVi INTRODUCTION. and then drawn downwards and outwards so as to make an in- cision at least five inches in length. The hand may then be introduced into the stomach, and the contents withdrawn, with due care that they are not allowed to enter the peritoneal cavity. 3dly, It is very easy to exhibit a drench to a sheep or goat, and needs no special description as for the horse and ox. Athly, To “drench” a pig, considerable care and a peculiar method must be adopted. One way consists in introducing a tolerably stout noose over the upper jaw, which is held firmly in the operator’s right hand ; the pig is held between the legs ; and an assistant may aid in securing him, whilst the mixture to be given is poured out of a bottle, so that it trickles down the cheek and is swallowed. If the fluid be poured in rapidly, as the pig is certain to scream, there is great danger that the fluid will pass into the trachea and suffocate the animal. Not un- frequently has a person, in giving medicine to a pig, observed it either suddenly or almost imperceptibly losing foot-hold, and dropping dead at his feet. A practice has been found to suc- Fig. 12. Fig. 18. ceed admirably, which has. led a @ me to have an instrument con- structed on the principle of the “ medical spoon.” The practice consists in taking an old shoe, cut- ting off the toe part of the upper leather, allowing the pig to suck the toe part of the sole whilst the fluid to be administered is poured into the shoe. In this way the pig absolutely sucks the mixture ; and there need be no apprehension of untoward consequences. The in- strument represented by the ac- companying drawings, 12 and 13, is constructed of tin. The body is covered with leather, and a vi Digitized by Microsoft® INTRODUCTION. xxvii tongue-shaped portion of varnished leather, which the pig is allowed to take into his mouth, is madé to project from the tin anteriorly. The medicine is introduced into the apparatus by the lower aperture before we commence the process of adminis- tration, and, by holding the thumb over the tube at the upper part, the flow of the liquid from the instrument is much checked. The length of the instrument over its convexity, measuring from extreme points, is 14°inches; the body is 9 inches in circum- ference at its broadest part; the tube is 4 inches in length, and two-thirds of an inch in diameter. 5thly, Dogs are often very troublesome if attempts be made to give them oleaginous or bitter mixtures. With syrups we have usually no difficulty ; and fluids of this description may be poured into the mouth readily. The most efficient way of per- forming the operation, according to my experience, is that of tying the dog’s mouth, causing the animal to be steadily held, and then drawing out the cheek, which acts as a funnel, into which fluids are poured. See Plate V., fig. 2. Sometimes a dog obstinately clenches his teeth Fig, 14. and will not swallow ; to obviate ——, this, a bit of wood is first intro- duced into the mouth, which is ' afterwards tied, as before men- tioned. Tying the dog’s mouth is of great advantage, for two reasons :—Firstly, any dog may be thus handled without fear of being bitten ; Secondly, the dog’ is unable to throw out the medi- cine as when his tongue and jaws are loose. Todo away with the strings and odd sticks, I have 2 had constructed the instrument drawn at fig. 14, which recom- mends itself on the score of simplicity, neatness, and thorough effectiveness. It is a figure-of-eight strap, with the anterior Digitized by Microsoft® XXVili : INTRODUCTION. narrow part crossed by a steel rod covered with leather, be- tween two and three inches in length. The buckle, a, is sufficient to tighten both the nose and collar band. The strap, 6, extends from the nose band to the collar, so as to prevent the former slipping, or being forced over the nose by the dog’s paws. 6thly, We are not often called upon to give fluids to cats ; but it is readily done by using an ordinary spoon, and pouring the fluid into the animal’s mouth. The best way.to secure the cat, for this and many other operations, is to hold him as represented in Plate VI. Grasp the hind legs above the hocks, between the little and ring finger ; the fore extremities above the elbows, between the median and index figures; and place the thumbs against the postero-lateral parts of the head at the base of the ears. In this way a cat can neither scratch nor bite, and very ordinary strength is sufficient to control the movements of a powerful animal. Injection of Fluids in the Veins and Transfusion of Blood. Medicinal agents may be introduced in solution in the veins. Water alone, if directly passed into the circulation, will pro- duce a marked impression on the system, and speedily purge, etc. Vegetable tinctures have been the remedies most fre- quently thus injected. The jugular vein, from its superficial position at the upper part of the neck, and being a large vein, is the most convenient one in all animals for the performance of the operation. In the horse and ox the vein is opened with a common fleam. The openings in the vein and skin must be made to correspond, and the liquid can then be injected with a syringe, or by intro- ducing into the vein a wooden or metallic tube, to which a bladder filled with the injection is attached. Colin has constructed a graduated glass syringe which indicates the quantity of fluid Digitized by Microsoft® INTRODUCTION. . Xxix passed into the vein, and, moreover, prevents the introduction of air. The best method of introducing remedies in the veins is probably by means of either of Fig. 15. Fig. 16. the instruments figured in the accompanying woodcuts, 15 and 16. Thefirstis knownas Helper’s Funnel, and its long narrow tube is well adapted for introduction in the jugular. A small whale- bone stick isused to plug thetube, so that, when the funnel is filled, the plug is withdrawn, until the liquid has almost completely - passed through. Difficulty is alone experienced in first intro- ducing the instrument into the vein. I+ should always be made to take the direction of the out- flowing stream of blood, and great errors have been committed, in performing experiments, by the tube of a syringe or funnel being introduced immediately be- neath the skin into the cellular tissue, and not into the vein at all. Fluids to be introduced in the circulation are generally in small quantities ; they should always be warmed to the tempera- ture of 98° Fahr., and all solid particles which may be floating in solutions should be avoided as much as possible, lest, by . obstructing the capillaries of the lungs, they should do harm. Transfusion of Blood.—It is likely that the transfusion of blood from a vigorous, healthy animal into the veins of a weak and sickly one, will be more practised than for the past. It occurred to the ancients, that the quantity and quality of blood in a weak system would most readily be beneficially modified by a direct introduction of healthy blood in the system. Many : c Digitized by Microsoft® , Xxx INTRODUCTION. experiments have been performed on the subject, and it has~- been discovered that the animals between which transfusion is effected need not be of the same species, and the blood of lambs and calves has replaced blood abstracted from men, with benefi- cial effect. : . The clotting of blood in its transfer from one animal to another has been the cause of great apprehension ; but, apart from the possibility of fixing a flexible tube on the vein of a healthy subject, and introducing the free end into the blood- vessels of the one requiring blood, so as to have an immediate flow without the slightest exposure of blood, it has been dis- covered, and the experiments of Dumas, Prevost, Dieffenbach, Polli, and others, show that if the fibrin be abstracted from blood by the process of flogging, the defibrinated fluid is as valuable as, and possesses all the revivifying properties of, blood unchanged.* “The injection of defibrinated blood may be performed as the injection of other fluids, as above described. Fig. 16 represents an instrument which Hering says he has used with advantage, no difficulty being experienced in the operation. With reference to the old process of immediately connecting the blood-vessels of a healthy and sickly subject, for the transfer of blood from the one to the other, we can quote the interesting observations of Mr James Farrell of Dublin, who has recently had success by adopting it with some modifications :— “ During the autumn of 1856 and spring of 1857, an epidemic prevailed in and about Dublin, indeed, I believe, all over Ireland, to a greater or less extent, which at its outset presented the leading features of influenza, but of a low typhoid character ; it . was much more prevalent along the eastern coast than on the western or the midland counties. In Dublin it was very fatal, and in most of the cases which I was called on to see, I found intense debility, which in some instances had come on within a few hours after the disease had first manifested itself. Horses * See Dr Woon’s Therapeutics and Pharmacology, vol. i. p. 199. Digitized by Microsoft® INTRODUCTION. Xxxi were seen to eat their food in the morning with every ap- pearance of health and good spirits, and before evening they were found resting against the side of their stables for support, so rapidly had debility followed the first symptoms of the dis- ease. “With all these cases the principal difficulty was to support the strength, watching, at the same time, closely the symptoms which manifested themselves as the case progressed. Sometimes the urinary organs became affected, and repeated evacuations caused the patient to sink rapidly. In others the bowels were involved, and to such an extent, as to resemble bad cases of cholera in the human subject ; but the worst forms of this disease that I witnessed were those in which the animals had been bled previously to my having seen them. With those cases which had not been bled, I had, in treating them, an average amount of success ; but in most of those that had, I am bound to admit I was by no means so fortunate. I found that everything I. could do to restore the vital powers was, in the majority of cases, useless, and, save in the instance of a few young, vigorous horses, collapse set in within a few hours after the abstraction of the blood. a, “T gave a fair trial to all the usual remedies. In cases where influenza had assumed a typhoid form, and in which the leading symptoms were a feeble, thready pulse, quick and laboured breathing, cold extremities, clammy mouth, drooping eyelids, utter prostration of strength, and, in short, the usual symptoms of collapse, especially such as had been reduced to this state by loss of blood, or by excessive purgation, I was generally unsuc- cessful. Discouraged by repeated failures, I determined to try the effect of ‘transfusion,’ believing it to be a not unnatural restorative, especially in cases where the improper abstraction of blood had superinduced the symptoms above alluded to. - “To enable me, therefore, to give this operation a fair trial, I commenced a series of experiments, so as to discover the simplest, safest, and most effectual method of conveying blood Digitized by Microsoft®. XXxii INTRODUCTION. from one animal into another. I first tried the transfusion syringe, which has been used by medical practitioners for this purpose; but, whether from want of skill in its use, or from de- fect in the instrument, which bad been recommended to me as one of the best, or from some other cause, I cannot tell, but certain it is, I was in no case as successful with it as I was with a more simple apparatus. I fancied that the blood lost much of its vitality by being exposed to atmospheric air, and also by its being forced and compressed within the cylinder of the instru- ment. These impressions as to the cause of failure induced me to undertake several experiments with a view to the construc- tion of an instrument which would fulfil the requisite indica- tions, viz., to allow the blood to pass freely from the vein of the healthy into that of the diseased subject without coming in con- tact with the atmospheric air, and without alteration of its temperature. I at length adopted an exceedingly simple apparatus, which I can describe in a few words. It consists of an India-rubber tube of some two and a-half feet long and three-eighths of an inch in diameter ; that is, about the calibre of the vein in the adult horse. This must first be turned inside out, and carefully cleansed of all sulphur, arsenic, or other matter used in vulcanizing. To either end of this I fitted a silver tube, curved somewhat like a syphon, so that the end, which is slightly rounded at the point, might be passed easily into the vein, both tubes being exactly the same. A narrow zine or tin trough is required to contain hot water, in which two-thirds of the tube should be immersed during the time that the blood is flowing. This completes the apparatus, and, being prepared, and the horses ready, held by assistants, the jugular vein of the healthy horse, from which the supply is to be taken, is to be opened, and into it one of the silver tubes to be carefully passed, point upwards, so as to receive the current of blood as it flows back from the head; the operator holding the other end, and, having previously opened the corresponding vein in the ae he should wait till the current is passing freely Digitized by Microsoft® INTRODUCTION. Y xxxili down the tube from the healthy horse, and then bring it in . contact with that which is now flowing slowly from the patient; he should pass the end of the tube carefully into the vein, point downwards, by which means the possibility of any air getting into the tube is avoided. The quantity to be transfused is readily ascertained by watching the expression of the eyes, and noting the pulse carefully. So long as there is no dilatation of the pupils, and so long as the heart’s action is not very much affected, the blood may be allowed to flow on uninterruptedly ; but as soon as the pupils become dilated, it is necessary to lessen the supply gradually, by compressing the tube with the finger and thumb. If the dilatation disappear after a minute or two, the blood may be again allowed to flow; but if the dilatation increase you must stop, or otherwise injurious conse- quences will result. In the cases of two animals which I pur- chased for the purpose of experiment, I purposely let the blood flow after the dilatation of the pupil had manifested itself, in order that I might see the result, and I found that the dilata- tion of the pupil increased; and in one of the cases, after winking both eyes three or four times in rapid succession, the horse reared up and fell back. In the other case, I forced the blood in from an India-rubber enema bottle; the pupils first became still more dilated, the breathing very quick and difficult, and the eyes assumed a wild, agonised look, and the animal, with a sudden bound forward, fell dead. I had my finger on the artery during the entire time, and observed a great unsteadi- ness and fluttering of the pulse, which increased in frequency until the instant before he fell. In the first of these cases I did not force the blood into the vein, but allowed it to flow until I perceived the injurious effects on the horse ; he tottered and fell, but in a short time.recovered, and was walked back to his stable ; he died in the course of the night, and on examining his head, I found considerable congestion of the brain. The tube which I used. will transfer about three quarts of blood in eight minutes ; at least I judge so from the fact, that when used as a syphon, it Digitized by Microsoft® XXxxiv INTRODUCTION. will pass three and-a-half quarts of water, and a little less of oil, from one vessel to another in that time. “In one of my successful cases, phlebitis supervened both in the healthy and diseased horse. I think I am correct-in saying that this disease is by no means so likely to occur in horses as in human beings, and is certainly not so formidable; but never- theless, I am quite sure that it may happen as a consequence of the operation if the instrument be not kept scrupulously clean, and also if great care be not taken in its introduction into the vein. Having, from these and other experiments, not neces- sary to detail, determined on the mode of operating most likely to be successful, I shall now proceed to state the result of four cases in which I have operated, and which I think I may look upon as having been followed with entire success. In three of the cases the patients had been bled a short time previous to my having seen them, and were so much weakened that they could scarcely walk. In the fourth case a drastic purgative had been administered, causing superpurgation and great prostration of strength. In each of the four cases the condition of the patient was so similar, that the description I have already given may answer for all. Having selected a healthy young horse from which to obtain the blood to be transfused, I opened the jugu- lar vein in the patient and in the healthy subject, and having inserted the tube, as before described, into the vein of the healthy horse, I placed the India-rubber tube in the tin trough containing the hot water to maintain its temperature, and the other curved tube into the descending portion of the vein in the patient. As soon as the current from the healthy horse had completely expelled all atmospheric air, the instru- ment being thus arranged, the blood flowed freely from the vein of one horse into that of the other in an unbroken current. The average quantity of blood transfused in each of these cases was about three quarts. I observed no particular symptoms to follow from the transfusion until two quarts or more had passed from the healthy to the diseased subject, but as soon as about Digitized by Microsoft® INTRODUCTION. : XXXV this quantity had flowed into the diseased subject, there ap- peared to be produced an amount of stimulation indicated by an increased action of the heart ; at the same time the pupils began to dilate, and the countenance evinced an anxious expression. My former experiments led me to watch with great care the progressive dilatation of the pupil, and I deemed it expedient in each case, when this symptom was well developed, to compress the tube, so as to diminish the current, and allow the transfu- - sion to proceed more gradually and slowly. Occasionally I almost completely interrupted the current until the subsidence of this symptom ; and I found that when about three quarts had been transfused, any additional quantity was followed by unpleasant symptoms, which indicated the necessity of stopping the operation. On removing the tube and closing the vein, all symptoms of irritation gradually subsided, and the pulse, from being rapid and irritable, became slower, stronger, and fuller, gradually approaching the healthy standard. “Tn each of these four cases the reaction was steady and pro- gressive. The natural warmth of the extremities was gradually restored, and in the course of ten or twelve hours the patients pre- sented other equally unmistakable symptoms of amendment, such as returning appetite, more quiet and steady respiration, cheer- fulness of countenance, and a willingness to move about; from this point there was a gradual improvement, and in a short time they were pronounced cured.”—Dublin Quarterly Journal of Medicine, Feb. 1858. Injection of Fluids into the Mouth and Stomach. We have before adverted to the occasional necessity of inject- ing fluids directly into the stomach of the horse, or of ruminants ; see page xxiii, We need only mention here, that sometimes fluids are syringed into the mouth to act as gargles, or as local applications to the buccal membrane or to the throat. The French Veterinarians adopt this method of gargling to a consider- able extent, but we rarely do, except in cases of eruption, or Digitized by Microsoft® XXXVI “INTRODUCTION. when the mucous membrane of the mouth has been injured by acrid or caustic agents, Injection of Fluids into the Nose. Fluids are sometimes poured into the nose that they may be swallowed; but, usually, the internal exhibition of remedies by the nose is effected by means of a stomach-pump with a long flexible tube, as represented in fig. 18. The practice is an objectionable one, but may, under certain circumstances, be - absolutely indispensable. The introduction of liquids in the nasal chambers to exert a curative influence on the schneiderian membrane, is a more common practice, and attended with much Fig. 17. good. The old method of performing this operation is simply to use a syringe, or to elevate the head and pour lotions, etc., into the nose. Professor Rey has adopted a very simple and satisfactory procedure. It consists in causing the fluid to rise in each nasal chamber by atmospheric pressure, and when the one division of the nose is thus filled, the liquid passes over the septum, and is seen to ~ flow out at the opposite nostril. In this way the liquid most effectually touches every part of the schneiderian membrane, and a mild solution of sulphate of zinc or copper, and other sedative, astringent, or antiseptic lotion, may be brought in contact with the sup- purating or ulcered surface. The instrument which Professor Rey employs for this purpose, and the advantages of which J have fully experienced in practice, is drawn at fig. 17. The long tube is fifteen inches in length, and one and-a-half inches in diameter, expanding and funnel- shaped above, where the broadest part is twoinches wide. The short arm is five inches in length, and the aperture two-thirds of Digitized by Microsoft® INTRODUCTION. XXxvVii an inch in diameter. Over the short arm is passed a closely- fitting leather ring, four and-a-half inches in diameter. This serves as the surface over which, and round the short arm, wet tow may be adapted, so that, on introducing the small tube in the nostril, the latter is compressed carefully on to the tow; at the same time fluid is poured into the funnel, and rises in the nasal chamber. If the horse’s head be bent in, and held as much as possible in a perpendicular position, the lotion will pass out at the opposite nostril. We sometimes have a little difficulty in performing this operation with awkward horses, but by quiet means I have always seen them accustomed to the operation. Some persons advocate twitching; occasionally the ear may be twitched; the animals sometimes require to be blindfolded, but at others it is best to let them see what is being done; and most frequently not the slightest trouble attends the injection. It is an invaluable method of using remedies in thé treatment of diseases of the nose. Injection of Fluids in the Rectum. A number of instruments have been constructed with a view to force fluids into the intestines of man and animals. The false notion has been acted on, that enema syringes or pumps are valuable in proportion to the force with which they will propel liquids into the intestinal tube. It has been said that by that means you overcome obstructions, and may even under other cir- cumstances carry nutritive fluids into the cecum, where they will be absorbed. As regards the end, desired by some, of propelling fluids far up in the alimentary canal, the pump drawn at fig. 18 is certainly the most convenient and effectual. The tapered wooden or metallic end of the tube is introduced into the rectum, the open end of the syringe is placed in a pail, and by pumping, from a peculiar arrangement of a ball at the nozzle of the syringe, the liquid is forced entirely through the flexible tube into the intestines. It is quite certain that, in practice, we find those instruments Digitized by Microsoft® XXXVili INTRODUCTION. most useful which admit fluids into the rectum without in- ordinate force, and, for this purpose, as I have before said, in the Highland Society's Transactions, the ordinary pewter syringe is an efficient instrument, objectionable, however, on account of its weight and bulk, and consequent inconvenience. A tolerable substitute, and one not liable to the same objection, is a bladder attached to a tube, such as represented in fig. 19. The tube is constantly made of wood—an objectionable material, because very subject to splitting in alternations of moisture and dryness, particularly so if the bore of the tube is of considerable size, as it should be to secure efficiency. A tinned copper tube is preferable, as combining lightness with strength ; block-tin would have the further advantage of cheapness, though at the sacrifice Digitized by Microsoft® INTRODUCTION. XXXix of a no less important consideration—durability. A much more efficient instrument is the one represented in fig. 20. It consists Fig. 20. of a straight metallic tube, 12 inches long, tapered and rounded off at one end, bent at a right angle at the opposite extremity, which supports a broad funnel about 6 inches deep, and 7 in its greatest diameter. The funnel need not be so large. In using this instrument, its extremity requires to be oiled before intro- duction into the rectum; so soon as this is effected, the fluid— water, with a little oil, is preferable—is poured into the funnel. Experience proves that no pumping force is required to inject fluid into the intestines, the effect of gravitation fulfilling the same purpose in a much more simple manner. As the fluid © from the funnel gravitates into the rectum, bubbles of gas escape; the action of the gut, thus mildly stimulated, continues until, with the repetition of the process at intervals of a quarter of an hour, the required evacuation is induced, with its attendant relief, In farm-houses, or every other establishment where large numbers of horses are kept, an instrument like the one described should be kept; made of block tin, it is light, cheap, and very durable,;—qualifications which, conjoined as they are with the utmost simplicity and thorough effectiveness, render the contrivance one of the most useful in relieving disease. It may not be uninteresting to mention that I first learned of the instrument from my father, who had seen it in use amongst the Digitized by Microsoft® xl INTRODUCTION. Ligurian peasants, and confirmed their praises of it in repeated experimental applications, and it is now on the basis of ex- perience that I have ventured to state the above decided opinion. , Injection of Fluids in the Urethra and Bladder. This operation, so simple in man, is much more difficult in the males of our domestic animals, either from the length or peculiar construction of the urethra. By means of a long, flexible catheter, the urinary bladder of the horse may be in- jected; but such an attempt must fail in the ox from the pecu- liar curve of the penis, which is represented in the subjoined woodcut. In the ox it is essential to make an opening into the urethra over its first curve g., see fig. 21, if we wish to inject the blad- der. The curves / and ¢ render it impossible to pass an instru- ment through the urethra, as in the horse. In the dog we ex- *a. Urinary bladder. vernous portion of the penis b. Ureter (divided). (removed). c. VWesicula seminales. g. First, d. d. Membranous or pelvic por- 4. Second, } Curves of penis. tion of the urethra. a, Third, e. Muscular coat of urethra‘ k, Anterior extremity of penis. f. Commencement of the ca 1. J. Retractus of the penis. Digitized by Microsoft® INTRODUCTION. xli perience some difficulty in injecting and in passing catheters, from the existence of the bone in the penis; the urethra firmly _ contracts when any object is pressed back beyond that portion of it lodged in the bonygroove. Persistent and not impulsive efforts will overcome the obstruction, and a catheter may thus be in- troduced in the bladder. III. Remedies in the Form of Gas or Vapour. It is not unusual to inclose animals in chambers and cause them to inhale gases, such as chlorine. The gas is then de- veloped within the chamber and allowed to fill it. The smoke from burning puff-ball may be admitted into a box, into which a dog or other animal is introduced, and the creature will soon - be narcotised. Very commonly horses are made to inhale water vapour by hanging on their heads nose-bags, containing moist bran or hay, to which may be added vinegar or other evaporating fluid. Ether and chloroform are used to render animals insensible, and various contrivances have been advocated to make them inhale effectually, so as speedily to get them under the influence of either agent. No method surpasses that of approaching a rag or sponge, saturated with ether or chloroform, to the nostrils, and confining the vapour by covering the hand of the operator and the animal’s nose with a cloth. . It should be remembered that animals cannot live if made to breathe pure chloroform, and it is an atmosphere highly charged with the anesthetic which it is advisable to cause them to inhale. Some operators have thought the best and most convenient plan to give chloro- form, is to introduce a sponge charged with chloroform in one’ nostril, keeping the opposite one free. This plan is attended with much inconvenience by irritating the schneiderian mem- brane, and sometimes suffocating the animal. Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPQ@IA VETERINARIA. Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® FAA MB. Mey E. ns ; ‘a YS ee OW ae = I aah & iS CO SORA, DW... iy ae Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® Aon EI a A ER eg amit weap eens a av Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® Py Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. a I. PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. PART I. REMEDIES FOR INTERNAL USE. —_e—. PERMANENT STIMULANTS. ASTRINGENTS. 1. Vegetable Astringents, ACIDUM ACETICUM. (See Sedatives.) ACIDUM GALLICUM. (Gallic Acid, from galls; crystals soluble in 100 parts of cold water.) Preparation. Galls in coarse powder, 1 1b.; distilled water, as much as may be necessary. Having placed the galls in a por- celain dish, pour on as much water as will convert them into a thick paste, and keep them in this moistened condition for six weeks, at a temperature of between 60° and 70°, adding water from time to time so as to supply what is lost by evaporation. Let the residue be boiled for twenty minutes with 44 oz. of water, and then placed on a calico filter. The filtered solution, on cooling, will afford a copious precipitate. Let this be drained on a calico filter, then subjected to strong expression, after having first been enveloped in blotting paper, and again dis- solved in 10 oz. of boiling water. When, on ceasing to apply heat, the solution has cooled down to 80°, pour it off from the crystals which have formed, and having washed these with 3 oz. of ice-cold water, dry them first on blotting paper, and B Digitized by Microsoft® Q VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. finally by a steam or water heat. By boiling the undissolved portion of the galls with 44 additional oz. of water, filtering into a capsule containing the liquor decanted from the crystals formed in the preceding process, evaporating down to the bulk of 10 oz. and cooling to 80°, an additional quantity of crys- tallized acid may be obtained.— Dose. Horse and ox,* 1 scr.—14 dr.; sheep and pig, 5— 15 gr.; dog and cat, 1—4 gr.; in form of pill or solution. Incompatibles. Persalts of iron and metallic salts generally. Mineral acids and vegetable alkaloids. ACIDUM TANNICUM. (Tannic Acid, from galls; very solu- ble in water.) Prep. Galls in tolerably fine powder, 8 oz.; sulphuric ether, 3 pints; distilled water, 5 0z. Incorporate the water and ether by agita- tion, and pour the resulting solution in successive portions on the galls previously introduced into a glass or porcelain perco- lator. The liquid which accumulates in the lower bottle will consist of two different strata, the heavier of which is to be separated and evaporated to dryness, finally applying an oven heat, which, however, should not exceed 212°. From the lighter liquid the ether may be recovered by distilling it by means of a water-bath and with the aid of a “Liebig’s Condenser.”—D. Dose. Horse and ox, 1 scr.—14 dr.; sheep and pig, 5—15 gr.; dog and cat, 1—4 er. Incomp. Soluble salts of iron. Manganese, lead, and copper; nitrates of mercury and silver; lime-water, car- bonates of potassa and ammonia; tartar emetic; mineral acids; vegetable alkaloids; colombo and digitalis; solu- tions of starch, albumen, and gelatine. CATECHU. (Acacia Catechu. Extract of the wood.) Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, $—14 dr; dog and cat, 10—20 gr. Form. Powder, mixture, bolus. Incomp. Same as Tannic Acid. 1. Inrusum CarecHu Composrtum. * To avoid unnecessary repetition in mentioning the doses of medicines, it may be stated, that the dose for the ass is usually somewhat smaller than that for the horse, while the goat may receive the same dose as is prescribed for the sheep. Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGEIA VETERINARIA. 3 Prep. Catechu, 4 drs.; cinnamon, 1 dr.; water, 20.0z. Macerate the catechu and cinnamon in the water in a tightly-covered vessel for two hours, and strain through linen or calico.—E. Dose. Horse and ox, 10 oz.—1 pint; sheep and pig, 2—5 oz.; dog and cat, 1—2 oz. 2. Tincrura CatecHu ARomatica. Prep. Catechu, 5 0z.; cinnamon, 24 0z.; proof'spirit, 40 oz. This tincture may be prepared by the process of percolation, the mixed powders being put into the percolator without having been previously moistened with the spirit. Dose and Form. Worse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, $—1 dr.; in chalk mixture or other liquids. CINCHONA. (See Tonics.) GALL. (Oak Galls. Gemme Morbide.) Form and Dose. Powder, horse, 4—6 dr.; ox, 1—2 oz; sheep and pig, 1 scr.—1 dr.; dog, 5—10 gr.; cat, 2—5 gr. 1. Decocrum GaLz. Prep. Galls, 24 02.; water, 2 pints; boil to 1 pint, and strain. Dose. Horse and ox, 6—10 0z.; sheep and pig, 1—2 oz.; dog and cat, 4—1 oz. 2. Tinctura GALLARUM. Prep. Galls, 5 0z.; proof spirit, 20 oz.; macerate for fourteen days, and filter. Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, }—1 dr. Incomp. See Tannic Acid. e KINO. (Indurated Juice of Pterocarpus Erinaceus. ) Form and Dose. Powder, horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 1 scr.—1 dr.; dog and cat, 2—4 gr. Incomp. Acids, alkalies, sulphate of iron. Trvcrura Kino. Prep. Kino, 5 0z.; rectified spirit, 40 oz.; macerate for seven days, and strain. It cannot be conveniently prepared by per- colation. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; cat and dog, }—1 dr., with chalk mixture. OPIUM. (See Cerebral Stimulants.) Digitized by Microsoft® 4 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. QUERCUS. (Q. Pedunculata. The Oak. The bark.) Form and Dose. Powder, horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 10—20 gr. DeEcoctum QUERCUS. Prep. Oak bark, 10 dr.; water,.40 0z.; reduce to 20 oz. by boil- ing, and strain.—L. & E. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 pints; sheep and pig, 4—6 oz.; dog and cat, 1—2 oz. 2. Mineral Astringents. ACIDUM SULPHURICUM DILUTUM. (Dilute Sulphu- ric Acid.) (See Tonics, Sedatives.) ALUMEN. (Alum, Sulphate of Alumina, and Potassa.) Comp. Sulphuric acid, sesquioxide of alumina, and pro- toxide of potass. Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 1 scr.— 1 dr.; dog and cat, 5—10 gr. form. Solution (in aromatic water; an ounce of water dis- solves 4 oz.), bolus, powder. Note. Alum whey; alum, 2 dr.; milk, 1 pint; boil and strain. Incomp. Alkalies and their carbonates, tartarate of potash, vegetable astringents. ARGENTI NITRAS. (Nitrate of Silver.) Comp. One part nitric acid, and one part protoxide of silver. (See Tonics.) BORAX. (Sode Biboras.) Comp. One equivalent of soda, two of boracic acid, and ten of water. Dose. Dog and cat, 10—20 gr. Meu. Boracis. Prep. Borax, 2 02.; honey, 4 0z.; mix. form. As a local application to mouth and throat. incomp. Metallic salts. CUPRI SULPHAS. (Sulphate of Copper.) Digitized by Microsoft® ‘PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 5 Comp. Sulphuric acid and protoxide of copper, of each one equivalent. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 dr. FERRUM. (Iron.) (See Tonics.) PLUMBI ACETAS. (Acetate of Lead.) Comp. Protoxide of lead and acetic acid, of each one equi- valent. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—3 scr.; sheep and pig, 5—10 gr.; dog and cat, 1—4 gr. Form. Bolus, with opium solution, with vinegar and dis- tilled water. Incomp. Sulphuric acid, sulphates, liq. amm. acetatis, etc. ZINCUM. 1. Aceras Zincr. (Acetate of Zinc.) : Comp. Protoxide of zinc and acetic acid, of each one equi- valent. Dose, Horse and ox, $—1 dr. 2. SuupHas Zincr. (Sulphate of Zinc.) (Tonics, Emetics.) Comp. Sulphuric acid and protoxide of zinc, of each one equivalent. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 dr.; sheep and pig, 1—3 gr. Much used externally. Incomp. Alkalies, alkaline earths, and their carbonates, soluble sulphates, and astringent vegetable infusions. TONICS. 1. Animal Tonic. OLEUM MORRHUZ. (Cod-Liver Oil.) Prep. The livers are placed in tubs with holes in the bottom, get on a firmly pressed layer of spruce boughs. The whole is exposed to the sun, and on putrefaction taking place, the oil runs out, and is received in vessels placed beneath. Or the livers are simply boiled down, and filtered through a bag con- taining sand. Recently the oil has been extracted by subject- ing the fresh livers to heat in a steam-bath. Dose and Form. Dog and cat, } oz. given in milk, gruel, or beaten up with an egg. Digitized by Microsoft® 6 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. 2. Vegetable Tonics. (1.) Pure Birrers, GENTIANA. (G. Lutea. The root.) Form and Dose. Powder, horse, 2—4 dr.; ox, $—I 02; sheep and pig, $—1 dr.; dog and cat, 5—10 gr. 1. Inrusum GENTIANEZ CoMPOSITUM. Prep. Gentian, 4 dr.; pimento, 2 dr.; water, 20 02.; infuse for four hours, and stim, Dose, Sheep and pig, 2—4 oz.; dog and cat, }—1 oz. 2, Exrractum Gentian. (Watery Extract.) * Prep. Take a convenient quantity of powdered gentian, mix it thoroughly with half its weight of distilled water; in twelve hours put it into a percolator, and exhaust it by percolation with temperate distilled water. Concentrate the liquid, filter it before it becomes too thick, and evaporate in the vapour- bath to a due consistence.—Z. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 dr.; sheep and pig, 1—2 ser.; dog and cat, 3—5 gr. QUASSIA. (Picrena Excelsa; Q. Excelsa. The wood.) Dose. Horse and ox, }—1 oz; sheep and pig, 4—2 dr; dog and cat, 5—10 gr. INFUSUM QUASSIZ. Prep. Quassia wood in chips, 2 oz.; boiling water, 2 quarts; macerate for two hours, and strain through linen or calico.—£. Dose, Horse and ox, 4—1 pint; sheep and pig, 2—3 0z.; dog and cat, 1—2 oz. (2.) Pecutrar Birrers, ABSINTHIUM. (Artemisia. A. Wormwood. The flowering summits. ) Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 10—20 gr. Incomp. Sulphates of iron and zine. ANTHEMIS. (A. Nobilis. Chamomile Flowers.) Form and Dose, Powder, horse and ox, 1—3 oz.; sheep and pig, 4—1 oz. Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA.. 7 1. Inrusum ANTHEMIDIS. Prep. Dry chamomile, 24 0z.; boiling water, 20 oz.; infuse for fifteen minutes in a covered vessel, and strain. Dose. Horse and ox, 10—20 oz.; sheep and Pig, 2—4 o2.; dog and cat, 1—2 oz 2. OLeum ANTHEMIDIS. (Volatile Oil.) Obtained by sub- mitting the flowérs to distillation with water. Dose. Dog and cat, 2—4 drops. CASCARILLA. (Croton Eleutheria. The bark.) Form and Dose. Powder, horse and ox, $—1 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, 10 gr.—f dr. 1. Inrusum CASCARIELE. Prep. Cascarilla, 1 0z.; boiling water, 20 oz.; macerate for two hours in a vessel tightly covered, and strain through linen or calico.—D. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 pints; sheep and pig, 2—4 oz.; dog and cat, 1—2 oz. 2. Tincrura CascaRILL&. Prep. Powdered cascarilla, 5 0z.; proof spirit, 20 oz.; prepared by percolation, or digest for fourteen days, and filter. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 2 dr.—} oz.; dog and cat, $—1 dr. CINCHONA FLAVA. (The Bark, C. Calisaya, C. Cordifolia.) CINCHONA PALLIDA. (C. Condaminea, C. Lancifolia.) CINCHONA RUBRA. (Species uncert., C. Oblongifolia.) Dose. Horse and ox, $—2 0z; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 1—2 ser. Inrusum CincHonz. Prep. Powdered cinchona, 4 0z.; boiling water, 20 oz.; macerate for four hours, and strain.—Z. Dose. Horse and ox, 1 pint; sheep and pig, 2—6 0z.; dog and cat, $—1 oz. Incomp. Lime water, tartar emetic, sulphates of zinc, and iron. QUINA DISULPHAS. (Sulphate of Quinine. Salt pre- pared from Cinchona Flava.) Prep. Take of yellow bark, in coarse powder, 1 Ib.; carbonate of soda, 8 oz.; sulphuric acid, half a fluid oz.; purified ani- Digitized by Microsoft® fo] Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr; VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. mal charcoal, 2dr. Boil the bark for an hour in 4 pints of water, in which half the carbonate of soda has been dissolved ; strain and express strongly through linen or calico; moisten the residuum with water, and express again, and repeat this twice. Boil the residuum for half an hour, with 4 pints of water, and half the sulphuric acid; strain, express strongly, moisten with water, and express again. Boil the residuum with 3 pints of water and a fourth part of the acid; strain, and squeeze as before. Boil again the residuum with the same quantity of water and acid; strain, and squeeze as formerly. Concentrate the whole acid liquors to about a pint; let the product cool; filter it, and dissolve in it the remainder of the carbonate of soda. Collect the impure quinia on a cloth; wash it slightly, and squeeze out the liquor with the hand. Break down the moist precipitate in a pint of distilled water ; add nearly 1 fluid scr. of sulphuric acid; heat it to 212°, and stir occasionally. Should any precipitate retain its grey colour, and the acid be neutral, add sulphuric acid drop by drop, stirring constantly till the grey colour disappears. Should the liquid redden litmus, neutralize it with a little carbonate of soda. Should crystals form on the surface, add boiling dis- tilled water to dissolve them; filter through paper, preserving the funnel hot; set the liquid aside to crystallize; collect and squeeze the crystals; dissolve them in a pint of distilled water heated to 212°; digest the solution for fifteen minutes with the animal charcoal ; filter and crystallize as before. Dry the crystals with a heat not exceeding 140°. The mother liquors of each crystallization will yield a little more salt by concentra- tion and cooling.—Z. Dose. Horse and ox, 20 gr.—2 ser.; sheep and pig, 5—10 | gr.; dog and cat, 1—3 gr. TINcTURA QuUIN& ComMposiTa. Prep. Q. disulph., 4 dr.; tinct. aurant., 16 0z.; acid sulphur. dilut., a sufficiency. ? dog and cat, 4 dr. (3.) AROMATICS, ANETHUM. (A. Graviolens. Dill. The fruit.) Dose. Horse and ox, }—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—3 dr.; dog and cat, 5—20 gr. Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA, 9 ANISUM. (A. Pimpinella. Anise. The fruit.) Dose. Horse and ox, }—2 oz; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 5—10 gr. 1. Oreum Anis. (Volatile Oil; prepared abroad by distil- lation.) Dose, ‘Horse and ox, }—] dr.; sheep and pig, 5—15 drops ; dog and cat, 1—6 drops. 2. Sprrirus ANIst. Prep. Oil of anise, 1 0z.; proof spirit, 16 0z.; dissolve. Dose. Worse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—4 dr.; dog and cat, 20 drops. AURANTIL CORTEX. (Citrus Bigaradia. Bitter Orange Tree. The peel.) Dose. Horse and ox, } 0z.; sheep and pig, 1 dr.; dog and cat, 15 gr. CARDAMOMUM. (C. Alpinia. The fruit.) Form and Dose. Powder, horse and ox, 2 dr.—1 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, 10—20 gr. TinctuRA CARDAMOMI ComPosITa. Prep. Cardamoms, carui seeds, ginger and cinnamon, of each 1 02.; sugar, 4°0z.; santal rubri, 4 oz.; proof spirit, 40 0z.; mix. Macerate for seven days; filter, and add the sugar. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz; sheep and pig, 4—1 oz.; dog and cat, 1—2 dr. CARUI. (Carum ©. Carraway. The fruit.) Form and Dose. Powder, horse and ox, 4—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 10 gr. CONFECTIO AROMATICA. Comp. 1 part each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and pimenta; 4 clove, + cardamoms in powder, 8 chalk, treacle, suffi- cient for electuary. Dose. Horse and ox, 4—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr,; dog and cat, 10 gr.—I dr. Form. In bolus or mixture. Incomp. Acids and metallic salts. Digitized by Microsoft® 10 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. CORIANDRUM. (C. Sativum. Coriander. The fruit.) Form and Dose. Powder, horse and ox, —1} oz; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 10 gr. FENICULUM. (F. Dulce. Fennel. The fruit.) Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz. sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 10 gr. Fanicutum Oteum. (Volatile Oil; prepared by distilla- tion.) Dose. Horse and ox, }—1 dr.; sheep and pig, 10—15 drops; dog and cat, 2—5 drops. , LAVANDULA OLEUM. (Oi of L. Vera. Lavender.) Dose. Horse and ox, 3—1 dr.; sheep and pig, 10—15 drops; dog and cat, 2—5 drops. MENTHA PIPERITA. (Peppermint. The whole herb.) ' Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 5—30 gr. 1. Oteum Mentoa Pirerira. (Volatile Oil of Pepper- mint. Dose. Horse and ox, 20—40 drops; sheep and pig, 5—8 drops; dog and cat, 3 drops. : 9. Aqua MEnTHa PIPERITS. Prep. Peppermint dried, 2 pounds; water, 2 gallons, distilled to 1 gallon, (£.); or oil of pepp., 2dr.; sugar, 40z.; magnes. carb., 40z.; water, 1 gal.; dissolve and filter. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 pints; sheep and pig, 2—5 oz.; dog and cat, 1—2 oz. PIMENTA. (Eugenia P. Allspice. The unripe fruit.) Dose. Horse and ox, }—1 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, 10 gr. AQqua PIMENTA. Prep. Pimenta, 1 pound; water, 2 gals., distil to 1 gall. (Z.); or by carefully rubbing up 2 dr. of the oil of pimenta with sugar, 4 oz; magnesia, 4 0z.; dissolve in a gallon of water, and filter. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 pints; sheep and pig, 4—10 oz.; dog and cat, 1—2 oz. A useful vehicle and a flavourer. Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOP@IA VETERINARIA, 11 PIPER LONGUM. (Long Pepper. The unripe fruit.) Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 1—2 ser.; dog and cat, 5—10 gr. PIPER NIGRUM. (Black Pepper. The unripe fruit.) Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 1—2 ser.; dog and cat, 5—10 gr. SINAPIS. (S. Nigra et Alba. Mustard seed.) Form. Mustard whey. (Bruised seeds or powder, } 0z.;— milk, 20 oz.; boil and strain.) Dose, Horse and ox, 1—2 pints; sheep and pig, 6—10 oz. ZINGIBER. (Z. Officinale. The rizome or root.) Form and Dose. Powder, horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 4—1 dr.; dog and cat, 10—30 gr. TINcCTURA ZINGIBERIS. Prep. Ginger, 5 0z.; rect. spirit, 40 oz.; prepare by percolation, (£.); or macerate for fourteen days, and strain.—D. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 10—20 drops. 3. Mineral Tonics. (1.) Minerat Tonics, ACTING DIRECTLY ON THE STOMACH AND Bowe Ls. ACIDUM HYDROCHLORICUM DILUTUM. (Dilute Muriatic Acid.) i Comp. Commercial hydrochloric acid, 1 part; water, 3 parts. Dose and Form. Horse and ox, 1 dr.—t oz.; sheep and pig, 20 drops—1 dr.; dog and cat, 5—15 drops in aque- ous fluids. Incomp. Alkalies, earths, etc.. (See Sedatives.) ACIDUM NITRICUM DILUTUM. (Dilute Nitric Acid.) Comp. Commercial nitric acid, 3 0z.; water, 17 oz. Dose. Horse and ox, 1 dr.—+ oz.; sheep and pig, 20 drops —1 dr.; dog and cat, 5—15 drops in water. Incomp. Earths and alkalies. Digitized by Microsoft® 12 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. ACIDUM SULPHURICUM DILUTUM. (Dilute Sulphu- ric Acid.) Comp. Commercial sulphuric acid, 15 dr.; water, 20 oz. Dose, Horse and ox, 1 dr.—} oz.; sheep and pig, 20 drops —1 dr.; dog and cat, 5—15 drops in water. Incomp. Earthy oxides, alkaline carbonates. (2.) Minera Tonics ACTING ON THE SYSTEM GENERALLY, THROUGH irs ViTaL PROPERTIES. ARGENTI NITRAS. (Nitrate of Silver. Lunar caustic.) Comp. 1 part of nitric acid, and 1 of protoxide of silver. Dose and Form. Horse and ox, 6—12 gr.; sheep and pig, 2—4 gr.; dog and cat, 1—4 gr., in bolus or solution. Incomp. Alkalies and alkaline earths, with their carbon- ates; sulphuric, muriatic, hydriodic, phosphoric, and tartaric acids, with their salts; astringent vegetable infusions, etc. ACIDUM ARSENIOSUM. (White Arsenic.) Comp.. Arsenicum, 1 part; oxygen, 3 parts. Dose. Horse and ox, 5—10 gr.; sheep and pig, 2—4 gr; dog and cat, 4;—,)y gr. Incomp. Acids, earths, bitter infusions, etc. 1, Liquor ARSENICI CHLORIDI. 2 Prep. Arsenious acid, $ dr.; hydrochloric acid, 14 dr.; water, 20 oz. Boil the acids in an ounce of water until they are dis- solved, and then add sufficient water to make a pint.— Pereira. Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 0z.; sheep and pig, 1—4 dr; dog and cat, 5—15 drops. An ounce contains 11 gv. of arsenious acid. 2, Liquor Porass# Arsenitis. (Liquor Arsenicalis, Fow- ler’s Solution. ) Prep. Arsenious acid, carb. of pot. 44 4 scr.; water, 200z. Boil with half-a-pint of the water until dissolved, then add sufficient water to make the whole up to a pint. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 4—3 dr; dog and cat, 3—10 drops. An ounce contains four grains of arsenic. Digitized by Microsoft® + PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA, 13 CUPRI SULPHAS. (Sulphate of Copper. Blue Vitriol.) Prep. One part of sulphuric acid, one of protoxide of copper, prepared by evaporating the water running from copper mines. Dose. Horse and ox, 1-2 dr.; sheep and pig, 6—20 gr.; dog and cat, 1—3 gr. Incomp. Alkalies and alkaline earths; sol. salts of lead, lime, and baryta; acetate of iron, bichloride of mercury, nitrate of silver, borax, and tannic acid. Cuprr Ammonio SuupHas. (C. Ammoniatum. Ammonio sulphate of copper.) Prep. Take sulphate of copper, 1 0z.; sesquicarbonate of am- monia, 1} 0z, Rub them together until carbonic acid ceases to evolve, and dry by wrapping in bibulous paper exposed to the air—L. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 dr.; sheep and pig, 6—20 gr.; dog and cat, 1—3 gr. ZINCUM. 1. Zincr Oxypum. (Flores Zinci.) Comp. An equivalent each of zinc and oxygen. Prep Dissolve separately in 12 pints of distilled water, 1 Ib. of sulphate of zinc, and 64 oz. sesquicarbonate of ammonia; strain and mix. Wash the precipitate frequently with water, and burn for two hours in a strong fire—L. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 dr.; dog, 4—8 dr. 2. Zinct CHLORIDUM. Prep. Dissolve zine in hydrochloric acid; evaporate to dryness, and fuse in a glass vessel with a narrow mouth.—Pereira. Dose. Horse an ox, 1—2 dr. 3, Zinct Sutpwas. (Sulphate of Zinc.) Comp. An equivalent each of oxide of zinc and sulphuric acid. Prep. Dissolve fragments of zinc in dilute sulphuric acid until a neutral liquid is obtained ; filter the solution, and concentrate until the salt will crystallize on cooling.—£. Dose. Worse and ox, 1—2 dr.; sheep and pig, 1—2 scr.; dog and cat, 2—3 gr. Freon Alkalies, alkaline earths and their carbonates; sol. salts of lead, lime, and baryta; sulphuretted hydro- gen; sol. sulphurets and tannic acid. Digitized by Microsoft® 14 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. (3.) Recoystructive MINERAL Tonics. FERRUM. 1. Ferri Sesquioxypum. (F. Oxydum. F. Carbonas, F. Subcarbonas. F. Rubigo.) Comp. 2 equivalents of iron to 3 of oxygen. Prep. Dissolve 4 oz. sulphate of iron in 4 pint of boiling water ; add 3% pints of cold water, then add 5 oz. carbonate of soda, dissolved in thrice its weight of water. Collect the precipitate on a calico filter; wash it with water until the water is but little affected by solution of nitrate of baryta, and dry it in the hot-air press, or over the vapour-bath.—#. Dose and Form. Horse and ox, +—1 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, 5—10 gr.; in bolus, or in honey, as an electuary, etc. . FERRI CARBONAS. Comp. One equivalent each of protoxide of iron and car- bonic acid, with about a fifth of the whole amount of sugar. Prep. Dissolve 4 oz. sulphate of iron, and 5 oz. carbonate of soda, separately, in four pints of water sweetened with sugar; mix the solutions in a bottle which they exactly fill. The precipi- tate of carbonate of iron thus formed is separated, washed with sweetened water, as much of the water as possible squeezed out, and the remaining pulp at once triturated with 2 oz. of pure sugar. The product must then be dried at a heat not much above 120°. Dose and Form. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, 4—10 gr., in bolus or electuary. 3. Ferri Sutpuas. (The Commercial Sulphate of Iron.) Comp. One equivalent each of protoxide of iron and sul- phuric acid. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 1—14 dr.; dog and cat, 4—10 gr. 4, Ferri Porassto-Tartaras. (F. Tartarisatum.) Prep. Take sesquioxide of iron, 3 0z.; hydrochloric acid, 4 pint ; solution of potass, 43 pints, or as much as sufficient ; bitartrate of potass, 114 0z.; solution of the sesquicarbonate of ammonia, 1 pint, or as much as sufficient; distilled water, a sufficiency; mix the sesquioxide of iron with the acid, and digest for two hours in a sand-bath. Add to these 2 gallons of water, and set Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 15 aside for an hour, then pour off the supernatant liquid. The solution of potass having been added, wash what is precipitated frequently with water, and while moist, boil it with the bitar- trate of potass, previously mixed with a gallon of the water. If the liquor should be acid when tried by litmus, pour into it a solution of sesquicarbonate of ammonia until it is saturated. Lastly, strain the liquor, and with a gentle heat let it evapo- rate so that the salt may remain dry. Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, 5—10 gr. 5. Vinum Ferri. ‘ Prep. Tron filings, $ 0z.; sherry, 20 oz; shake daily for a week. Dose. Dog and cat, 1—2 dr. DIFFUSIBLE STIMULANTS. l. Arterial Stimulants. AMMONIA (contains one equivalent of nitrogen to four of hydrogen.) 1. Ammonia Liquor. (1 Ammonia, 9 Water.) Sp. grav. 0.960. Prep. Take of muriate of ammonia, 13 0z.; quicklime, 13 oz; water, 74 0z.; distilled water, 12 fluid ounces. Slake the lime with the water; cover it up till it cool; triturate it well and quickly with the mutiate of ammonia previously in fine powder, and put the mixture into a glass retort to which is attached a receiver and safety-tube; connect with the receiver a bottle also provided with a safety-tube, and containing 4 oz. of the distilled water, but capable of holding twice as much; connect this bottle with another loosely corked, and containing the remaining 8 oz. of distilled water. The communicating tubes must descend to the bottom of the bottles at the further end from the retort, and the receiver and bottles must be kept cool by snow, ice, or a stream of cold water. Apply to the retort a gradually-increasing heat till gas ceases to be evolved ; re- move the retort; cork up the aperture in the receiver where it was connected with the retort, and apply to the receiver a gentle and gradually-increasing heat, to drive over as much of the gas in the liquid contained, but as little of the water as possible. Digitized by Microsoft® 16 bo oO VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. Should the liquid in the last bottle not have the density of 0.960, reduce it with some of the stronger aqua ammonia in the first bottle, or raise it with distilled water so as to form aqua ammoniz of the prescribed density.—Z. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz; sheep and pig, 1—3 dr.; dog and cat, 10—15 drops. . Ammonrz Liquor Forrior. (1 Ammonia, 3 Water— nearly.) Sp. grav., 0.882. Dose. Horse and ox, 4—1 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, 5—10 drops. . Ammonrz SEsquicarponas. (Hartshorn Salt. Sal. Vo- latile.) Comp. 2 equivalents of ammonia, 3 of carbonic acid, and 2 of water. Prep. Take of sal. ammonia, 1 lb.; chalk, 14 Ib.; reduce them separately to fine powder ; mix them thoroughly, and subject the mixture in a retort, with a proper receiver, to a gradually- increasing heat, as long as any vapours sublime.—E. Dose and Form. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 4—1 dr.; dog and cat, 3—5 gr.; in bolus or cold gruel. . Liquor AmMMoNL= SESQUICARBONATIS. Prep. Sesquicar. of ammonia, 1 02.; water, 5 oz.; dissolve and filter. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—3 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 10—20 drops in water. . Spiritus AMMONLE AROMATICUS. Prep. Muriate of ammonia, 5 oz.; carbonate of potass, 8 0z.; cinnamon bruised, cloves bruised, each 2 dr.; lemon peel, 4 02.; rectified spirit and water, of each 4 pints. Mix them, and let 6 pints distil. Dose. Horse and ox, 4—1 0z.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr; dog and cat, 10—20 drops in water. . SPIRITUS AMMONLE Faripvs. Comp. Same as last, but with } oz. assafcetide in place of cinnamon, etc. CAPSICUM (C. Fastigiatum, Cayenne Pepper. The fruit.) Form and Dose. Powder, horse and ox, 1—2 scr.; sheep and pig, 5—10 gr.; dog and cat, 2—5 gr., in bolus. Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA, 17 TincturA Capsict. Prep. Caps., 10 dr.; spirit, 20 oz. Digest for seven days, strain squeeze, and filter the liquors. It is better preparéd by perco- lation, which may be commenced as soon as the capsicum has been made into pulp with a little of the spirit—Z. Dose. Horse and dog, 3—1 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—4 dr.; dog and cat, 20 drops—1 dr. OLEUM TEREBINTHINA. (Volatile Oil of Turpentine.) Prep. It is got by distilling American turpentine along with water. It is further rectified by redistillation with water. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 30 drops—1 dr. * 2. Nervous Stimulants. ARNICA. (Arnica Montana. Flowers in powder.) Dose. Horse and ox, —1 0z.; sheep and pigs, 1—2 dr. ; dog and cat, 5—30 er. Form. In bolus, electuary, or gruel. ” Arnica Inrusum. Comp. Arnica, 2 0z.; boiling water, 1 pint. Dose. Horse and ox, 4—1 pint. ASSAFCITIDA. (Gum Resin of A. Ferula.) Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 dr.; sheep and pig, 20—30 gr.; dog and cat, 5 gr. Form. In pill or emulsion; in water as enema. 1. Tinctura ASSAF@TIDz. ' Prep. Assafcetida, 24 0oz.; rectified spirit, 20 oz. Macerate 14 days, and strain. Is not readily prepared by percolation.—£. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 0z.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 1—2 dr. 2. Spiritus Ammoni# Forres. : Comp. Same as No. 6 in preceding page. Dose. Horse and ox, }—1 oz; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr; dog and cat, 20 drops—1 dr. VALERIANA. (Root of V. Officinalis.) Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, }—1 oz; dog and cat, 1—2 dr. In the cat, it is recommended in doses of 1 scr. c Digitized by Microsoft® 1s VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. TINcTURA VALERIAN CoMPOSITA. Prep. Valerian, 24 0z.; aromatic spirit of ammonia, 20 oz. Ma- cerate 14 days and filter, or proceed by percolation. Dose. Horse and ox, 4—1 0z.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 20 drops. 3. Cerebral Stimulants. AITHER. (Aéther Sulphuricus.) Prep. Take of rectified spirit, 50 fluid oz.; sulphuric acid, 10 fluid oz. Pour 12 fluid oz. of the spirit gently over the sul- phuric acid contained in an open vessel, and stir briskly and thoroughly. Transfer the mixture immediately to a glass mattrass connected with a refrigeratory, and raise the heat quickly to about 280°. As soon as the ztherial fluid begins to distil over, supply fresh spirit through a tube into the mattrass in a continuous stream, and in such quantity as to equal that of the fluid which distils over. This is best accomplished by connecting one end of the tube with a graduated vessel con- taining the spirit, passing the other end of the tube through a cork fitted into the mattrass—and having a stop-cock on the tube to regulate the discharge. When 42 oz. have distilled over, and the whole spirit has been added, the process may be stopped. Agitate the impure ether with 16 fluid oz. of a saturated solution of muriate of lime, containing about half an ounce of lime recently slaked. When all odour of sulphurous acid has been thus removed, pour off the supernatant liquid, and distil it with a very gentle heat, so long as the liquid pass- ing over has a density not above 0°735. More ether of the same strength is then to be obtained from the solution of tmuriate of lime. From the residuum of both distillations a weaker cether may be obtained in small quantity, which must be rectified by distilling it gently again —Z, Dose and Form. Horse and ox, 4—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—4 dr.; dog and cat, 20 drops—I dr.; in cold fluid. Spiritus AitHERis Compositus. (Hoffman’s Anodyne.) Comp. AXther, 8 oz.; rectified spirit, 16 oz.; etherial oil, 3 dr.; mix. Dose and Form. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, $dr.; in cold fluids. Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPG@IA VETERINARIA. 19 ALCOHOL. (Sp. grav. 0:815.) Prep. Rectified spirit, 1 pint; lime well burned, 18 0z. Break down the lime into small fragments, expose the spirit and lime together to a gentle heat in a glass mattrass, till the lime begins to slake ; withdraw the heat till the slaking is finished, keeping the upper part of the mattrass cool with damp cloths. Then attach a proper refrigeratory, and with a gentle heat distil off 17 fluid ounces. The density of this alcohol should not exceed 0°796; if higher, the distillation must have been begun before the slaking of the lime was finished.—E. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, 4 dr. 1. Sprerrvs Recriricatus. (Rectified Spirit. Diluted Alco- hol.) Sp. grav. 0-838. Comp. 8 alcohol, 1 water. In its preparation ardent spirits are repeatedly distilled in connection with car- bonate of potass. Dose. Horse, and ox, 2—4 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 1—2 dr. 2. Sprrirus Tenvuror. (Alcohol still more diluted. Proof Spirit.) Sp. grav. 0.920. Comp. Rectified spirit, 5; water, 3; commonly prepared by diluting rectified spirit. Dose. Horse and ox, 2—8 oz.; sheep and pig, 4. dr.—I1 0z.; dog and cat, 2—4 dr. BELLADONNA. (Atropa B. Deadly Nightshade. The leaves.) Dose. Horse and ox, $—1 oz.; dog and cat, 2—5 gr. 1. Exrracrum Bettaponnaz. (The Inspissated Juice.) Prep. Express and filter the juice, then evaporate in the vapour- bath to the consistence of a firm extract, stirring constantly towards the close.—E. Dose. Worse and ox, 2-4 dr.; sheep and pig, $—1 dr.; dog and cat, 1—2 gr. 2. Emptastrum Bettaporna. (See Part IT.) ATROPIA. (Crystallized Alkaline Salt, from the roots of - Atropa Belladonne.) Prep. To a decoction of the leaves, add a little concentrated sulphuric acid, which precipitates the albumen, and forms - Digitized by Microsoft® ay VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. sulphate of atropia; then having drawn off the clear liquid, add ammonia to precipitate the alkali. After a day or two, draw off the clear liquid, and place the crystals on a filter to dry; these, after being washed with a little spirit of ammonia, are moderately white. Dose and Form. Horse and ox, 1—2 gr.; dog and cat, a5 gr.; in solution. CAMPHORA. (Laurus C. A peculiar concrete.) Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 dr.; sheep and pig, 10 gr.—1l ser.; dog and cat, 3—5 gr. 5 CANNABIS INDICA. (Indian Hemp. The tops or resin.) Dose. Horse, 1 ser.—1 dr. Exrractum Cannasis Inpica. Prep. Boil 1 oz. of the tops in 4 oz, spirit, and evaporate to the desired consistence. Dose. Same as above. HYOSCYAMUS. (H. Niger. Henbane. The leaves.) 1. Extracrum Hyoscyami (Inspissated Juice.) Prep. Bruise the fresh leaves with a little water in a mortar; press out the juice, and evaporate to the desired consistence. Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, }—1 dr.; dog and cat, 5—10 gr. 2. Trvctura Hyoscyamt. Prep. Henbane, in fine powder, 24 0z.; proof spirit, 20 oz.; moisten the leaves with a little spirit, and proceed by percola- tion.—E. Dose. Dog and cat, 40—50 drops. ‘OPIUM. (Papaver Somniferum. The concrete juice of the unripe capsules. ) Dose. a. horse, 1—2 dr.; ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 10—40 gr.; dog and cat, 4—3 gr. 1. Exrracrum Opi. (Watery Extract, ird or ith more active than opium.) Prep. Add a little water to the opium, and leave 12 hours to soften; add more water, so as to make a pint to every 2 oz. of opium; rub them until well mixed; set by, that the dregs . Digitized by Microsoft® — = PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 2) may subside; afterwards strain and evaporate to a proper: consistence. This process may be repeated other four times.—E. Dose. Horse and ox, 1 scr.—2 dr.; sheep and pig, 5—30: gr.; dog and cat, 3—3 er. 2. Tincrvra Opt. one Prep. Opium, 14 0z.; proof spirit, 20 oz. (19 m.—1 gr.); macerate 7 days and filter—L. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—4 dr.; dog and cat, 15—30 drops. 3. Linimenrum Oru. (See Part II.) SPIRITUS AATHERIS NITRICI. Prep. Take of rect. spirit, 46 fluid oz.; pure nitric acid (density 1500), 7 fluid oz. Put 15 fluid oz. of the spirit, with a little clean sand, into a two-pint mattrass, fitted with a cork, through which are passed a safety tube terminating an inch above the spirit, and another tube leading to a refrigeratory. The safety tube being filled with pure nitric acid, add through it gradually 3% fluid oz. of the acid. When the ebullition which slowly arises, is nearly over, add the rest of the acid gradually, 4 fluid oz. at a time, waiting until the ebullition caused by each portion is nearly over before adding more, and cooling the refrigeratory with a stream of water iced in summer. The ether thus dis- tilled over being received in a bottle, is to be agitated first with a little milk of lime till it ceases to redden litmus paper, and then with half its volume of concentrated muriate of lime. The pure hyponitrous ether thus obtained should have a den- sity of 0'899. To this the remaining 31 fiuid oz. of the spirit is added, which reduces the density to 0°847. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, 10 gr.—l dr. VINUM XERCICUM. (Sherry Wine.) Dose. Horse and ox, 4—1 pint. Note. Various wines are useful stimulants. Their place is well supplied by Brandy, etc. 4, Spinal Stimulants. NUX VOMICA. (Strychnos Nux Vomica. The fruit.) Dose. Horse and ox, 20—40 gr.; sheep and pig, 5—16 gr dog and cat, 2 gr. y Digitized by Microsoft® 22 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. Exrractum Nucis Vomice. Comp. Nux vomica, 8 0z.; proof spirit, 3 pints. Prep. Expose the seeds to steam in a proper vessel until softened; slice, dry, and grind them in a coffee-mill. Exhaust the powder by percolating it with rect. spirit, until the latter comes off free from bitterness. Distil off the greater part of the spirit, and evaporate what remains in a vapour-bath to a proper con- sistence.—E. Dose. Horse and ox, 10—20 gr.; sheep and pig, 1—2 gr.; dog and cat, }—4 gr. Form. In pill or bolus. STRYCHNIA. (Crystalline Alkaloid of Nux Vomica.) Prep. Take of nux vomica, 1 Ib.; quicklime, 14 0z.; rectified spirit, a sufficiency. Subject the nux vomica for two hours to the vapour of steam, chop or slice it, dry it thoroughly in the vapour-bath or hot-air, and immediately grind it in a coffee- mill. Macerate for twelve hours in two pints of water, and boil it. Strain through linen or calico, and squeeze the residuum ; repeat the maceration and decoction twice with a pint and a half of water. Concentrate the decoction to the consistency of a thin syrup; add the lime in the form of milk of lime; dry the precipitate in the vapour-bath; pulverize it, and boil it with successive portions of rectified spirit, until the latter cease to acquire a bitter taste. Distil off the spirit until the residuum is sufficiently concentrated to crystallize on cooling. Purify the crystals by repeated crystallizations.—E. Dose and Form. Horse and ox, 1—3 gr.; dog, s,— gr. In bolus or acidified solution. GENERAL SEDATIVES. 1. Arterial Sedatives, or Refrigerants. ACETUM. (A. Britannicum. Common Vinegar.) Prep. By keeping ales, etc, in a heated room exposed to the air, till they undergo acetous fermentation. Acetum Disrittatum. (Distilled Vinegar.) Dose. Horse and ox, 1—4 0z.; sheep and pig, 2 dr.—1 oz; dog and cat, 1—2 dr. Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 23 ACIDUM ACETICUM. From Wood. Seven times stronger than Distilled Vinegar. ) Prep. The wood is distilled in a retort, and the products are received into a reservoir beneath, "The liquid portion is redistilled with milk of lime, evaporated to dryness; again dissolved, and sulphuric acid added, when an impure acetic acid is obtained. Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, $—14 dr.; dog and cat, 3—6 drops. ACIDUM CITRICUM. (Solid Salt of Lemons.) Prep. Lemon juice, 4 pints; prepared chalk, 4} oz; diluted sulphuric acid, 27 fluid oz.; distilled water, 2 pints. Boil the lemon juice twice, and the second time add the chalk; set aside to allow precipitation; pour off the supernatant liquor, wash the precipitate frequently with warm water, and add the sulphuric acid and water. Test the liquor by nitrate of baryta, and if the resulting precipitate is not nearly all soluble in nitric acid, add more citrate of lime to neutralize the excess of sulphuric acid. It may then be boiled for a quarter of an hour, pressed, and strained through linen, evaporated at a gentle heat, and set aside to crystallize the solution; straining and crystallization must be several times repeated in order to purify it.—_Z, Dose and Form. Dog,5—165 gr.; diluted in water with sugar. Incomp. Acids and alkalies. Note.—The following quantities of alkaline carbonates are required to saturate a scruple of acid:—Pot. bicarb., 29 gr.; pot. carb., 24 gr.; ammon. sesquic., 17 gr.; sode carb., 41 gr.; soda sesquic., 24 gr.—Pereira, ACIDUM HYDROCHLORICUM DILUTUM. (See Tonics.) ACIDUM NITRICUM DILUTUM. (See Tonics.) ACIDUM SULPHURICUM. (See Tonics.) AMMONIA. Liquor Ammon1® ACETATIS. Comp. Ammon. sesquicarb., as much as is sufficient; pyro- ligneous acid., 20 oz, (A saturated solution.) Dose. Worse and ox, 2—4 oz.; sheep and pig, $—1 0z.; dog and cat, 1—4 dr. Incomp. Acids and alkalies. Digitized by Microsoft® 24 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. ANTIMONIO POTASSIO TARTRAS. Prep. Sulphuret of antimony, 4 0z.; commercial muriatic acid, 1 pint; water, 5 pints. Dissolve the sulphuret in the acid with the aid of a gentle heat, boil for half an hour, filter, pour the liquid into the water; collect the precipitate on a calico filter; wash it with cold water till the water ceases to redden litmus paper; dry the precipitate over the vapour-bath. Take of this precipitate 3 oz.; bitartrate of potass, 4 oz. 2 dr.; water, 27 fluid oz. Mix the powders, add the water, boil for an hour, filter, and set the liquid aside to crystallize. The mother liquor, when concentrated, will yield more crystals, but not so free of colour, and therefore requiring a second crystallization. —E. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, },—4 gr. Incomp. Bitter and astringent infusions, the acids, the alkalies, and their carbonates; most earths and metallic ‘oxides. POTASSA BITARTRAS. (Cream of Tartar.) Prep. Deposited on the inner surface of’ wine-casks during vinous fermentation. This, which is impure, is repeatedly dissolved in boiling water, and treated with charcoal and alumina, to remove the colouring matters. Dose and Form. Horse and ox, 1—2 0z.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 4—2 dr.; in the water the animals drink. POTASSA CARBONAS. Prep. It is obtained from the ashes of land plants by lixiviating with lime, evaporating to the consistency of brown sugar, heat- ing again to solution, and allowing to cool. The pure carbon- ate may be obtained by heating the impure pearl-ashes to red- ness in a crucible; or more cheaply by dissolving bitartrate of potass in boiling water, separating and washing the crystals which form on cooling; heating to redness in a loosely covered crucible so long as fumes are discharged, breaking down and roasting two hours in an open crucible with occasional stirring; lixiviating with distilled water, filtering, evaporating to dry- ness, granulating the mass towards its close by agitation, and heating the granular salt almost to redness.—E. Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, }—1 dr.; dog and cat, 5—30 gr. Liquor Potass# CaRBonatis. (See Antacids.) Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 25 POTASSA BICARBONAS., Dose. Same as the carbonate. POTASS NITRAS. (Nitre.) Prep. Found native in the soil in the East Indies, from which it is dissolved and purified by repeated solutions and crystalliza- tions. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 10—30 gr.; dog and cat, 2—8 gr. Incomp. Sulphuric acid and alkaline sulphates. SODA. 1. Sopa CaRBonas. 2. Sop# Bicarponas. Dose. Same as potasse carbonas. (Antacids.) 2. Nervous Sedatives. ACONITI FOLIUM. (A. Napellus. Wolfsbane. The leaves.) Dose of the Powder. Horse and ox, 1—4 dr. ACONITI RADIX. (A. Napellus. The root.) TincturA ACONITI. Prep. Aconite, 16 0z.; rect. spirit, 16 fluid oz. Macerate four days, then pack into a percolator, and add spirit until 24 fluid oz. of tincture are obtained.— Fleming. Dose and, Form. Torse and ox, 10—20 drops; dog and cat, 1—2 drops; in diluted spirit. DIGITALIS. (See Diuretics.) TABACUM. (Leaves of Nicotiana Tabacum.) Dose. Horse and ox, 2—3 dr.; dogs, 5—6 gr. VERATRIA. (Alkaloid of: the seeds of Asagre Officinalis or Cevadilla. ) Prep. Take any convenient quantity of cevadille; pour boiling water over it in a covered vessel, and let it macerate for 24 hours; remove the cevadilla, squeeze it, and dry thoroughly Digitized by Microsoft® 26 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. with a gentle heat, Beat it now in a mortar, and separate the seeds from the capsules by brisk agitation in a deep, narrow vessel, grind the seeds in a coffee mill, and form them into a thick paste with rectified spirit. Pack this firmly in a perco- lator, and pass rect. spirit through it until the spirit ceases to be coloured. Concentrate the spirituous solution by distilla- tion, so long as no deposit forms, and pour the residue while hot into twelve times its volume of cold water. Filter and wash the residue on the filter so long as the washings precipi- tate with ammonia. Unite the filtered liquid with the wash- ings, and add an ounce of ammonia. Collect the precipitate on a filter, wash it slightly with cold water, and dry it first by im- bibition with filtering paper, and then in the vapour-bath. A small additional quantity may be got by concentrating the filtered ammonial fluid, and allowing it to cool —E. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—3 gr.; dog and cat, 73—yg gr. VERATRUM. (V. Album. White Hellebore. The root.) Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 ser.; dog, 2 grs. of the powder. 3. Cerebral Sedatives. ACIDUM HYDROCYANICUM DILUTUM. Comp. Pure hydrocyanic acid and water. Prep. Take ferrocyanide of potassium, 3 0z.; sulphuric acid, 6 fluid 0z.; water, 16 fluid oz. Dissolve the salt in 11 fluid oz. of the water, and put the solution into a mattrass, add the acid; previously diluted with 5 fluid oz. of the water, and allowed to cool; connect the mattrass with a proper refrigeratory, distil with a gentle heat, by means of a sand-bath or naked gas flame, till 14 oz, pass over, or till the residuum begins to froth up. Dilute the product with water till it measures 16 fluid oz.—E. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 ser.; sheep and pig, 5—10 drops; dog and cat, 2—5 drops. Incomp. Metallic oxides and carbonates. CHLOROFORMYL. (Chloroform.) Prep. Take one part by measure of methylated spirit and twelve parts of bleaching powder, make these up to the consistence of cream by the addition of water, and distil in a roomy retort ‘ Digitized by Microsoft®~ . , PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. ik ' with refrigerator and receiver attached. The product, which distils over rapidly at first, collects in the receiver in two dif- ferent strata, the upper consisting of weak spirit, which may be preserved for future operations, the lower being impure chloroform. The chloroform is agitated with half its weight of pure sulphuric acid, and immediately distilled. The product is treated with quicklime to remove all traces of the acid, decanted off, and again distilled. Form. Inhaled. Externally applied, pure, or mixed with olive oil. \ CONIUM. (C. Maculatum. Hemlock. The leaves.) Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz. 1. Tincrura Contr. Prep. Hemlock, 5 oz.; proof spirit, 20 oz.; macerate for 14 days and strain. —L. Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 oz. 2. Exrracrum Conu. (The inspissated juice. Often inert.) Prep, Express the juice, and evaporate to a firm extract. Dose. Dog and cat, 2—5 gr. Incomp. Tannic acid. ALTERATIVES. ANTIMONIUM. Aytimonu TER-SuLpHuRETUM. (Black or Crude Anti- mony.) Found native in Saxony. Purified by boiling with potass in water, straining, precipitating the hydro-sulphuret of anti- mony by sulphuric acid; separating the sulphate of potass by washing with water and drying the residue. Dose. Worse and ox, 2—4 dr. . ARSENIC. (See Tonics.) BROMINE. Obtained from sea water, etc. by saturating with chlorine gas to separate it from its base, adding ether to dissolve out the bromine, and separating it from the «ther by adding caustic potass, which forms with it bromine of potassium. Digitized by Microsoft® ‘ 28 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. Potass# Bromipum. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 dr.; sheep and pig, 1 ser.—1 dr.; dog and cat, 5—10 gr. HYDRARGYRUM. (Mercury.) (See Purgatives.) 1. Hyprarcyrum cum CRETa. Prep. 3 parts of mercury; 5 parts of chalk. Triturate together until the globules disappear. / Dose. Calves, 10—15 gr.; dog, 5—10 gr. 2. Prruta HyprareyRi. Prep. 2 parts of mercury; 3 of confect. roses; 1 of liquorice. Beat together the mercury and conserve of roses until no globules can be detected, add the liquorice, and beat the whole into a uniform mass.—E. Dose. Horse and ox, $—1 dr. 3. Hyprareyri CuLoripum. (Calomel.) Comp. An equivalent each of mercury and chlorine. Prep. Take mercury, 8 0z.; sulphuric acid (commercial), 19 dr.; pure nitric acid, 4 fluid oz.; muriate of soda, 3 oz. Mix the acids, add four ounces of the mercury, and dissolve it with the aid of a gentle heat. Raise the heat so as to obtain a dry salt. Triturate this with the chloride of sodium, and the rest of the mercury, till the globules entirely disappear. Heat the mixture by means of a sand-bath, in a proper subliming apparatus. Reduce the sublimate to fine powder, wash the powder with boiling distilled water, until the water ceases to precipitate with solution of iodide of potassium, and then dry it.— EH. Dose. Horse and ox, 10 gr.—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 5—10 gr.; dog and cat, $—2 gr. 4, Hyprareyri Bicuitormpum. (Corrosive Sublimate.) Comp. One equivalent of mercury to two of chlorine. Prep. Mercury, 4 0z.; sulphuric acid, 19 dr.; pure nitric acid, % 0z.; chloride of sodium, 3 0z. Mix the acids, add the mercury, dissolve with the aid of a moderate heat, and then raise the heat so as to obtain a dry salt. Triturate this thoroughly with ‘ chloride of sodium, and sublime in a proper apparatus.—E. Dose, Horse and ox, 3—6 gr. 5. Liquor Hyprareyri BicHLorIpi. Comp. Bichlor. of mere., hydrochlorate of ammonia, of each 20 gr.; water, 20 0z.; dissolve. Dose. Horse and ox, 2—6 oz.; sheep and pig, 1 dr.—1 oz. Digitized by Microsoft® ~ PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 29 6. Hyprareyri Lopipum. Comp. 8 parts of mercury to 5 of iodine. Prep. Rub the mercury and iodine together with a little alcohol, until the globules are no longer visible. Dry the powder immediately with a gentle heat without the access of light, and keep in a well-stopped vessel.—L. Dose and Form. Worse and ox, 1—1} dr.; made into a ball with common mass. 7. Hyprarcyri BisutpHuretum. (Cinnabar, Red Sulphuret.) Prep. Mercury, 2 lbs.; sulphur, 5 oz. Melt the sulphur, add the mercury, and continue the heat until the mixture begins to swellup. Then remove the vessel, and cover it closely, to pre- vent it taking fire. When the mass is cold, reduce it to powder : and sublime it.—L. & E. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 dr. 8. Hyprareyri Nirrict Oxypum. (Red Precipitate). (See Part IT.) 9. Uneventum Hyprareyri. (See Part IT.) 10. Uneventum Hyprareyri Nirratis. (See Part IT.) 11. Uneventum Hyprareyri Nirrico-Oxypr. (See Part II.) 12. Unecuentum Hyprareyri Iopipi. (See Part IT.) IODINUM. (Iodine. Got from sea plants.) Prep. The kelp or ashes of sea weed is broken into small pieces, dissolved in water, and various salts allowed to crystallize out. The mother liquor, which is dark brown, contains a large quantity of iodide of sodium. Sulphate of copper is then added, when free iodine is given off, and biniodide of copper formed; binoxide of manganese and sulphuric acid are then added, and heat applied, when the remainder of the iodine is given off, and is collected in condensers. Dose. Horse and ox, 1 scr.—l dr.; sheep and pig, 5—15 gr.; dog and cat, 2—3 gr. 1. Txvcrura Iopinir Composit. ° Comp. Iodine, $ dr.; iod. of pot. 1 dr.; sp. rect., 2} oz.; dissolve. Dose. Horse and ox, $—I1 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 1—2 scr. ; Digitized by Microsoft® 30 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. 2. Iopripum Hyprareyri, (See Hydrargyrum.) 3. Syrupus Frrri Iopip1. Prep. Dry iodine, 200 gr.; fine iron wire recently cleaned, 100 gr.; white sugar in powder, 44 0z,; distilled water, 6 fluid oz. Boil the iodine, iron, and water together, at first gently, to avoid the ex- pulsion of iodine vapour, afterwards briskly, until reduced to 2 fluid oz. Filter while hot into a mattrass containing the sugar. Dissolve the sugar with a gentle heat, and add distilled water if necessary to make 6 fluid oz. Twelve minims contain one grain of iodide of iron.—E. Dose, Sheep and pig, $}—1 0z.; dog and cat, 1—2 dr. 4. Potrassit lopipum. Prep. Jodine, 6 oz.; fine iron wire, 2 oz.; water, 6 pints; carbon- ate of potass, 40z. Mix the iodine with 4 pints of the water, and add the iron, stirring them frequently with a spatula for half-an-hour. Apply a gentle heat, and when a greenish colour appears, add 4 oz. of carbonate of potass, first dissolved in 2 pints of water, and strain. Wash the residue with 2 pints of boiling distilled water, and again strain. Let the mixed liquors be evaporated, that crystals may be formed.—L. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 dr.; sheep and pig, 1—3 ser.; dog and cat, 3—5 gr. 5, SuLpHuris Iopipum. Prep. Heat gently in a clean oil flask 4 parts of iodine and one of sulphur, until fused. Dose. Horse and ox, $—1 dr.; dog and cat, 5—10 gr. 6, Pirumpr Iopipum. ; Prep. Acetate of lead, 8 0z.; iodide of potassium, 7 0z.; distilled water, a sufficiency. Dissolve the acetate of lead in 6 pints of the water, and strain; to these add the iodide of potassium, first dissolved in two pints of the water; wash and dry the precipitate —L. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—1} ser.; dog and cat, 1—2 gr. NI . Uneventum Prumsi Joprp1. (See Part II.) . Uncuentum Iopivi1 Comrositum. (See Part IT.) . Uxeventum Hyprareyri Iopipr. (See Part IT.) co Om COLCHICUM. (See Diuretics.) Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 31 LOCAL REMEDIES ACTING ON THE FUNCTIONS. 1. Emetics. ANTIMONIUM. 1, Antrmoyit Porassio-Tarrras, (Tartar Emetic.) (See Diaphoretics. ) Dose. Pig, 4—12 gr.; dog, 2—6 gr.; cat, 1—4 gr. 2, Vinum Antimont Porassio-Tartras, (Antimonial Wine.) Comp. 2 ser. of ant. pot. tart. in 20 oz. of sherry wine. Dose. Dog, 1—2 0z.; cat, $—1 oz. Incomp. Bitter and astringent infusions. Alkalies and their carbonates. IPECACUANHA. (The root.) (See Diaphoretics.) 1. Punvis IpecacuanHs. Dose. Dog, 15—30 gr.; cat, 5—12 gr. 2. Vinum Ipecacuanya. Prep. 10 dr. bruised ipecac. in 20 oz. of sherry wine. Macerate for seven days, and strain. VERATRUM. (White Hellebore. The root.) (See Cathartics.) Form and Dose. Powder, Pig, 5—15 gr.; dog and cat, $— 1 gr. Vinum VERATRI. Prep. White hellebore, 4 0z.; sherry wine, 20 oz. Macerate 14 days, and strain. Dose, Pig, 1 dr.; dog, 5 drops; 4—1 oz, injected into jugular vein of horse, excites retching, ZINCI SULPHAS. (White Vitriol.) Comp. An equivalent each of sulphuric acid and oxide of zine. Prep. Dissolve zine in sulphuric acid till the latter is rendered neutral, filter, and concentrate till it will crystallize on cool- ing.—E. Dose and Form. Pig, 10—30 gr.; dog, 2—6 gr.; in about 100 parts of lukewarm water. CUPRI SULPHAS. Comp. Sulphuric acid and oxide of copper. Dose. Dog and cat, 3~5 gr. Digitized by Microsoft® 32 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. 2. Cathartics, Laxatives, Aperients, Drastics. ALOE. (Ext. Al Purif. Purified Extract of Aloes.) (The evaporated juice which runs spontaneously from the trans- versely cut leaves.) ALOE BARBADENSIS. (A. Vulgaris. Common Aloe. In- spissated juice.) ALOE HEPATICA. (Uncertain Species.) ALOE SPICATA. (Spiked Aloe.) Note.—The extract sold as Cape aloes is procured from the aloe spicata. ALOE SOCOTRINA. (Uncertain Species.) Note.—East Indian aloes is procured from the aloe perfoliata of Linnzus, which is identical with the aloe socotrina. Many kinds of aloes from the interior of India find their way into the market under the name of East Indian or Bombay aloes. 1, Exrractum Atogs Barpapensis. (Barbadoes Aloes.) Dose. Horse and ox, 2—6 dr.; sheep and pig, 1—3 dr.; dog and cat, 10 gr.—2 dr. 2. Exrracrum Axogs Sricata. (Cape Aloes.) Dose. Horse and ox, 3—8 dr. 3. Extractum ALoxrs Socorrina. Dose. Horse and ox, 3—8 dr. 4. Puna Ators. (Aloetic Mass.) Prep. Aloes, 8 parts; rectified spirit, 1 part; treacle, 3 parts. Mix the ingredients over a slow fire, and stir frequently until properly melted. It should be kept in air-tight jars till wanted. Dose. According to the variety of the aloes, counting one drachm and a-half of the mass for every drachm of the drug which it is thought desirable to administer. 5, Prrpra Ators Comrosira, (Compound Aloetic Mass.) Prep. Barbadoes aloes and treacle, equal parts; ginger, 2 oz. to every pound of aloes. Prepare like the last, and stir in the ginger after removal from the fire. Dose. Horse and ox, 4—14 oz, Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 33 6. Pituta Atoes Composrra. Comp. Barbadoes aloes, 7 0z.; glycerine, 1 0z.; powdered ginger or gentian, 1 oz. Melt together in a water-bath. Dose. Horse, 6—12 dr. 7. Pituta ALoEs cum GENTIANA. Comp. Equal parts of aloes, gentian, and treacle. Dose. Horse, 6—10 dr. Note.—The gentian may be conveniently added to No. 1, so that every two and a-half drachms of mass will contain a drachm of aloes. Mr. Hurford, veterinary surgeon to the 15th Hussars, says that ‘his ordinary purging ball” is composed of aloes and gentian, of each 24 dr., and that this comparatively small dose of the cathartic ingredient produces a commencement of purgation in ten hours from its administration.* 8. Piura Atogs et Ferri. Comp. 4 aloes, 3 ferri sulph., 1 pulv. zingiber, 2 treacle. Dose. Horse, 4—10 dr.; dog, 4—14 drs. 9. Sotutio ALozs. Prep. aloes, 7 distilled water, 1 proof spirit. Dissolve the aloes in the water by means of the water-bath, and when removed, add the spirit. Dose. Horse, 4—6 oz. CAMBOGIA. (Gum Resin of Garcinia Cambogia.) It exudes from wounds in the trees as a yellow milky juice, and concretes on exposure. Dose. Horse, 4—6 dr.; ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, $—1 dr.; dog and cat, 5 gr. Note.—Hertwig has experimented largely on the action of camboge. He says that it purges horses more rapidly than aloes; that dogs are susceptible to doses from six grains to a scruple; and, according to Viborg, a drachm of camboge, given in twice to prevent vomit- ing, will purge a pig. COLCHICI CORMUS. C. Autumnale. The corm, recent and dry.) Form and Dose. Powder: horse and ox, }—2 dr.; dog and cat, 2—8 gr. Acetum CoLcHICct. * Veterinarian, 1851. Digitized by Microsoft® 34 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. Prep. Dried colchicum cormus, 10 dr.; dilute acetic acid, 20 oz.; proof spirit, 1} oz. Macerate for seven days, express strongly the residuum, and strain. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz. ° Incomp. Alkalies. JALAPA. (Exogonium Purga. The tuber.) Dose and Form. Powder: swine, 2—4 dr.; sheep, 5—6 dr.; dog, 3—1 dr.; in powder, pill, bolus, single or (more generally) combined. RHAMNI SUCCUS. (Rhamnus Catharticus. Buckthorn. Juice of the berries.) Syrupus RHAaMNL Comp. Buckthorn juice, 4 pints; ginger and pimenta, of each 6 dr.; sugar, 4 Ibs. Prep. Set the juice aside for three days, that the dregs may sub- side, and strain. Toa pint of the juice, add the ginger and pimenta; then macerate for four hours with a gentle heat, and strain. Boil down the residuum to a pint and a half, mix the liquors, add the sugar, and dissolve. Dose. Dog, $—2 oz. It forms a third part of the castor oil mixture, which is so justly recommended as a purgative for the dog. RHEUM. (Rheum Sinense. Rhubarb. Root of an uncertain species of Rheum.) Dose and Form. For the pig, 2—4 dr.; dog, 1—4 dr.; in powder or electuary. RICINI OLEUM. (Ricinus Communis. Oil of the fruit. Castor Oil.) Prep. The fruit is shelled by women, the seeds crushed between rollers, then placed in hempen cloths, and pressed in the or- dinary screw or hydraulic press; the oil thus obtained is then heated with water in a tin boiler, until the water boils, by. which the mucilage or albumen is separated as a scum. The oil is then strained through flannel, and put into cannisters. Dose. Horse and ox, 1 pint; sheep and pig, 2—4 oz; dog and cat, 2—4 dr. Form, Emulsion, with aqua potasse, or with gruel and aromatics, etc. Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPQIA VETERINARIA. 35 SAPO. (See Antacids.) SENNA. (Alexandrina et Indica. Cassia Officinalis, and C. Obovata. The leaves.) Dose. Dog, 1—4 dr. 1. Inrusum Senna Composirum. Prep. Senna, 5 0z.; ginger, 2 dr.; water, 20 oz.; infuse for four hours with frequent stirring, and strain. Dose. Dog, 1—2 oz. Incomp. Strong acids, metallic salts. 2. Conrectio Szennz. (Lenitive Electuary.) Comp. 6 parts senna; 3 parts prunes, (stoned); 1 part coriander; 2 parts black liquorice; syrup, a sufficiency. Dose. Dog, 1—4 dr. This is a yery useful preparation in the treatment of diseases of the dog. TAMARINDUS. (Tamarindus Indica. The pulp of the legume. ) Dose. For dog or cat, from 1—4 dr. It is a useful laxative, which the dog or cat will take without diffi- culty Incomp. Salts of soda and potass. TEREBINTHINA OLEUM. (Distilled oil from the residue of Pinus Silvestris. ) Dose and Form. Horse and ox, 4—1 pint; (a somewhat dangerous cathartic.) In gruel, or floating on any fluid emulsion. ENEMA TEREBINTHIN &. Comp. Ol. terebinth., 6 oz.; linseed oil, and gruel or barley water, of each 1 pint. TIGLIIT OLEUM. (Croton Tiglium. Croton Oil. Expressed from the seeds, like the castor oil.) Dose. Horse and ox, 15—30 drops; sheep and pig, 3—6 drops; dog and cat, 2—4 drops. Form. Inoilor emulsion. Pill with bread, or any extract. Digitized by Microsoft® 36 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. TIGLII CROTONIS SEMINA. (The seeds of the Croton.) Dose. Horse and ox, 10—20; sheep and pig, 2—6; dog and cat, 2—4. Two croton beans, or six grains of ground croton, are equivalent to one drachm of Barbadoes Aloes. VERATRUM. (White Hellebore.) (See Emetics.) HYDRARGYRUM. (Alteratives.) 1. Hyprareyrum cum CRevTa. Comp. 3 mercury, 5 chalk. Dose. Dog and cat, 5—10 gr. (alterative); 10—20 gr., (laxative.) Form. Powder or pill. Incomp. Acids and acidulous salts. bo . Hyprareyri Catoripum. (Calomel.) Dose. Horse and ox, $—2 dr.; sheep and pig, 10—20 gr.; dog and cat, 1—4 gr. Form. Pill or powder, generally combined with aloes for the horse. Incomp. Most salts, acids and alkalies. 3. Pruuta Hyprareyricum Ferrio. (Ferruginated bluepill.) Prep. 2 parts mercury; 1 part sesquioxide of iron; 3 parts con- fection of roses. Rub the whole together until the globules of mercury are no longer visible. Dose, Horse and ox, $—4 dr. MAGNESIA. (An equivalent each of magnesium and oxygen.) 1. Maenesia. (Calcined Magnesia.) Prep. Take any convenient quantity of carbonate of magnesia, expose it in a crucible to a full red heat for two hours, or till the powder, when suspended in water, presents no effervescence on the addition of muriatic acid. Preserve the product in well- closed bottles. Dose, 2—8 dr. for foals and calves. 2. Macyesta Carponas. (Native in India.) Prep. Sulphate of magnesia, 41bs.; carbonate of soda, 4 Ib. 8 0z.; distilled water, a sufficiency. Dissolve separately the carbonate of soda and sulphate of magnesia, in two gallons of the water, Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPG@IA VETERINARIA. 37 and strain, then mix and boil the liquors, stirring constantly with a spatula for a quarter of an hour. Lastly, the liquor being poured off, wash the precipitated powder with boiling distilled water, and dry it. Dose. 4—2 oz. for foals and calves. Incomp. Alkalies, acids, most salts, ete. 3. Maayesia SutpHas. (Epsom Salts.) Formerly prepared by evaporating the Epsom springs, now pre- pared from dolamite or bittern. The bittern (bitter waters left in the preparation of common salt from sea water) is boiled, skimmed, and the concentrated solution removed to wooden coolers, in which the salt crystallizes. It is purified by re- solution and crystallization. Dose. Horse and ox, 4—2 lb.; sheep and pig, 4—6 oz. Form. In solution. Twenty drops of sulphuric acid to every ounce of the salt lessens its nauseously bitter taste. For the same purpose Epsom salts may be given with treacle. Incomp. Muriates, nitrates, acetates, carbonates, ete. POTASSA BITARTRAS. (Cream of Tartar.) Dose. Sheep and pig, $—1 oz.; dog and cat, 1—2 dr. ‘ Incomp. Alkalies, alkaline earth, and mineral acids, etc. SODA SULPHAS. (Glauber’s Salt.) Formed during the process for muriatic acid. Take of the im- pure sulphate of soda left in preparing muriatic acid, 2 lb.; boiling water, 3 pints; white marble in powder, a sufficiency; dissolve the salt in the water, add the marble so long as effer- vescence takes place, boil the liquid, and when neutral, filter it; wash the insoluble matter with boiling water, adding the water to the original liquid; concentrate till a pellicle begins to form, and then let the liquid cool and crystallize.—£. Dose. Horse, $—1 lb.; ox, 1—2 lb.; sheep and pig, 4—6 oz.; dog and cat, 4—2 oz. Form. Tn solution. Incomp. Fixed alkalies and their carbonates. Note.—Tabourin says: ‘‘As a purgative for the horse, sulphate of soda is, from its efficacy and cheapness, one of the most valuable preparations of the materia medica. English, and a good number of French veterinarians, have little confidence in the purgative pro- perties of sulphate of soda; but M. Rey has distinctly proved that o> 4 - Digitized by Microsoft® 38 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. this depends on the insufficient doses usually administered.” Aloes is certainly not superseded by sulphate of soda, the effects of which are not so constant and satisfactory as those of our purging masses. SODA ACETAS. Comp. An equivalent each of acetic acid and soda. Prep. Saturate carbonate of soda with distilled vinegar. Eva- porate the liquor to a density of 1276. By cooling, crystals are formed, which should be cautiously dried and kept in a close vessel. Dose. Ox, 3—6 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—24 dr.; dog and cat, 10—40 gr. Incomp. The mineral acids. SULPHUR. (S. Sublimatum. Flowers of Sulphur.) Prep. Sublime sulphur in a proper vessel, wash the powder thus obtained with boiling water in successive portions until the water ceases to have an acid taste; then dry the sulphur with a gentle heat.—£. Dose. Horse and ox, 3—6 oz.; sheep and pig, 2 0z.; dog and cat, 2—4 dr. Form. Powder; electuary, suspended in milk, ete. 3. Diuretics. CANTHARIS. (Cantharis Vesicatoria. Spanish Fly.) (See Stimulants. ) Dose. Horse, 1—20 gr.; ox, 1—2 ser.; sheep and pig, 2— 4 gr.; dog and cat, $—2 gr. 1. Acerum Caytruaris. (See Part II.) 2. Tincrura CANTHARIDIS. Prep. Canth., 2 dr.; progf spirit, 20 oz. Reduce the cantharides to a coarse powder, make into a pulp, with part of the spit; set aside for 12 hours; then pack into a percolator, and add spirit till 20 oz. have been obtained. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—3 dr.; dog and cat, 10—20 drops. Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 39 COLCHICUM. (C. Autumnali. Corms and seeds. ) Dose. Horse and ox, 4—1 dr.; dog and cat, 2—4 gr. of powdered corms or seeds. DIGITALIS. (D. Purpurea. The stem, leaves, recent and dried. ) Dose. Horse and ox, 1 scr.—] dr.; sheep and pig, 5—15 gr.; dog and cat, 1—4 gr. JUNIPERUS. (J. Communis. Juniper. The berries). Dose, Horse and ox, 3—4 oz.; sheep and pig, 4 dr.—1 oz. JUNIPERI OLEUM. Prep. Obtained from the berries, wood or tops, by distillation with water. Dose. Horse and ox, 4 dr.; sheep and pig, 4 drops. SCILLA. (8. Maritima. Squills. The recent bulb.) Form and Dose. Dried powder: dog and cat, 3—5 gr. Trinctura ScILLa. Prep. Powdered squills, 24 0z.; proof spirit, 20 oz. Make the powder into a pulp with a little of the spirit, and set aside for twelve hours, then pack loosely into a percolator, and add_ spirit until 20 oz. of tincture has been obtained. It may also : be prepared by digestion from the sliced bulb.—£. Dose. Dog and cat, 4—1 dr. SPIRITUS ATHERIS NITRICL (Sp. of Nit. Ether. Sweet Spirit of Nitre). Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, 2 scr.—1 dr. Incomp. Sulphate of iron. TEREBINTHINA. (Pinus Palustris et P. Teda. T. Vul- garis.) (Common Turpentine. The oleo-resinous juice.) Dose. Horse and ox, $—1 oz. TEREBINTHINZ OLEUM. (Oil of Turpentine.) Prep. Take of common turpentine, 5 lbs. ; water, 4 pints, (wine measure.) Distil the oil from a copper alembic; yellow resin will remain after the distillation —D. This is rectified by dis- tilling cautiously a pint of the oil with 4 pints of water. Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 3—1 dr. Digitized by Microsoft® 40 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. POTASSA. (Antacids.) 1. Potass# AczETAs. Prep. Take pyroligneous acid, 14 pints; carbonate of potass, 7 oz., or a sufficiency; add the carbonate gradually to the acid till complete neutralization is aecomplished. Evaporate the solu- tion over the vapour-bath till it is so concentrated as to form a concrete mass when cold, allow it to cool and crystallize in a solid cake, which must be broken up and immediately put into well-closed vessels.—E. Dose. Horse and ox, 3—6 dr.; sheep and pig, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, 10—20 gr. ; Incomp. Most acids and neutral salts. 2. Porassm Carzonas. (Olim. Pot. Sub-Carb.) Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 20 gr.—l dr.; dog and cat, 10—30 gr. 3. Porass# Bicarponas. (Olim. Pot. Carb.) Dose, Horse and ox, 3—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 20 gr.—1 dr.; dog and cat, 10—30 gr. 4. Porass# Nirras. (Nitre.) (See Refrigerants.) Dose. Horse and ox, $—1 oz; sheep and pig, 4—2 dr.; dog and cat, 5—20 gr. 5. Porassz# Tartras. (See Purgatives.) Dose. Horse and ox, $—1 oz.; sheep and pig, 20 gr.—2 dr.; dog and cat, 10—30 gr. : i st 4. Diaphoretiés. AMMONIA SESQUICARBONAS. (See Refrigerants.) Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 1 scr.—l dr.; dog and cat, 3—6 gr. Liquor Ammoniz Acetatis. (See Refrigerants. ) Comp. Aim. sesq. carb., 9 dr., or a sufficiency; acidi acetici diluti, 20 oz. Dose. Horse and ox, 3—6 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—2 oz.; dog and cat, 2—4 dr. Incomp. Acids, potass, and sugar. ANTIMONIUM. (See Emetics) Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 4] Antimonio Porassio Tartras. (Tartar Emetic.) Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 dr., oft repeated; dog and cat, 1—2 gr. IPECACUANHA. (Cephelis I. The root.) (See Emetics.) Dose. Pig, 30—40 gr.; dog, 20-—30 gr.; cat, 5—12 gr. 1. Punvis Ipecacuann# Compositus. (Imitation of Dover's Powder). Comp. 1 ipecacuanha, 1 opium, 8 sulphate of potass. (10 grains contain one grain of opium.) Dose. Horse, 1—2 dr.; dog, 10—15 gr. 2. Vinum IpecacuanHZ. Comp. Ipecacuanha, 24 0z.; sherry wine, 40 oz. Dose. Dog, 10 drops—I dr. SULPHUR PRECIPITATUM. Dose and Form. Horse and ox, 4—1 oz; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, $—1 dr.; sprinkled over food, or as an electuary, or suspended in milk or gruel. 5. Hapectorants. ANTIMONIO POTASSIO TARTRAS. (See Emetics. Dia- phoretics.) Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, ~,—4 gr. ASSAFGTIDA. (See Nervous Stimulants.) GUAIACUM. Resin from the wood of the G. Officinalis. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 dr. : IPECACUANHA. (See Emetics.) Dose. Dog and cat, $—2 gr. SCILLA. (See Diuretics.) | Digitized by Microsoft® 42 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. 6. Cholagogues. HYDRARGYRUM. (Mercury.) (See Alteratives.) NITRO-MURIATIC ACID. Comp. 1 part concentrated nitric acid; 2 drops concen- trated muriatic acid. Dose. Worse and ox, $—1 dr.; sheep and pig, 10 gr.—2 ser.; dog and cat, 3—10 gr. ALOES. (See Purgatives.) 7. Uterine Stimulants. ERGOTA. (Secale Cereali. Spurred Rye). Dose and Form. Horse and ox, $—1 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, 10 gr.—1 dr.; in warm water. TINCTURA ERGOTA ATHEREZ. Comp. Ergot, 5 oz.; ether, 20 oz. Digest for four days, and strain. Dose. Horse and-ox, 1—2 0z.; sheep and pig, }—1 oz; dog and cat, 4—1 dr. RUTA. (Ruta Graviolens. Rue. The leaves.) Form and Dose. Powder: horse and ox, 4—1 oz. SABINA. (Juniperus 8. Savin. The tops.) Dose and Form. Powder: horse and ox, 4—1 oz; in infusion or draught. From other Classes. Aloes. Ferrum. Todinum. Cantharis. Helleborus Niger. Sinapis. Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 43 Remedies acting on Agents contained in, but not forming essential Parts of the Body. Acids (Antalkalines.) ACETUM DISTILLATUM. (See Sedatives.) ACIDUM ACETICUM. (See Sedatives.) ACIDUM ACETICUM DILUTUM. (See Sedatives.) ACIDUM CITRICUM. (See Sedatives.) ACIDUM HYDROCHLORICUM DILUTUM. (Tonics.) . ACIDUM NITRICUM DILUTUM. (See Tonics.) ACIDUM SULPHURICUM DILUTUM. (See Tonics.) ACIDUM TARTARICUM. (See Sedatives.) Alkaline Remedies (Antacids.) AMMONIA. 1. Liquor Ammonia (Aqua Ammonie.) (See Stimulants.) Dose. Horse and ox, $ to 1 oz; sheep and pig, }—2 dr.; dog and cat, 4—16 drops. 2. AMMONIE SESQUICARBONAS. (See Stimulants.) Dose. Horse, 2—4 dr.; cattle, $—1 oz; sheep and pig, 4—1 dr.; dog and cat, 10 gr.—1 scr. 3. Liquor Ammonia SesquicaRBonatis. (See Stimulants.) Comp. Am. sesquicarb., 1 lb.; water, half a gallon. Dose. Horse and ox, 4—2 0z.; sheep and pig, 4—2 dr.; dog and cat, 4—16 drops. a. Spiritus Ammonie Aromaticus, (See Stimulants.) bd, Spiritus Ammonie Feetidus. CALX. 1, Liquor Catcis (Lime Water.) : Prep. Lime, $lb.; distilled water, 12 pints. dae the lime, first slaked with a little water, pour the remaining water, and shake them together; then immediately cover the vessel and set it by for three hours; afterwards keep the solution with the re- maining lime in stoppered glass vessels; and when it is used, take from the clear solution.—L. Digitized by Microsoft® 44 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. Dose. Horse and ox, $—2 pints; sheep and pig, 4—8 0z.; dog and cat, 4—4 oz. 2. Creta PREPARATA. Prep. Chalk, 1 1b.; water, a sufficiency. Reduce the chalk to a fine powder, and having triturated this with as much water as will give it the consistence of cream, fill the mortar with water and stir well, giving the whole a circular motion. Allow the mixture to stand for 15 seconds, and then decant the liquid into a large vessel. Triturate what remains in the mortar, adding as much water as was previously used, and, after allow- ing it to settle for 15 seconds, again decant, and let this process be repeated several times. Let the fine sediment which subsides from the decanted liquid be transferred to a calico filter, and dried at a temperature not exceeding 212°.—D. Dose. Horse and ox, }—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—4 dr.; dog and cat, 10 gr.—2 dr. 3. Punvis Cretz Compositvus. - Prep. Chalk, 4 02.; cinnamon in fine powder, 14 dr.; ginger in fine powder, 1 dr.; triturate them well together. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—3 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 1—3 dr. 4. Putvis Crerz Compositus cum Opto. Comp. 18 pulv. cret. comp. (No. 3), 2 opium. Dose. Horse and ox, $—2} 0z.; sheep and pig, }—2 dr; dog and cat, 10 gr.—l dr. 5. Mistura Crera. Comp. Chalk, 1 0z.; acacie, 4 0z.; peppermint water, 1 pint. Mix. Dose, Horse and ox, $ pint—1 quart; sheep and pig, 4—10 oz.; dog and cat, 1—3 oz. 6. Conrectio ARomaTica. (See Aromatics.) MAGNESIA. 1. Magnesia (M. Usta, Calcined M.) Prep. Take any convenient quantity of carbonate of magnesia, expose it in a crucible to a full red heat for two hours, or till the powder, when suspended in water, presents no effervescence on the addition of muriatic acid. Preserve the product in well-closed bottles.—E. Dose. Horse and ox, $—4 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—2 dr.; dog and cat, 5—20 gr. Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 45 2. Maanzsta Carponas (Olim Subcarbonas— Magnesia Alba.) (Purgatives.) Prep. Sulphate of magnesia, 4 lbs.; carbonate of soda, 4 lbs. 8 oz.; distilled water, 4 gall. Dissolve separately the carbonate of soda, and sulphate of magnesia, in two gallons of the water, and strain; then mix and boil the liquors, stirring constantly with a spatula, for a quarter of an hour; lastly, the liquor being poured off, wash the precipitated powder with boiling, distilled water, and dry it—Z. POTASSA. 1. Liquor Porassa. Prep. Carb. potassz, 15 0z.; lime, 8 0z.; water, 1 gall. Dissolve the carbonate of potass, in half a gallon of the water. Sprinkle a little of the water upon the lime, in an earthen vessel, and the lime being slaked, add the rest of the water. The liquors being immediately mixed together in a closed vessel, shake them frequently until they are cold. Then set aside (the mix- ture), that the carbonate of lime may subside. Lastly, keep the supernatant liquid, when poured off, in a well-stoppered green glass bottle.—L. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 10—20 drops; in beer or linseed tea. . 2. Porass# Cargzonas (Potassee Subcarb.) Obtained from wood ashes. “It is carbonate of potass, not quite pure, obtained by lixiviating, evaporating, and granulating by fusion, and refrigeration, the potashes of commerce.” —£. Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 4—1 dr.; dog and cat, 5—30 gr. 3. Porass# Bicargonas (Potasse Carb.) Prep.’ Carbonate of potass, 6 oz.; and carbonate (hydrated sesquicarbonate) of ammonia, 33 oz. Triturate the carbonate of ammonia to a very fine powder; mix it with the carbonate of potass; triturate them thoroughly together, adding by degrees a very little water, till a smooth and uniform pulp be formed. Dry this gradually at a temperature not exceeding 140°, triturating occasionally towards the close, and continue the dessication, till a fine powder be obtained, entirely free from ammoniacal odour—E. Dose. Worse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, 4—1 dr.; dog and cat, 5—30 gr. Digitized by Microsoft® 46 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. 4. Liquor Potass& CARBONATIS. Prep. Carb. pot., 1 0z.; water, 1 0z. Dissolve and strain. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 10-—40 drops. SAPO. (Hard Soap, Soda, and Olive Oil.) Prep. Boil soda with tallow or olive oil, until there is found a viscid emulsion. The soap may then be separated from the excess of alkali, glycerine, and superfluous water, by boiling down till the alkaline ley becomes very concentrated, when the soap becomes insoluble, and rises to the surface. The addition of common salt has likewise the property of rendering the soap insoluble. Dose. Horse and sheep, 4 to 2 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—4 dr.; dog and cat, 5—20 gr. SODA. 1. Liquor Sopa. Prep. Sodz carb., 31 oz.; lime, 9 oz.; water, 1 gall. Prepare the solution in the same manner by which the solution of potass is ordered to be made. Its specific gravity is 1:061. Four grains of soda are contained in 100 grains.—L. Dose. Horse and ox, 1—2 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog and cat, 10—20 drops. 2. Sop# Cargonas (Olim Sode Subcarb.) Prep. Sulphate of soda is obtained by adding sulphuric acid to common salt. The sulphate of soda, reduced to powder, is usually decomposed by mixing it with an equal weight of ground chalk (carbonate of lime), and half. its weight of small coal ground and sifted, and heating the mixture in a very hot reverberatory furnace. During the operation it is frequently stirred. The product has a dark gray or blackish appearance, and is called crude soda, British barilla, ball alkali, or black balls. It consists essentially of carbonate of soda, caustic soda, and oxisulphuret of calcium. Ball alkali is ground to powder, and lixiviated with water, and the carbonate of soda, and caustic soda, thereby separated from the more difficultly soluble, oxisulphuret of calcium. The solution, by evaporation, deposits crystals of monohydrated carbonate of soda, and the mother liquor yields a dark crystal- Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 47 line mass, composed of carbonate of soda, caustic soda, sul- phuret of sodium, and hyposulphite of soda. This is roasted in a reverberatory furnace, to get rid of the sulphur. From the soda salts, thus obtained, crystallized carbonate of soda is got by lixiviating it with. water, straining the solution and eva- porating. It may be obtained pure, by repeated crystalliza- tions.— Pereira. Dose. Horse and ox, 2—4 dr.; sheep and pig, $—1 dr; dog and cat, 5—30 gr. Parasiticides, (for External Use.) ARSENIC. (See Formule.) SULPHUR. (See Formule.) CREOSOTE. (See Formule.) | TOBACCO. (See Formule.) Parasiticides, (for Internal Use)—Anthelmintics— Vermifuges. CATHARTICA DRASTICA (Drastic or Irritant Purgatives). (Calomel, Jalap, Scammony, Gamboge, sc.) NUX ARECA CATECHU. (Betel Nut.) Dose of powder. Horse, 4 dr., combined with an aloetic purgative; dog, $ dr. BUTEA FRONDOSA. (Dhak Tree. The seeds in powder.) Dose. Horse, 2dr. To be repeated three mornings, and followed by a purgative. CHENOPODIUM ANTHELMINTICUM. (Worm Seed. The seeds powdered. ) ; Dose and Form. Dog, 1—2 ser., three times a-day in treacle, syrup, é&c. FILIX MAS. (Male Shield Fern. The root powdered.) Dose. Horse and cow, 1 lb.; sheep and pig, 3—5 oz.; dog, 2 oz., in decoction. Digitized by Microsoft® 48 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. GRANATI RADICIS CORTEX. (Root bark of the Pome- granate.) Dose of powder. Horse and ox, 5—6 oz.; sheep and pig, 1—2 oz.; dog, 4—2 dr. KOUSSO. (Flowers of Brayera Anthelmintica.) Dose and Form. Dog, 4—8 dr., infused in boiling water, or boiled in milk. KAMEELA. (Powder from stems and seed vessels of Rottlera Tinctoria.) ; Dose of powder. Dog, 1 scr.—1 dr., repeated several times. LIMATURA STANNIN. (Powdered Tin.) Prep. Stir melted tin during the process of cooling, and separate ‘the fine particles by passing through a sieve. MUCUNA PRURIENS. (Cowhage. The stinging hairs, down, or setze of pod.) Dose and Form. Dog, one or more tea-spoonfuls adminis- tered in treacle, syrup, or honey, while fasting, for several days, at a time. OLEUM TEREBINTHIN AS (Oil or Spirit of Turpentine.) Dose and Form. Horse and ox, 2—4 oz.; sheep and pig, 2—4 dr.; dog, $ to 2 dr., in fixed oils or mucilaginous fluids. PLOCARIA HELMINTHOCORTON. (Corsican Moss.) Dose. Dog, 1—2 oz. of decoction. A good vehicle for administering other vermifuges. SPIGELIA MARILANDICA. (Perennial Wormgrass.) Dose of infusion. Dog, 1—2 dr. (See Formula.) ANTIMONIT POTASSIO-TARTRAS. (Tartar emetic.) IRON, and its Compounds. Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 49 PART IL. REMEDIES FOR EXTERNAL AND LOCAL USE. Cataplasmata. Poultices.— Emollient. Sedative. . Caraptasma Lint. (Linseed-meal Poultice.) Prep. Boiling water, }—2 pints; linseed meal, 5—20 oz., or as much as is sufficient. Add the water by degrees to the linseed, and stir constantly. . CavaptasMa Betiaponn#. (Belladonna Poultice.) Prep. Boiling water, 4—2 pints; ext. belladonne, $—2 oz.; lin- seed-meal or bran, 5—20 oz., or as much as is sufficient. Pro- ceed as in making a linseed-meal poultice, then spread over it the extract previously softened in water. . CararLasma Contr. (Hemlock Poultice.) Prep. Boiling water, 3—2 pints; ext. conii, 1—2 oz.; linseed- meal, 15—20 oz., or as much as is sufficient. Follow the same method as for the belladonna poultice. Stemulant. Antiseptic. . Caraptasma Srnapis. (Mustard Poultice.) Prep. Warm water, }—2 pints; powdered mustard, 4— 2 pounds. (Half-linseed may, in some cases, be substituted for half the mustard.) Add the powders previously mixed to the water, and stir to make a poultice. Incomp. Too hot water, or alcohol, or vinegar, ate apt to hinder the production of the volatile oil. . CatapLasMA Fermenti. (Yeast Poultice.) Prep. Beer, yeast, and water, heated to 100° Fahr., each 510 oz.; flour, 1—2 pounds. Mix the yeast with the water, add the flour, and stir until a cataplasm is made. Place it near the fire until it rises. . CatapLasmA Carponis. (Charcoal Poultice.) Prep. Boiling water, }—2 pints; linseed meal, 5—20 0z.; char- coal, }—2 oz. Make a linseed poultice. With this mix 2-3rds of the charcoal, and sprinkle the remainder over the surface. i E Digitized by Microsoft® 50 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. 4, CaTapLasma SoD#& CHLORINATS. Prep. Boiling water, }—2 pints; linseed-meal, 5—20 0z.; sod. chlor., 2—6 oz. Dissolve the sod. chlor. in the water, and pro- ceed as in making a linseed-meal poultice. Caustica. Vesicantia. Irritantia. (Caustics.. Blisters. Counter-irritants. ) . Porass# Hypras. (Hydrate of Potash.) . Porassa cum Catcs. (Equal parts of potassa and lime.) Rub together, and keep in a well-stoppered bottle. Less deliquescent than the preceding. . ARGENTI NITRAS. . Acipum ACETICUM. . Acipum Nirricum. . AceTUM CANTHARIDIS. (Vinegar of Cantharides). Prep. 1 cantharides; 8 dilute acetic acid. Macerate the cantha- rides in the acid for eight days, shaking occasionally, express and filter. 7. OtEum Cantuaripis. (Oil of Cantharides.) Prep. 1 cantharides; 8 olive oil. Digest in a water-bath for two or more hours, and filter for use.—Morton. oe ar a) Note.—A more active preparation has been recommended by Mr. Morton for medicating setons; it consists of 1 part of cantharides digested in 8 of oil of turpentine; it is filtered, and an equal quan- tity of Canada balsam mixed with it. 8. Tincrura Cantuaripis Pyroxyuici. (Pyroxylic Tincture of Cantharides. ) Prep. 1 cantharides; 6 pyroxylic spirit. Prepare by percola- tion. Reduce the cantharides to a coarse powder, add the spirit till a soft pulp is formed; set this aside for twelve hours before commencing the percolation. 9. Uneventum CanTuaripis. (Ointment of Cantharides.) Prep. 1 cantharides; 6 hog’s lard. Melt over a slow fire, and wken liquified, remove from the heat, and stir in the powdered cantharides ; continue the stirring till the liquid is of a proper consistence. 10. UNnevEnTum CANTHARIDIS cum EuPHORBIO. Prep. 2 canth.; 2 oil of turp.; 1 powdered euphorbium; 1 of oil Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPGIA VETERINARIA. 51 of origanum; 16 hog’s lard. Melt the lard as in preparing the simple ointment, then stir in the different ingredients. 11. Uneventum Antimonir Porassto-Tarrratis, (Tartar- emetic Ointment.) 3 Comp. 1 ant. pot. tart., 4 lard. 12. Uneventum Sasinz. (Savine Ointment.) Prep. 1savine; 2 lard. Mix the savine with the melted lard, and press through a linen cloth. 13, Unevenrum Hyprareyri Bryiopip1. (Ointment of the Biniodide of Mercury.) Comp. 1 hydrargyri biniod.: 8 adeps preep. 14. Capsicum. Added to Cataplasms. (Moxas. —Substances for producing counter-irritation by being burnt on the part. Rarely used by veterinarians, as the actual cautery is more convenient and more effectual. Moxas ‘are composed of various materials, and may be composed of any that will burn down slowly, such as cotton, the pith of plants, agaric, German tinder, etc. Percy used an artillery match. Larrey’s moxa was a truncated cone of cotton stitched in linen, about four lines wide, and six lines high. Dr. Sadler’s, of St. Petersburgh, are composed of the pith of the sun-flower, cotton, and linen, steeped in a solu- tion of nitre. Grafe employed wafers, dipped in three parts of oil of turpentine and one part of ether.’) Cerata et Unguenta. — Ointmenis. Emollient. Defensive. 1. Crratum. Prep. Wax and olive oil, equal parts. Heat the oil gently, add the wax, stir briskly when fluid, and continue the stirring until it cools.—H. 2, Ceratum PiumBi ACETATIS. : Prep. Plumb. acet., 5 dr.; white wax, 8 oz.; ol. oliv., 20 oz. Melt the wax in 18 fiuid ounces of the oil, to these add the acetate of lead, previously rubbed with the rest of the oil, and stir with a spatula until they are incorporated. 3. Uneuenrum Sampuci. (Elder Ointment.) Prep. Elder flowers and lard, equal parts; boil and strain. . 4. Uneventum ZINct. Comp. 1 oxide of zinc, 6 lard. STIMULANT. DIGESTIVE. 1. Uneventum CREOSOTI Digitized by Microsoft® 52 9. VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. Prep. 2 vesin; 3 wax; 4 olive oil. Melt the resin and wax by a gentle heat, add the creasote, and stir constantly until the mix- ture concretes. . Uneventum Cupri DiAcetatis. Prep. 1 diacet. of copper; 1 common turpentine or resin, 12 hog’s lard. Mix. . Uncuentum GALL CoMPOsITUM. Comp. Powdered galls, 2 dr.; lard, 2 oz; opium, 4 dr. . Uneuentum Heiiesor: Niert. (Ointment of Black Hellebore.) Comp. Black hellebore and lard, of each equal parts.. . Uneventum Hyprareyri Ammonto-Cutoripi. (White Precipitate Ointment.) Comp. Hydr. am, chlor., (white precipitate), 1 dr.; lard, 14 oz. . Uneventum Hyprareyrri Nitratis. (Citrine Ointment.) Prep. Take of pure nitric acid, (sp. gr. 1°380—1°390), 93 02.; mercury, 4 oz.; lard, 15 oz; and olive oil, 384 oz. Dissolve the mercury in the acid with the aid of a gentle heat. Melt the lard in the oil with the aid of a moderate heat in a vessel that will hold six times the quantity; and while the mixture is hot, add the solution of mercury, also hot; and mix them thoroughly. If the mixture does not froth up, increase the heat a little till this takes place. Keep the ointment in earth- enware vessels, or in glass vessels secluded from the light. . Uneventum Hyprareyri Nirrico-Oxip1. (Red Precipi- tate Ointment.) : Comp. 1 hyd. nit. ox., 2 wax, 6 lard. . Uneventoum Picis Liquipi. (Tar Ointment.) Prep. Suet and tar, equal parts. Melt them together, and press through a clean cloth. _Uneventum Picis Bureunpica cum Perroizo. (Tar and - Burgundy Pitch Ointment.) Comp. Barbadoes tar, Burgundy pitch, mutton suet—of each equal parts. 10. Uneventum TEREBINTHINE (Ointment of Turpentine.) Comp. 1 common turpentine, 3 hog’s lard. 11. Uneventum Zinct Carponatis. (Ointment of Carbonate of Zinc.) Comp. 1 carbonate of zinc, 6 hog’s lard. Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMAOCOPIA VETERINARIA. 53 ALTERATIVE. DISCUTIENT. 1. Uneveytum Hyprareyri. (Mercurial Ointment.) Prep. 24 mercury, 23 lard, 1 suet. Rub the mercury with the suet and a small quantity of the lard, until globules can no longer be seen; then add that which is left to the lard, and mix.—E. Is equally prepared by steam. 2. Uneventum Hyprareyei Ioprp1 Comp. 1 iod. of merc., 2 wax, 6 lard. 3. Uneventom Topi. Comp. 1 iodine; alcohol, a few drops; 8 lard. 4, Uneventum Porassi Ioprpr. Comp. Tod. potassii, 2 dr.; water, 2 dr.; lard, 2 oz. 5. Uneventum Iopinit Compositum. ° Comp. Iodine, 4 dr.; iodide of potassium, 1 dr.; alcohol, 1 dr.; lard, 2 oz. 6. Uneventum Piumst Ioprp1. Comp. 1 iodide of lead, 8 lard. SPECIFIC. 1. Uneventum SuLpHuris. Comp. Sulphur, 3 0z.; lard, 6 oz. 2, Uneurntum SutpHuri Compositum. Comp. Sulphur, 4 oz.; white hellebore, 10 dr.; nitrate of potass, 2 ser.; soft soap, 4 oz; lard, 12 oz, 3. UNeGuENTUM SULPHURIS cuM PIcE. Comp. Sulphur, 4 0z.; tar, 1 oz.; lard, 14 oz. 4. Uneventum Sutpuouris loprp1. Comp. 1 iodide of sulphur, 6 lard. SEDATIVE. ANTISPASMODIC. 1. Uneventum BELLADONN#. Comp. Ext. bell., 1 dr.; lard, 1 oz. 2. Uneventum Cont. Comp. A decoction of fresh conium in lard. 3. Uneventum Opt. Comp. Opium, 1 scr.; lard, 1 oz. 4, UneuEentumM V=ERATRIA. - Comp. Veratria, 1 scr.; olive oil, 1 dr.; lard, 7 dr. Digitized by Microsoft® 54 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. Emplastra. Plasters. Charges. STIMULANT. DISCUTIENT. 1. Emptastrum Hyprareyri ComposiTuM. Comp. Burg. pitch, 14 Ib.; yellow wax, 1} Ib.; pene, mercurial ointment, 6 o2z.; iodine, 6 dr. 2. Empiastrum Picis. Prep. 24 Burgundy pitch, 12 Venice turpentine, 4 wax, 4 resin, 2 olive oil, 2 water. Melt the pitch, resin, and wax together ; then add the resin, and afterwards the olive oil and water. Mix and boil to a proper consistence. ANODYNE. EMOLLIENT. 1. ExptastrumM BeLLaponn2£. Prep. Equal parts of ext. bell. and soap plaster. Add the extract to the plaster, melted by the heat of a water bath, and mix. 2. EmpLastruM OPIt. Prep. 1 opium, 2 common turpentine, 8 heed plaster. Mix and boil down to a proper consistence.—E. ADHESIVE. DEFENSIVE. 1. Evptastrum PLuMBi. Prep. 5 oxide of lead, 12 olive oil, 3 water. Mix them. Boil and stir constantly until the oil and litharge unite, replacing the water if it evaporates too far.—Z 2. EmpLasTRUM SApPonis. Comp. 1 resin, 6 soap, 36 lead plaster. 3. EmMpiasTRuM GELATINE. Comp. Melted glue on stout cloth. Linimenta. Embrocationes. Fomentationes Lotiones. STIMULANT. 1. Liyiventum Ammontz. (Stronger Liniment.) Comp. 1 liquor ammoniz, 2 olive oil. 2, Linimentum AmMonrm@ SESQUICARBONATIS. (Weaker Liniment. ) Comp. 1 lig, amm. sesquicarb., 3 olive oil. Digitized by Microsoft® PHARMACOPCIA VETERINARIA. 55 3. LINIMENTUM AERUGINIS. Prep. 1 verdigris, 7 vinegar, 14 honey. Dissolve the verdigris in the vinegar, and strain the solution through linen; afterwards add the honey, and boil down to a proper consistence.—L. 4. Linimentum CaMPHORs. Comp. Camphor, | oz.; olive oil, 2 0z. Dissolve.—ZL. 5. Linimentum Caters. (Carron Oil.) Comp. Lime water and linseed oil, equal parts. 6. Linimentum Hyprareyri Nirratis. Comp. Solution of the nitrate of mercury and poppy oil. 7. Lintuentum Picis Liqguipa Compositum. Comp. Pyroligneous oil of tar, oil of turpentine, rape oil, of each equal parts. 8. Lintwentum Saponis. Comp. Soft soap, 4 oz.; camphor, 1 oz.; proof spirit, 2 pints; solution of ammonia, } pint. 9. Liniuentum TEREBINTHINA. Prep. Soap, 2 oz.; camphor, 1 0z.; oil of turpentine, 16 0z. Shake them together until they are mixed.—L. 10. (Linimznrum Croronis. Comp. 1 croton oil, 5 olive oil.) REFRIGERANT. 1, Liquor Prumsr Diaceratis. (Goulard.) Prep. Acetate of lead, 6 oz. 6 dr.; finely powdered litharge, 4 oz.; water, 14 pints. Boil them for an hour, frequently stirring, and when the liquor is cold add as much distilled water as will make the whole up to six pints; then strain the solution.— E. 2. Liquor Piumsr Diacetatis Ditutus. Comp. Liq. pl. diacet., 14 dr.; spir. rect., 2 dr.; water, 20 oz. 3. Lorio Ammonit#® Hyprocutoratis. Muriate of Ammonia Wash. Comp. Ammon. hydrochlor., 1—2 oz.; aque vel aceti, 12 0z.; spir. rect., 4 oz. SEDATIVE. EMOLLIENT. 1. Decoctum PAPAvERIs. 2. Linimentum OPit. Digitized by Microsoft® 56 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. Comp. 1 tinct. opii, 3 liniment. saponis. 3. TincturA ACONITA. ASTRINGENT. 1. Liquor ALumINis Compositus. Comp. Alum, 2 dr.; sulphate of zinc, 2 dr.; water, 15 oz. 2. Liquor CALcis. Comp. Lime, 1 0z.; water, 40 oz. 3. Decoctum QUERCUS. : Comp. Oak bark, 10 dr.; water, 40 oz.—boil to 20 oz. FOR WOUNDS AND SKIN DISEASES. 1. Linimentum AiRvGINIs. Comp. 1 verdigris, 7 vinegar, 14 honey. 2. Liquor Cupri AmMoNI0-SULPHATIS. Comp. Cupri am. sulph., 4 dr.; water, 10 oz. Puilveres. Powders. DESSICCANT. ASTRINGENT. STIMULANT. Axogs PULVIs. Creta PR#PARATA, . ALUMEN EssiccaTuM. Ruger Putvis. Hyprareyri Nirrico Oxipum. HypRarGyRI CHLORIDUM. . ZINcl OxipuM. SS SUS be The Endermic Method. It is sometimes very advantageous to cause the introduction of therapeutic agents into the blood by absorption through the skin, especially after the removal of the cuticle, over a limited - surface, by a blister. Aconite, belladonna, morphia, strychnia, and quinine may be thus used. Digitized by Microsoft® FORMULARIUM VETERINARIUM. 57 II. FORMULARIUM VETERINARIUM. —p—— BALLS. 1. B Pil Hydrargyri, 3). Mercurial Pill, 1 dr. Aloes Barb., 3). Barbadoes Aloes, 1 dr. Masse Communis,* 3vi. Common Mass, 6 dr. Misce. Fiat bolus. To be administered daily. An alterative for the horse. 2, B Hydrargyri, partes ij. Mercury, 2 parts. Ferri Sesquioxidi, pars. i. Sesquioxide of iron, 1 part. Conf. Rosee, partes iij. Confect. of Roses, 3 parts. M. Secundum artem. Dose for the horse, 4 to 2 drachms, with common or other mass. Dr, Collier’s Blue Pill. 3. B Hydrargyri Chlor., Bj. Calomel, 1 ser. Aloes Barb., 3j. Barbadoes Aloes, 1 dr. Saponis Mollis, 3. Soft Soap, 2 dr. Ol. Juniper, 3ss. Oil of Juniper, 4 dr. Masse Communis, q.s. Common Mass, sufficient. M. Fiat bolus. 4, B Hydrarg. Chloridi, gr.xv. Calomel, 15 gr. Aloes' Cap., 3ij. Cape Aloes, 2 dr. Mass. Communis, q.s. Common Mass, sufficient. M. Make into a ball, and exhibit one such daily for four or five days, diminishing the dose, or suspending it if purgation ensues. * By Common Mass—Massa Communis, Confectio Communis—is meant a mixture of equal parts of linseeds and treacle, which constitutes a useful vehicle for the exhibition of medicines in the form of bolus. Digitized by Microsoft® 58 VETERINARIAN ’S VADE MECUM. 5. R Antimonii Oxysulph. 3). Oxysulph. of Antimony, 1 oz. Sulph., Ziv. Sulphur, 4 02, Pot. Nitr., . 2j. Nitre, 1 oz. Mellis, q.s. Honey, sufficient. M. Make into four balls for the horse. Alterative and diuretic. 6 B Aloes Barb., Ziv. Barbadoes Aloes, 4 oz. Saponis Mollis, Ziv. Soft Soap, 4 oz. Masse Communis, 3xxiv. Common Mass, 24 oz M. Make into 32 balls. Alterative for the horse. ma B Aloes, Zjss. Aloes, 14 oz Sulphuris, Zijjss. Sulphur, 34 oz. Pulv. Zing., Z8s. Ginger, 4 02. Puly. Lini, Zss. Linseed Meal, $ 02. M. Make into six balls. Given in hidebound and skin diseases. 8. B Pulv. Antimonialis, 3j. Antimonial Powder, 1 dr. Aloes, 3j.-3ij. Barbadoes Aloes, 1 dr.—2 dr. Olei Tereb., 3i.—3ss. Oil of Turpentine, 2 dr—} oz. Pulv. Sem, Lini, q.s Powd. Teneiet sufficient. M. Fiat bolus. An alterative for horses. 9. B Hydrargyri Chlor, 3j.-3ij. Calomel, 1-2 dr. Masse Comm., q.s. Common Mass, sufficient. M. Given to horse over-night, and an aloetic purge the following morning. An anthelmintic. 10. B Limature Ferri, 3y. Iron filings, 2 dr. Sodii Chlor., Zss. Common Salt, 4 oz, Digitized by Microsoft® FORMULARIUM VETERINARIUM. 59 Pulv. Sabine, 2j. Powdered Savin, 1 dr. Masse Communis, : 38s. Common Mass, & 02. M. To be given to ‘horse every morning for a week, and then an aloetic purge. Against intestinal worms. (The pulverised clinker of the blacksmith and the sulphuret of iron may take the place of the iron filings.) 11. B Antim, Pot. Tart., 3i1—3ij. Potassio Tartrate of Anti- mony, 1-2 dr. Masse Communis, q.s.) Common Mass, sufficient. M. Fiat bolus. Given to horse at night, an aloetic purge being adminstered the following morning. An anthelmintic. (Others, with greater advantage, give the tartar emetic in doses of a drachm for six consecutive mornings, and always before the horse is fed; and, on the seventh day, a dose of physic is exhibited. Few worms, it is said, appear after this.—Morton.) 12. B Limature Stanni, 2}. Tin Filings, 1 oz. Tereb. Vulg., 3}. Venice Turpentine, 1 oz. M. Make into a ball with linseed meal, and give one such to horse for two or three consecutive nights, and then exhibit a brisk purge. A vermifuge. 13. B Assafoetidee, . 3. Assafcetida, 2 dr. Hydrargyri Chlor., 3ss. Calomel, 4 dr. Pulv. Sabine, Zjss. Savin, 14 dr. Olei Fil. Maris, 38s. Oil of Male Fern. 30 drops. Masse Communis, q.s. Common Maas, sufficient. — M. Make into ball, to be given to horse at night, and exhibit purge the following morning. A vermifuge. 14. B Olei Filicis Maris, 3jss. Oil of Male Fern, 13 dr. Pulv. Zing., zss. Powdered Ginger, 4 oz. Pulv. Sem. Lini, qs. Powd. Linseeds, sufficient. M. Make into a ball for horse, and repeat the dose daily, with the occasional addition of 2 drachms of aloes. A vermifuge. Digitized by Microsoft® 60 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. 15. B Hydrargyri Chlor., 3j. Calomel, 1 dr. Pulv. Absinthii, 2}. Powdered Wormwood, 1 oz. Mellis, qs. Honey, sufficient. M. Give to horse overnight, and an aloetic purge the following morn- ing to effect the expulsion of worms. 16. B Aloes Barb., 3vj. Barbadoes Aloes, 6 dr. Pulv. Fil. Maris, Ziv. Male Fern, 4A oz. Tereb. Vulg., 3ij. Common Turpentine, 2 oz. M. Make into six balls, with sufficient common mass, and exhibit two at a time, morning, noon, and night of one day. 17. B Pimente, pars j. Pimento, 1 part. Masse Comm., partes ij. Common Mass, 2 parts. M. Give in ounce balls to the horse. A carminative. 18. B Conf. Arom., 38s. Aromatic Confection, 4 oz, Pulv. Rhei., 3ij. Powdered Rhubarb, 2 dr. Pulv. Zingiber, - 3ij. Powdered Ginger, 2 dr. Sacchari Feecis, q.s. Treacle, sufficient. M. Fiat bolus. Astringent and aromatic for the horse. 19. B Pot. Iodidi, Zvi. Iodide of Potassium, 6 dr. Puly. Alum., zss. Alum, 4 02, Masse Communis, Zxii, Common Mass, 12 oz, M. Make into twelve balls. For diuresis, or excessiye staling in the horse. 20. B Pulv. Alum., 3ij. Alum, 2 dr. . Cupri Sulph., 3j. Sulphate of Copper, 1 dr. Pulv. Quassiz, aj. Quassia, - 1dr. Masse Communis, 38s. Common Mass, 4 oz. M. Fiat bolus. For diarrhcea in the horse. Digitized by Microsoft® « FORMULARIUM VETERINARIUM. 61 21. B Pulv. Opii, 3). Powdered Opium, 1 dr. Puly. Kino, Zi. Powdered Kino, 2 dr. Cretz Preep., 3v. Prepared Chalk, 5 dr. Sacchari Fecis, _ qs. Treacle, sufficient. M., Fiat bolus. For diarrhcea in the horse. ; 22. B-Argenti Nitratis, gr. xxiv. Nitrate of Silver, 24 gr. Pulv. Opii, : Ziv. Powdered Opium, 4 dr. Massee Communis, Ziv. Common Mass, 4 oz. M. Make into eight balls, and give two daily to horse affected with dysentery or chronic diarrhea. 23. B Pulv. Quercus Cort., 2}. Oak Bark, 1 oz. Pulv. Opii, 3j. Powdered Opium, 1 dr. Sacchari Fecis, q.s. Treacle, sufficient. M. For diarrhea in horses. 24. B Pulv. Galle, 3ij. Nut-Galls, 2 dr. Pulv. Quassiz, Zj. Quassia, . 1 dr. Masse Communis, q.s. Common Mass, sufficient. M. An astringent for the horse. 25. BR Plumbi Acetatis, gr. xv. Acetate of Lead, 15 gr. Zinci Acet., Zss. Acetate of Zinc, } dr. Pulv. Cat., 3iij. Catechu, 3 dr. Masse Communis, q.s. Common Mass, sufficient. M. A ball, to be given daily in hematuria. 26. B Pulv. Galle, 3j. Powdered Gall Nuts, 1 dr. Pulv. Opii, 3). Powdered Opium, 1 dr. Conf, Communis, Ziv. Common Mass, 4 dr. M. Fiat bolus. Astringent for the horse. Digitized by Microsoft® 62 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. 27. B Pulv. Aluminis, Zij. Alum, Ferri Sulph., 3ij. Sulphate of Iron, Conf. Communis, zss. Common Mass, M. Fiat bolus, Astringent for the horse. 28. B Acidi Tannici, 3ss. Tannic Acid, Pulv. Catechu, 3j. Powdered Catechu, Pulv. Opii, 4j. Powdered Opium, Sacchari Fecis, qs. Treacle, sufficient. M. Make into ball with a little common mass for the horse. 29. B Ext. Catechu, 2}. Extract of Catechu, Puly. Cort. Cinnamoni, 3). Cinnamon Bark, Conf. Communis, Zvi. Common Mass, M. Give to horse in balls weighing an ounce each. 30. B Pulv. Ammoniaci, 3ij. Ammoniacum, Pulv. Scille, 3). Powdered Squills, Aloes, 3j. Aloes, Masse Communis, Ziv. Common Mass, M. Useful in chronic coughs. 31. B Pulv. Digitalis, 3ss. Digitalis, Pot. Nitr., 3jss. Nitrate of Potash, Pulv. Liquiritie, 31). Powdered Liquorice, Sacchari Feecis, q.s. Treacle, sufficient. M. Febrifuge or cough-ball for the horse. 32. B Aloes Barb., 3ij. Barbadoes Aloes, Pulv. Digitalis, 3). Digitalis, Masse Communis, 3xiii, Common Mass, mR bo & Se & — bone Br EY Gr 2 oz. 1 oz. 13 oz. M. Make into 16 balls; one to be given daily to horse with cough. Digitized by Microsoft® FORMULARIUM VETERINARIUM. 63 33. B Camphore, 3j. Camphor, 1 dr. Ext. Belladonna, 4. Extract of Belladonna, 1 dr. Tpecacuanheze, 3j. Ipecacuanha, 1 dr. Masse Communis, 3iuj. Common Mass, 3 dr. M. Cough-ball for the horse. 34, R Pulv. Cantharides, Dj. Powdered Cantharides, 1 ser. Pulv. Digitalis, 3). Powdered Digitalis, 1 dr. Saponis Mollis, 3uj. Soft Soap, 3 dr. M. Make into a ball for the horse. Stimulant, diuretic. 35. B Camphore, 3ij. Camphor, 2 dr. Pot. Nitr., Zzss. Nitre, 4 oz. Masse Communis, 38s. Common Mass, 4 02. M. Diuretic ball for the horse, used in cases of suppressed urinary secretion. 36. B Terebinth. Vulgaris, Ziv. Common Turpentine, 4 oz. Pulv. Scillee, Zij. Powdered Squills, 2 oz. Saponis Mollis, Zij. Soft Soap, 2 oz. Pulv. Sem. Lini, q.s. Powdered Linseeds, sufficient. M. Make into 10 balls, with the addition of a little linseed-meal. A diuretic mass. 37. Sapo. Mollis a partes gs Saye Sen al : 2 Pot. Nitr., equales. Nitre, pene M. Dose, $ 0z. to 14 02. Diuretic for the horse. 38. B Pulv. Digitalis, 3j. Powdered Digitalis, 1 dr Pot. Nitr., Zi. Nitre, 2 dr Masse Communis, 3iv. Common Mass, 4 dr M. Diuretic ball for the horse. Digitized by Microsoft® 64 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. 39. B Ext. Juniperi, \ aa partes Extract of af bach Sapo. Mollis. equales. Juniper : Soft Soap, equal parts. M. Make into balls, weighing 1 oz. For the horse. — 40. B Camphore, 3ss. Camphor, $ dr. Pot. Nitr., 3ij. Nitre, 2 dr. ‘ Confectio Communis, Zvi Common Mass, 6 dr. M. Make into ball, and give once or twice a day. 41. B Olei Tiglii, gtt.iv.— Croton Oil, 4—8 drops. gtt. viii. Boli Aloet. Barb. 3iv.— Aloetic Mass. (Barbadoes), Zvi. : 4—6 dr. M. Active purgative for the horse. 42, B Pulv. Aldes, 3lij. Powdered Aloes, 3 dr. Puly. Gent., 3lij. Powdered Gentian, 3 dr. Sacchari Fecis, q.s. Treacle, sufficient. M. A purgative for the horse. 43, B Pulv. Aldes Cap., 3iv.— Powdered Cape Aloes, 4—8 3vili dy. Saponis Mollis, Ziv. Soft Soap, 4 dr. Conf. Communis, q.s. Common Mass, sufficient. M. Make into one or two balls, to be given as a purgative to the horse. 44, B Puly. Alses Barb., 3ij. Barbadoes Aloes in pow- der, 2 oz. Potasse Bitartratis, 31. Cream of Tartar, 2 oz. Digitized by Microsoft® FORMULARIUM VETERINARIUM. 65 Pulv. Anisi, zss. Aniseed,' $ oz. Sacchari Fecis, q.s. Treacle, sufficient. M. Make into four balls. 45. B Hydrargyri Chlor., 3j. Calomel, 1 dr. Pulv. Aloes Barb., 3v. Powdered Barbadoes Aloes, 5 dr. Sp. Vini Rect., Zij. Spirits of Wine, 2 dr. Masse Communis, 3ij. Common Mass, 2 dr. M. A calomel purge for the horse. 46. B Puly. Alées, partes iij. Powdered Aloes, 3 parts. Ferri Sulph., » yj. Sulphate of Iron, 3 parts. Pulv. Zing,, pars i. Powdered Ginger, 1 part. Masse Communis, partes iij. Common Mass, 3 parts. M. Dose, 1—1$ oz. for horses. = 47. B Acidi Arseniosi, gr. x. Arsenic, 10 gr. Pulv. Zing., 3ij. Ginger, 2 dr. Conf. Communis, Ziv. Common Mass, 4 dr. M. Tonic ball for the horse, much recommended in farcy and skin ‘disease. ; 48. B'Cupri Sulphatis, Zss. Sulphate of Copper, 4 dr. Zinci Sulphatis, 3ss. Sulphate of Zinc, $ dr. Pulv. Anisi, ij. Aniseed, 3 dr. Conf. Communis, Ziv. Common Mass, 4 dr. M. Tonic balls for horses in farcy and other diseases. 49. % Ferri Sulph., Ziv. Sulphate of Iron, 4 02, Pulv. Gentiane, Ziv. Powdered Gentian, 4 02, Masse Communis, 3x. Common Mass, 10 oz. M. Dose for the horse, 1 02. to 14 oz. ‘ F Digitized by Microsoft® « 66 VETERIN ARIAN’S VADE MECUM. 50. B Limature Ferri, Zss. Iron Filings, Potasse Carb., 3ij. Carbonate of Potash, Pulv. Gent., Zi. Powdered Gentian, Sacchari Fecis, qs. Treacle, sufficient. M. Mild chalybeate for the horse. / 51. B Pulv. Canth., gr.v. Powdered Cantharides, Ferri Sesquichloridi, § 3ss. Sesquichloride of Iron, Pulv. Cinnamoni, 3ij. Powdered Cinnamon, Sacchari Fecis, q.s. Treacle, sufficient. M. Fiat bolus. A tonic for the horse. 52. B Pulv. Alées, 3j. Powdered Aloes, Pulv. Canth., gr. viii. Powdered Cantharides, Pulv. Rhei, 3ij. Powdered Rhubarb, Pulv. Zingib., é 3j. Powdered Ginger, Sacchari Fecis, q.s- Treacle, sufficient. M. Fiat bolus. A tonic for the horse. 53. B Quine Disulph., 3j. Bisulphate of Quinine, Pulv. Gentian, 3ij. Powdered Gentian, Conf. Communis, 3iij. Common Mass, M. Fiat bolus. § © » Rad. Calamiarom.,) '!$ __,, Sweet Flag, te 2 e » Semin. Feenigreci, », Foenigreek Seeds, ) of each » Flores Sulph., ‘S95 ElowersofSulph., f 4 oz. M. To be added to 6 pounds of burned oats or malt, with 2 pounds of salts. Three or four tablespoonfuls to be given to horse or ox, and one little spoonful to sheep or pig, in asthenic disorders.. Digitized by Microsoft® 68 - VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. 60. B Sodii Chlor., Zvi. Common Salt, 6 oz. Pulv. Zing., Ziv. Powdered Ginger, 4 oz. Pulv. Rad. Gent., 3ij. Powdered Gentian, 2 oz. M. Half a tablespoonful to be given at each meal, to a horse or ox with impaired appetite. 61. B Antim. Sulph. Nigri, 33j.. Black Sulphuret of Anti- mony, 2 oz. Pulv. Semin. Feeniculi, Ziv. Powd. Fennel Seed, 4 oz. Sodii Chloridi, Ziv. Common Salt, 4 02. M. The fourth part to be given as a dose in food. Useful in cases of deranged appetite, and when the secretion of milk in cows is checked. 62. B Hydrarg. Chlor., gr. v. Calomel, 5 gr. Pulv. Opii, gr. iv. Powdered Opium, 4 gr. M. Suspended in thick gruel, and given to ee daily in liver affec- tions. 63. B Hydrargyri Chlor., 3j. Calomel, 1 dr. Pot. Sulph., 3). Sulphate of Potash, 1 oz. Pulv. Seminis Lini, 3). Powdered Linseed, 1 oz. M. To be given to horse in a quart of tepid water; the mixture being well shaken. Recommended by Hertwig in enteritis, hepatitis, and nephritis. 64. Be Hydrarg. Chloridi, gr. iij— Calomel, 3—6 gr. gr. vi. Puly. Rad. Jalapze, 3ss. Jalap Powder, 4 dr. M. To be given in food to dog as a cain 2 Digitized by Microson® eee yu BG ee v o BPS as FORMULARIUM VETERINARIUM. 69 65. B Hydrarg. Chloridi, ‘Calomel, Antim. Pot, Tart., 44 gr. ij. Tartar Emetic, of each, 2 gr. Sacchari Albi Pulv., gr. x. Powdered White Sugar, 10 gr. M. To be given in food, or simply placed on the tongue of dog or cat. An emetic and purgative in inflammatory diseases, rheumatism, ete. ete, 66. B Pulv. Sem. Ricini, 3iij. Powdered Castor Oil Seeds, > ; 3 dr. Farine Secalinze, Zviii. Rye Flower in Powder, 8& oz. M. A purgative for the pig, to be exhibited in food, It is used as a vermifuge, or in cases of constipation due to atony. 67. B Antim. Pot. Tart, par. j. Potassio-Tartrate of Anti- mony, I part. Ipecac., \ Po i Ipecacuanha, \ of each Veratri Albi, » J: White Hellebore, 2 parts. M. Pig, 1 scr.—4 dr.; dog, 4—8 gr. An emetic. 68. B Pulv. Rad. Hellebori White Hellebore in Pow- Albi, gr. Vi. der, 6 gr. Sacchar. Albi Pulv., Dj. White Sugar in Powder, | scr. M. The whole for a large, and the half to a small dog, as an emetic —in indigestion. 69. BR Hydrargyri cum Grey Powder, 5 gr.—l sev. Cretz, gr. v.— Dj. Ipecacuanhe, gr. j—gr. iv. Ipecacuanha, 1 gr.—4 gr. M. Give thrice daily—when signs of approaching fits are manifested by dog with distemper.— Mayhew. Digitized by Microsoft® 70 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. 70. B Antim. Pot. Tart., 3uj. Tartar Emetic, 3 dr. Antim, Sulph. Crudi, 38s. Sulphuret of Antimony, $ oz. M. To be divided into two doses, to be exhibited in water, or in a sloppy mash, to horse affected with catarrhal or inflammatory diseases. 71. B Sodii Chlor., 3ij. Chloride of Sodium, 2 dr. Antim, Sesquisulph.,, 3ij. Sesquisulphuret of Anti- mony, 2 dr. M. An alterative for a sow, to be given in her food, especially if her young are constipated, or have scabby eruptions about the mouth. 72, R Pulv. Rad. Veratri Powdered White Helle- Albi, gr. s8.—1j. bore 4 gr.—2 gr. M. Given in butter as an emetic to cat or dog. 73. B Pot. Sulph., Ziij. Sulphate of Potash, 3 oz. Pulv. Gent., 3). Powdered Gentian, 1 oz. M. To be given in a quart of warm water every half hour until pur- gation ensues—in colic, especially when associated with flatulency.— Waldinger. 74. B Pot. Sulphureti, 3j. Liver of Sulphur, 1 dr. Sode Sulph., 3. Sulphate of Potash, 2 oz. Pulv. Rad. Gentiane, 3j. Powdered Gentian Root, 1 oz. M. To be given to horse in a pint of cold water in inflammatory dis- eases associated with low fever, or having a tendency to gangrene. * 75. B Sodii Chlor., 3jss. Chloride of Sodium, 13 dr. Ferri Sulphatis, 3ss. Sulphate of Iron, 4 dr. M. Make into a powder, to be given daily to sheep affected with rot. Digitized by Microsoft® FORMULARIUM VETERINARIUM. 71 76. B Ammoniz Acetatis, 31). Acetate of Ammonia, 2 02. M. The acetate of ammonia may be given in the water a horse or ox drinks, or in a mash. 77. B Pot. Todidi, 3j. Iodide of Potassium, 1 dr. Hydrarg. Chlor., 3ij. Chloride of Mercury, 2 dr. Pulv. Fol. Belladonne, 3). Powdered Belladonna, 1 oz. Pulv. Sacchari Albi, 3. Powdered White Sugar, 2 oz. M. To be divided into four equal parts. To be placed on the tongue of horse or ox in cases of acute laryngo-pharyngitis, when there is much difficulty in swallowing. 78. B Pulv. Rad. Belladonne, Zss. Powdered Belladonna Root, 4 072. Sode Sulph., Zxii. Sulphate of Soda, 12 02, M. The sixth part to be given in food to horse or ox. 79. BR Antim, Sulph. Aurati, gr. j. Golden Sulphuret of Anti- : mony, 1 gr. Pulv. Opii, gr. ss. Powdered Opium, $ gr. » Fol. Digitalis Fr Leaves of gr. 10. Foxglove, 10 gr. Purp. 0 si Sacchari Albi, Dj. White Sugar, 1 scr. M. To be divided into six powders; one to be given night and morning in dog’s food, in cases of chronic cough, etc. 80. B Pulv. Digitalis, Dj. Powdered Foxglove, 1 ser. Pulv. Antimonialis, Dj. Antimonial Powder, 1 ser. Potasse Nitratis, 3j. Nitrate of Potash, 1 dr. M. Make into twenty-four powders; one to be given daily to a dog for ascites, Digitized by Microsoft® 72 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. 81. B Pot. Nitr., ‘ 3j.. Nitrate of Potash, 1 oz. Ferri Sulphatis, . Sulphate of Iron, Resin Com. Pulv., 44 38s. Common Resin, of each, } 02. Bacc. Juniperi Pulv. 3ij. Juniper Berries in pow- der, 2 oz. M. To be made into four doses; one of which to be given night and morning in mash to horse. 82. B Pot. Nitratis, Ziv. Nitre, 4 o2. Pulv. Scillee, 3ij. Powd. Squills, 2 oz. Pulv. Sem. Colchici, 3ij. », Colchicum Seeds, 2 oz. Pulv. Cantharidum, 3j. » Cantharides, 1 oz. M. From 6 to 8 drachms at a dose, ag a diuretic, in horse and ox. 83. B Pot. Nitr., Ziss. Nitrate of Potash, 14 oz. Sodee Nitr., Zvi. Nitrate of Soda, 6 oz. M. To be divided into six doses, to be given in a sloppy mash, or in gruel, to horse or ox affected with fever or acute inflammatory disease of the respiratory organs, etc. 84. B Pot. Nitr., 3j. Nitrate of Potash, 1 oz. Bacce Juniperi Pulv., Ziv. Powdered Juniper Berries, 4 oz. M. To be divided into four doses; one to be given thrice daily in food to horse. Useful in dropsies, skin diseases, etc. 85. B Pulvis Antim. Co. gr. xii. Antimonial Powder, 12 er. Pulv. Digital. gr. viii. Powdered Foxglove, 8 gr. Pot. Nitr., 3ss. Nitre, 4 dr. M. Divide into five, seven, or ten doses, according to size of dog, and give a dose night and morning in distemper when cough is very trouble- some,— Blaine. Digitized by Microsoft® FORMULAIUM VETERINARIUM. 73 86. B Antim. Pot. Tart, gr. vi. Tartar Emetic, 6 gr. Pot. Tart., 4ij. Tartrate of Potash, 2 dr. Pot. Nitr., 3). Nitrate of Potash, 1 dr. M. Divide into 12 powders, and give one night and morning to dog with rheumatism or other inflammatory affection. ‘ 87. B Ammonie Hydrochlor., Hydrochlorate of Ammonia, 388.— 3). 3—1 dr. Pulv. Rad. Glycirrhiz., 38s. Liquorice Powder, } 02. M. Fiat pulv. -To pig with pneumonia—exhibited thrice daily. 88. BR Antim, Pot. Tart., gr.ij—iv. Tartar Emetic, 2—4 gr. Hydrarg. Chlor., gr. v.—viij. Calomel, - 5—8 gr. M. Fiat pulv. Give three or four times daily to pig with inflamma- tion of the lungs.— Spinola. 89. B Boracis, 3ij. Borax, 2 dr. Pulv. Digitalis, gr. v.—x. Powdered Digitalis, 5—10 gr. M. Thrice daily to pig with hydrothorax.—Spinola. _ 90. BR Camphore, gr. viii—xii. Camphor, 8—12 gr. Pulv. Anisi, Zss. Aniseed, 3 dr. Pulv. Zingib., Zss.. Ginger, 4 dr. M. In affection of pig, associated with debility or in convalescent stage, after acute inflammatory diseases. 91. BR Potasse Chloratis, gr.j— Chlorate of Potash, 1—4 gr. gr. iv. : Confectio Aromatici, Zss—— Aromatic Confection, 4—2 dr. Bij. M. Give in linseed tea to dog with diarrhcea. Digitized by Microsoft® 74 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. 92. B Magnesie, Ziv. Magnesia, 4 dr. Pulv. Opii, Bj. Powdered Opium, 1 ser. Pulv. Rhei, 31). Powdered Rhubarb, 2 dr. M. Tobe given in milk or linseed gruel to calves and lambs affected with dysentery. 93. B Pulv. Camphore, 3ij. Powdered Camphor, 2 dr. Pulv. Rhei, 3iij. Powdered Rhubarb, 3 dr. Pulv. Opii, 3). Powdered Opium, 1 dr. M. To be given in ale or wine to horse affected with diarrhea. 94. B Cupri Sulph., 3j. Sulphate of Copper, 1 dr. Pulv. Zing., Zss. Powdered Ginger, $ 02. M. To be given twice daily, in ale or gruel, to horse or ox affected with diarrhcea. 95. B Hydrarg. Chlor., gr. x. Calomel, 10 gr. Crete: Prep., 3j. Prepared Chalk, 1 oz. Pulv. Opii, 3ij. Powdered Opium, 2 dr. M. Give in thick gruel twice a day. Recommended for dysentery in cattle. The medicine is to be suspended when symptoms of saliva- tion present themselves. 96. B Ferri Sulphatis, 3ij. Sulphate of Iron, 2 oz. Aluminis Sic., zss. Burnt Alum, 4 02. Pulv. Sem. Coriand., Ziij. Coriander Seeds, 3 02. Pulv. Rad. Glycirrhiz, 3jss. Liquorice Powder, 1} oz. M. Divide into 12 doses. One to be given night and morning in food, in chronic catarrh with debility. Digitized by Microsoft® FORMULARIUM VETERINARIUM. 75 ; 97. B Acidi Arsenios, 3j. Arsenious Acid, 1 dr. Sulphuris, 3xii. Sulphur, 12 oz. Pulv. Sem. Coriand. vi. Powd. Coriander Seeds, 6 oz. M. Make into 18 powders. One to be given daily in food to horses with herpetic eruption of skin, or as an alterative in other diseases. 98. B Pulv. Cretee Comp. cum. Compound Chalk Powder with Opio, }. Opium, 1 oz. Pulv. Rad. Gent., 3s. Powdered Gentian Root, $ oz. M. Make into a ball with treacle, or exhibit in a pint of strong ale. For diarrhea in horses. 99. B Pulv. Opii, Dj. Powdered Opium, 1 ser. Pulv. Rhei, 38s. Powdered Rhubarb, 4 oz. Pulv. Rad. Gent., 38s. Powdered Gentian Root, 4 oz. Crete Prep., 3j. Prepared Chalk, 1 oz. M. Fiat pulvis. To be given in water or ale. For foals with diarrhea. 100. B Pulv. Opii, gr. ij. Powdered Opium, 2 gr. Pulv. Gent., -- -: Powdered Gentian, of each Pulv. Zingib., \ 42 3); Powdered Ginger, \ 1 dr. M. In an infusion of linseed. For diarrhea in sheep. 101. B Acidi Gallici, Bj.—2j. Gallic Acid, 1 ser.—1 dr. Pulv. Opii, 38s. Powdered Opium, 4 dr. M. An astringent in hemoptysis, to be administered every four hours. Given in water or ale to horse or cattle. Proportionate doses will serve for other animals. 102. B Pulv. Ergote, Dj. Ergot of Rye in Powder, 1 scr. Pulv. Zing., ss. Powdered Ginger, 4 dr. M. To be given to a sheep in a pint of ale. Digitized by Microsoft® 76 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. 103. B Pulv. Cubebe, 3ij. Powdered Cubebs, 2 dr. Pulv. Alum, gr. x. Powdered Alum, 10 gr. M. Fiat pulv. To be exhibited in water, milk, or butter, in urethral discharges of the dog. 104. B Pulv. Cretz, Ziv. Powdered Chalk, 4 oz. Pulv. Carbonis, 3}. Powdered Charcoal, 1 oz. Pulv. Aluminis, 38s. Powdered Alum, $ 02. Zinci Sulph., Zss. Sulphate of Zinc, 5 oz. M. Sprinkled on ulcers in epizootic aphthe in cattle and sheep. 105. B Carb. Ligni Pulv., Bj. Powd. Wood Charcoal, 1 scr. Pulv. Rhei, gr. iv. Powdered Rhubarb, 4 gr. Pulv. Ipecacuan., gr. j. Powdered Ipecacuanha, 1 gr. M. To be given in a dose at night to puppies affected with worms. 106. B Pulv. Potasse Caustici, 3v. Caustic Potash, 5 dr. Pulv. Calcis Ustee, 3vi. Quicklime, 6 dr. M. To be well triturated in a covered mortar. It is very useful as a caustic. It may be used in powder, or made into a soft paste with spirit of wine. 107. B Pulv. Corticis Powdered Oak Quercus as Bh Bark, Pulv. Carbonis ae 3} Powdered Wood ofeach 1 oz. Ligni, J Charcoal, Hydrargyri Oxidii Red Oxide of Mercury, 2 dr. Rubri, 3ij. M. To be used for external purposes, especially as application to ulcers which freely suppurate. Digitized by Microsoft® FORMULARIUM VETERINARIUM. v7 108. B Pulv. Cortici Powdered Oak Quercus, aa 3). Bark, of each 1 oz. Aluminis Crudi, Alum, Pulv. Carbonis Ligni, 3ss. Wood Charcoal, $ 02. M. For external use, like the foregoing powder. - 109. B Strychnia, gr. vj. Strychnine, 6 gr. Pulv. Rad. Gent., Zvj. Powd. Gentian Root, 6 02. Pulv. Rad. Zingiber., 3iij. Powdered Ginger, 3 oz. _ M. Make into 6 or 12 powders. Spinal stimulant for horses and cattle. Useful in cases of paralysis. 110. RB Aluminis Siccati, Zvi. Dried Alum, 6 oz. Ferri Sulphatis, © Ziij. Sulphate of Iron, 3 oz. Cupri Sulphatis, 2j.Sulphate of Copper, 1 oz. Camphore, 3ij.Camphor, 2 dr. M. A caustic powder for canker in the foot. One part of this powder may be added to from 3 to 6 parts of water, and used in solution on ulcers, etc. 111. B Sode Sulph., 3uij. Sulphate of Soda, 3 dr. Pulv. Calcis Uste, | ~~ Quicklime, Pulv. Amyli, \ aoe Starch, \ of each 10 dr. M. Depilatory powder. A little water is added to make the above into a pulpy mass, which is applied between the hairs over the part to be rendered bare. The paste is to be taken off the skin with a wooden spatula in from one to two minutes.-—Hertwig. This is useful to prepare the skin for the application of adhesive plasters, etc., etc. Digitized by Microsoft® 78 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. INFUSIONS, SOLUTIONS, MIXTURES, &c. 112. B Magnesiz Sulph., 3j. Sulphate of Magnesia, 1 oz. Potasse Nitr., 3y. Nitre, 2 dr. Pulv. Zing., 3j. Ginger, 1 dr. Sp. AXther. Nitr., 3i. Sweet Spirits of Nitre, 2 dr. M. Given in a quarter of a pint of water to sheep with epizootic aphtha. 113. B Magnesia Sulph., 38s. Sulphate of Magnesia, 4 oz. Tinct. Opii, 3). Tincture of Opium, 1 dr. Pulv. Camphore, 3ss. Powdered Camphor, 4 dr. M. After abortion in ewes. 114. B Ol. Lini, 3ij. Linseed Oil, 2 02. Ol. Terebinth., 3iv. Oil of Turpentine, 4 dr. M. A vermifuge for sheep. 115. B OL Ricini, 3). Castor Oil, 1 oz. Tinct. Opii, 3). Tincture of Opium, 1 dr. M. A purge for sheep. 116. B Ext. Hyoscyami, 3ss. Extract of Henbane, 3 dr. Ol. Lini, 3ij. Linseed Oil, 2 02. M. In an infusion of linseed. Oleaginous laxative for sheep. 117. B Ol. Crotonis, gtt. xx. Croton Oil, 20 drops. Ol. Lini, 3xij. Linseed Oil, 12 oz. M. An oleaginous purge for horse. Digitized by Microsoft® FORMULARIUM VETERINARIUM. 79 118. B Ol. Tereb., Ziv. Oil of Turpentine, 4 oz. Olei Lini., Zxvi. Linseed Oil, 16 oz. M. An oleaginous purge for horse. Used often as an anthelmintic, or in colic, with the addition of opium. In colic, I do not recommend it. . 119. B Olei Ricini, Zvi. Castor Oil, 6 oz. Ol. Croton. Tiglii, min. xii. Croton Oil, 12 drops. M. Given to horse in linseed tea. 120. B Magnesiz Sulph., Zviij. Epsom Salts, 8 oz. Sulph., Ziv. Sulphur, 4 02. Pulv. Zing., Zij. Ginger, 2 dr. Aque, Oj. Waiter, 1 pint. Olei Lini, Zxij. Linseed Oil, 12 oz M. Fiat haustus. Purging drink for ox. 121. B Sode Sulph., Zxij. Sulphate of Soda, 12 oz. Sacchari Fecis, tb. j. Treacle, 1 pound. Aque, Oij. Water, 2 pints. M. Fiat haustus. Laxative draught for ox. ; 122, | B Magnesiz Sulph., 2xij. Epsom Salts, 12 oz. ‘Sol. Aloes, Ziv. Solution of Aloes, 4 oz. Potassee Carb., zss. Carbonate of Potash, 4 oz. Aquee, Oj. Water, 1 pint. M. A purge for cattle. 123. B Sol. Aloes, Ziv. Solution of Aloes, 4 oz. Sodz Carb., zss. Carbonate of Soda, 4 oz. OL. Lini, 2xij. Linseed Oil, 12 oz. Aque, q.s. Water, sufficient. M. Purge for cattle. Digitized by Microsoft® 80 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. 124. B Pulv. Senne, 3}. Powdered Senna, 1 dy. Aq. Fervidee, ij. Boiling Water, 3 02. Syr. Rhamni Cath., 3). Syrup of Buckthorn, 1 oz. M. An infusion of senna is to be first made by allowing the leaves to remain a little while in the boiling water, and the syrup is added afterwards. Post-Mortem Appearances.—On opening the stomachs and in- testines, the odour of vinegar indicates the nature of the irritant that has caused all the symptoms during life. The mucous membrane is apt to be soft and of a dark-red or coffee colour. Strong aceticacid induces solution of the tissues and hemorrhages. Tests.—-Acetic acid is chiefly recognised by its peculiar odour, and other physical properties. In order that these may be ex- amined, the fluid suspected to contain acetic acid is distilled in a retort connected with a Liebig’s condenser. If any appreci- able quantity of the acid be present, the distillate will possess its Digitized by Microsoft® 140 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. unmistakeable and characteristic odour. When boiled with sulphuric acid and alcohol, acetic acid or an acetate emits the very fragrant odour of acetic ether. A solution of perchloride of iron gives, with acetic acid, a blood-red colour. Alkaties. Potasu, Sopa, and their Carponates.—A horse received 2 drachms of caustic potash dissolved in 6 ounces of water; this gave rise to violent symptoms of colic, and death in the course 32 hours.* Orfila relates the death of a dog from 32 grains of the same agent. The symptoms were incessant vomiting, plaintive cries, foam at the mouth, disturbed breathing, and great pain; on the following day remarkable prostration, and on the third, death.t Symptoms.—They are the same both for potash and soda. In carnivora there is vomiting—in all, superpurgation, or an in- tense state of gastro-intestinal irritation; the tongue and fauces look red and swollen; the skin is cold and clammy; pulse quick and feeble; great prostration, and even partial paralysis. Fe- males abort. The time when death occurs is more or less pro- tracted in different animals and according to the dose. Post-Mortem Appearances.—The alimentary canal is more or less inflamed throughout; there are ecchymoses on the mucous membrane of stomach and intestines—sometimes erosions. I have observed a strange appearance resulting from the extrava- sations as they occur along the prominent points of the tempo- * Hertwic, Arzneimittellehre. + The injection of caustic potash into the veins has been resorted to as a method of poisoning in animals. Five grains in a drachm of water will kill a dog in the course of two hours, the dog scarcely suffering pain or being convulsed. TI have injected doses of carbonate of soda, varying from 10 to 30 grains, in the jugular vein of dogs; the first without inducing much dis- turbance, but the larger dose so affects the blood as to cause sudden death, whereas repeated small doses give rise to ecchymoses ér extravasations of blood beneath the serous and mucous membranes. Blood is voided per anum, turbid and red coloured fluid is effused in the serous cavities, the pulse becomes feeble, great debility supervenes, and the animal dies. . Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 141 rary longitudinal folds of the large intestine of the dog, espe- cially in the rectum. The genito-urinary organs give evidence of considerable irritation or inflammatory action. Treatment.—V egetable acids; lemon juice; vinegar and water; oils and fats to saponify the alkali; milk, albumen, and various demulcents, are of considerable use to protect the mucous mem- brane. Tests— Action on turmeric paper, and restoring the blue to litmus reddened by acid. Both potash and soda are recognised very much by their negative characters. Soda and its salts impart a yellow colour to the outer blowpipe flame, whilst potash and its salts tinge the outer blowpipe flame violet. Bi- chloride of platinum causes in solutions of potash a yellow crys- talline precipitate. Tartaric acid causes in neutral or alkaline solution of potash, a precipitate of bitartrate of potash. The carbonates effervesce on coming in contact with an acid; they yield a white precipitate with nitrate of silver. Limz.—Not so dangerous as potash or ammonia; but though Viborg denied its very actively irritating properties, both Orfila’s and Hertwig’s experiments show that it has consider- able activity, however much the gastric juice may neutralize it. The poisonous dose for dog is from 2 to 4 drachms, and for ox or horse from 2 to 6 ounces. Symptoms.— Accelerated pulse; quick breathing; cedematous swelling of the head and limbs; colicky pains and great debility, with every appearance of an asthenic fever; ending in death in from 2 to 4 days. Hertwig has witnessed such symptoms in two horses which had licked lime freshly laid on the walls. Post-Mortem Appearances.—Redness and ecchymosed condition of the gastro-intestinal mucous membrane. Treatment.—Dilute acids; carbonic acid in soda water; fixed ‘oils; albumen. Tests. — When moistened with water lime crumbles to powder, and a considerable amount of heat is evolved; this, which is called the slaking of lime, depends upon the formation of a hydrate. This hydrate is slightly soluble in water, and its Digitized by Microsoft® 142 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. solubility is greater in cold than in hot water. The solution of lime (lime-water) has an alkaline reaction and taste; when ex- posed to the air it becomes rapidly covered with a film of carbo- nate of lime. It is precipitated by oxalic acid, by carbonic acid, or a soluble carbonate. It is distinguished from baryta and strontia by not being precipitated by diluted sulphuric acid. Ammonia and its CarBonates.—Potsonous Doses and Symp- toms.—Moderate doses of the strong liquor ammonia, such as 2 drachms for horse or ox, and from 8 to 12 drops for dogs, give rise to slavering from the mouth, dejected look, increased heat of the skin and out-breathed air, bright red colour of the mucous membrane of the mouth and nose, pulse full and quick, breathing rapid; in dogs there is often vomiting, great uneasi- ness—later, increased perspiration, and augmented secretion of urine and from the mucous membranes; not unfrequently the buccal mucous membrane is corroded. The above symptoms lasi from half to 2 hours. Large dosey give rise, in addition to the above symptoms, to tetanic spasms, especially of the muscles of the neck, whereby the latter is drawn backwards with con- siderable force. Much fever exists; the stomach and intestines become inflamed, as also the lungs; the skin is hot, and either fits, coma, or paraplegia supervene, to end in death. According to Orfila’s experiments, a dog died in 23 hours from the exhi- bition of 36 drops of the strong liquor ammonie, and death occurred without indication of paralysis or convulsions. Hert- wig saw a horse die with symptoms of inflammation of the in- testines, from having had 1 ounce of the solution of ammonia; and another horse died in 50 minutes, with violent cramp and symptoms of suffocation, from having received a 3-ounce dose. The liquor ammoniz is equally destructive if injected into the veins. * Post-Mortem Appearances. —Of irritant poisons in general. Inflammation of the gastro-pulmonary mucous membrane; ecchymoses; dark fluid blood in heart and blood-vessels, etc. * See Hrgrwie, loc. cit. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA, 143 Treatment.—Vinegar and water; demulcents in the shape of mucilage and albumen, etc. Tests for Ammonia and its Compounds.—Ammonia is known by its pungent odour, its alkaline reaction, and the white fumes which it forms on being brought in contact with any volatile acid, as hydrochloric acid. When a fluid is suspected to con- tain a salt of ammonia, it is mixed with caustic lime or potash, and heated, the ammonia, if present, escapes, and unless present in extremely small quantity, the odour evolved will be quite conclusive of its presence. As confirmatory tests, a little red- dened litmus may be exposed to its action, it will become blue. A rod dipped in dilute hydrochloric acid, when brought in contact with the escaping ammonia, will be surrounded by white fumes. Alkaline Salts. Bryoxaate of PorasH (Salt of Sorrel).— The poisonous properties of this salt are due to the oxalic acid, which see. BirraTRate oF PotasH (Cream of Tartar).—In very large doses, it induces gastro-enteritis and death. Mucilaginous draughts may be had recourse to in such cases. Tests of Bitartrate of Potash.—Potash is detected by the tests given under that substance. Chloride of calcium, throws down a white precipitate of tartrate of lime, soluble in a cold solution of caustic potash, but is again precipitated when the solution is boiled. BromipE oF Porasstum.—This powerful alterative, if given in doses above 3 or 4 drachms, excites the circulation and breathing; the mucous membrane reddens; the skin becomes hot, and covered with tumours, which greatly resemble isolated farcy buds. When injected into the veins, either bromine or bromide of potassium induce, in addition to the above symp- toms, violent muscular contractions, the animals fall, the excre- tions acquire a yellow and then a pinkish colour, and death may result from the blood coagulating. Tabourin has injected Digitized by Microsoft® 144 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. about 3 ounces of water, containing 100 drops of bromine, without producing such effects. In the dog, 10 or 12 drops, dissolved in an ounce of water and injected into a vein, prove speedily fatal. —(ORFILA. )* Iopipz or Porasstum.—In. repeated small doses the iodide of potassium is an excitant to the glandular and absorbent system ; and in administering it to dogs, I have seen great irritation of the genito-urinary apparatus induced by it. In large doses, it irritates the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines. According to Maillet, in doses of half a drachm given to a dog, or from 2 to 3 drachms given to the horse, it acts as an irritant poison on the alimentary canal; and 4 drachms in the horse suffice to induce fatal hemorrhage from the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines.* These doses, as Tabourin has remarked, appear small; but I think the fact, that Orfila and others consider the poisonous dose of the iodide of potassium higher than Maillet, depends on the mode of administration, and the quantity of water in which the iodide is given. Treatment. — Demulcents, and large quantities of fluid to drink. Tests.— Tf in the solid state, mix with it a small quantity of peroxide of manganese, and moisten the powder with equal parts of strong sulphuric acid and water; then heat the mass in a glass tube. The purple vapour of iodine is immediately evolved. If the iodide be in solution, add to the clear liquid an equal part of a solution of starch, and then a few drops of strong nitric acid. The blue colour of the iodide of starch pro- duced, will show that the salt is an alkaline iodide. This test may be applied to vomited matters.—(Taytor.) Sutpnurer or Porassrum and Soprum (Liver of Sulphur).— Poisonous dose for horse, from 2 to 4 ounces. One drachm is sufficient to kill a dog. Symptoms.—Salivation, colicky pains, borborigmata, laboured and accelerated breathing, the expired air having a sulphurous odour; pulse quick and irregular; muscular twitchings and * Tapourin, Matiére Médicale. + Ipp., loc. cit. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. © 145 tetanic spasms; weakness of the hind quarters, even amounting to paralysis. Death. Post-Mortem Appearances. —Signs of inflammation of the stomach and bowels. Treatment.—Mucilaginous draughts, with a weak solution of hypochlorite of soda, so long as the breath is tainted with the odour of sulphuretted hydrogen. Tests. —Hydrochloric acid added to the powder, causes the evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen. The subacetate of lead gives an intensely black precipitate, with liver of sulphur. Alkaline Hypochlorites. — Hypochlorite of Potash (Eau de Javelle); Hypochlorite of Soda (Labarraque’s Liquid) ; 3 Hypo- Chlorite of Lame Plechine Powder).—TIrritants in a feeble degree. HyprocHiorate oF Ammonia (Sal Ammoniac).—Poisonous dose for horse and ox, from 3 to 6 ounces, according to Hert- wig; 5 ounces, according to Delafond. A drachm and a half or 2 drachms will cause death in dogs in the course of twenty-four hours.—(ORFILA.) Symptoms.—Repeated and small doses lead to loss of appe- tite, dulness, pallor of mucous membranes, small and feeble pulse, loss of flesh, abundant secretion from the mucous mem- branes, fluidity and dark colour of Hee A large dose kills as other irritant poisons. Treatment.—No antidote. Give vegetable acids and olea- ginous draughts. Tests.—See Ammonia. Nirrate oF PorasH (Nitre, Saltpetre).—Porsonous Doses.— Mr Morton gave 2 pounds of nitre in 6 pounds of water, in- ducing a purgative and diuretic effect; but in the course of a — day all had subsided.* Horses can support large and oft- repeated doses of nitre under some circumstances. Mr Cupiss of Diss has shown this by experiment.t Huzard said, that 16 * Veterinarian for 1837, p. 198. + Bia., p. 67. L Digitized by Microsoft® 146 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. ounces, dissolved in 48 ounces of water, were not sufficient to kill, but the dose had to be repeated every eight days for three times to cause death in the horse. Grognier has seen a horse die with that quantity; and even 8 ounces sufficed to induce death by inflammation of the intestines. Cattle have died from doses of 5 to 6 ounces; lambs, from licking walls covered with nitrate of potash. Dogs can support a large dose, if the ceso- phagus be let free, for they get rid of it by vomiting. The cesophagus being tied, 1 to 2 drachms are sufficient to induce fatal effects.* Symptoms.—Pulse small and feeble, breathing accelerated, mucous membranes injected, skin cold, and coat staring; un- easiness, great pain in the abdomen; vomiting in dog or pig, purging in the horse and ox; copious urinary secretion; in a short time great prostration of strength supervenes; trembling con- vulsions (in the dog symptoms of tetanus), hind quarters para- lysed; dilatation of pupils. Death. Post-Mortem Appearances.— Signs of inflammation of the digestive and urinary organs, etc. Treatment.—Mucilaginous draughts. In the smaller animals vomiting should be excited. There is no specific antidote. Tests—See Potash and Nitric Acid. SULPHATE OF Porasn.—Injurious only in large doses. The symptoms are those common to the alkaline salts, and the chief test is the following:—A solution of sulphate of potash is preci- pitated by tartaric acid, indicating the presence of potash; a salt of baryta then enables us to recognise the sulphuric acid. SutpHaTeE or ALumina and PotasH (Alum).— Dose and Symptoms.—From 1 to 2 ounces of this salt given to a dog in- duce considerable suffering, vomiting and purging, weakness of the extremities, general depression, and if the cesophagus be tied, death. Post-Mortem Appearances.—Inflamed state of the mucous _. membrane of the intestines. * See Tapourm, Matiére Médicale, p. 689. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 147 - Treatment.—Calcined magnesia in water. Tests.—A watery solution undergoes no change with ferro- cyanide of potassium or sulphuretted hydrogen. The sulphuric acid is to be tested for with a baryta salt. Treated by potash, a white precipitate of alumina falls, which is dissolved by an excess of the alkali, and is again precipitated on the addition of chloride of ammonium. This character distinguishes it from the other alkaline earths. CHLORIDE oF Soprum (Common Salt).—Brine and souse often prove poisonous. Of brine, Gohier considers the poisonous dose for the horse as from 2 pounds and a-half to 3 pounds. For cattle, according to Hertwig, from 4 to 5 pounds; and for dogs, from 1 to 2 ounces. Reynal has written on the poisonous pro- perties assumed by souse, four or five months after its prepara- tion. He gives as the fatal doses: for horse, 34 pints; for pig, $ pint; for dog, 6 to 7 ounces.* Symptoms.—Loss of appetite, thirst, dulness, in some animals vomiting; flatulence, diarrhea, vertigo, convulsive movements, involuntary mastication with accumulation of foam round the mouth; in pigs the mucous membrane of the mouth acquires a pink hue; the eyes are bright, pupils dilated; the animals cannot stand erect, the hind quarters become paralysed, and in the course of eight hours after the exhibition of the poison the ani- mal dies. : Post-Mortem Appearances.—General signs of gastro-intestinal inflammation, with more or less irritation of the gastro-urinary organs. The mucous membrane of the stomach is dry, and stained here and there by infiltrated blood. The blood through- out the body is fluid. The cerebral substance is sometimes in- filtrated with blood; the chief part affected is the cerebellum . and medulla oblongata, and the membranes over them are in- jected with blood, or bear the signs of blood-extravasation. Be- tween the pia mater and cerebral substance there is usually serosity of a brown-red colour.t * Recueil de Médecine Vétérinaire, 1855. + Ibid., Paris, May, 1856, p. 356. Digitized by Microsoft® 148 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. Treatment. —Mucilaginous draughts and enemata. Cold water bath, general blood-letting, acidulated drinks, cold ablution over the head. Tests.—By evaporation the chloride of sodium deposits in the shape of cubic crystals. Salt is insoluble in alcohol. If strong sulphuric acid be poured on it, abundant acid vapours are evolved; and when a rod, dipped in strong ammonia, is: brought near to them, a dense white cloud is formed. Nitrate of silver forms a white precipitate with a solution of chloride of sodium, insoluble in boiling nitric acid, and soluble in ammonia. METALLOIDAL POISONS. PHospHorus. — Poisoning Dose— Horse — 20 to 30 grains, according to Hertwig, or 8 grains taken for four days (Lowag). Tabourin says that 4 grains in 2 drachms of oil injected into the jugular vein induce instantaneous -death. Dog, 4 to 1 grain. —(ORFILA). Symptoms,—Violent inflammation of the digestive apparatus. Great exaltation of the nervous system; excitation of the genital organs. Thirst; the breath gives an aliaceous odour; dark coloured matter is vomited by the dog; diarrhcea; the feces are luminous. Post-Mortem Appearances.—Intense inflammation of the di- gestive organs. Perforation of the stomach has occurred in dogs (Orfila). Invagination of small intestines. Congestion of the brain. The flesh has the odour of phosphorus, and ap- pears luminous in the dark. Phosphorus can be detected in the organs, in the free state, for more than a fortnight. Putre- faction is often strangely retarded. — (Ann. de Med. Vet., Bruxelles, 1855, p. 134.) Treatment.—Avoid oleaginous draughts; exhibit mucilagin- ous and albuminous drinks, with carbonate of magnesia. Emetics to dog. Tests—Insoluble in water; bits of it may be found in the vomited matters and in the intestines. Sulphuret of carbon will Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 149 dissolve free phosphorus, and it can by this means be separated from other matters with which it may be mixed in the stomach. Phosphorus is soluble in alcohol, ether, and oils. The contents of the viscera are luminous in the dark; and, if warmed, a white cloud, with acid reaction, rises from the portions of phos- phorus which have remained free. Analysis in Organic Mixtures.—The contents of the stomach, or other organic matter supposed to contain phosphorus, are mixed with water, and a little sulphuric acid is added. The mixture is then placed in a retort, to which a tube dipping in cold water is fitted, and the distillation carried on in a dark place. If any phosphorus exist in the organic matter, luminous Yapours will soon rise, and will be ponders in he distilled water. On testing this, phosphorus or phosphoric acid will be found. Bromine and Topinz.—The poisonous properties of these two substances are analogous. Two drachms of bromine killed a dog in 5 hours (Glover). According to Orfila, from 10 to 12 drops in 1 ounce of water injected into the jugular vein of a dog prove suddenly fatal; 5 to 6 drachms of iodine are sufficient te kill a dog-in a few days. A horse was attacked with colic from having been made to swallow half an ounce of iodine (Tabourin). Patu saw many horses die from the effects of 2-drachm doses of iodine injected into the veins. Symptoms.—General een of disturbance; severe pain. in the abdomen; salivation; diarrhea (vomiting in the dog); prostration of strength; hot skin; dyspnea; choryza; the con- junctiva reddens, the pupils dilated; convulsions, vertigo, and death supervene. Post-Mortem Appearances.—The mucous membrane of the cesophagus and stomach is found inflamed, ulcerated, and detached in parts; small circular ulcers, surrounded by yellow areolar, with yellow and brown patches scattered over the mem- brane, especially near the pylorus —(ORFILA.) Treatment.—Emetics to dog, etc. Warm water; starchy, Digitized by Microsoft® 159 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. mucilaginous, or albuminous draughts. Orfila recommends starch, opium, and antiphlogistics. In cases of poisoning by tincture of iodine, carbonate of soda is useful. Starch enemata. Starch should be continued until the feeces or vomited matters are coloured blue. Tests.—Bromine is a red liquid, and is identified by its colour and odour. It is soluble in water, alcohol, and ether. If it exists as hydrobromic acid or a bromide, chlorine should be passed through the suspected liquid. A red colour results from the bromine being set free, and it may afterwards be separated by ether.—(Tayyor.) fodine is a solid of a bluish-black colour, of a somewhat metallic appearance. When heated it evolves violet-coloured vapour. Jodine is slightly soluble in distilled water, but highly soluble in alcohol. Its solutions strike a beautiful blue colour with starch. Iodine combines with bases, forming a series of salts called iodides. When a solution of an iodide is heated with black oxide of manganese and sulphuric acid, the vapour of iodine is given off, and is recognised by its odour and colour. If a strong mineral acid, or chlorine, be added to the solution of an iodide, and then starch, the characteristic blue colour is procured. SuLpHuR.—Poisonous Doses.—10 to 12 ounces induce violent pains in the ‘bowels (Collaine). Tabourin says, that 8 ounces are sufficient to poison a colt, but 16 ounces are required for adult horses. Cattle are less susceptible. Symptoms.—Dulness; loss of appetite; colicky pains; sul- phuretted hydrogen is found in great abundance in the intes- tines, and there is fetid superpurgation; the pulse is small and quick; the skin feels cold and clammy; and the animal shortly dies. Post-Mortem Appearances.—Injection and lividity of the gastro-intestinal mucous membrane; often gangrene; sulphur is met with in the fecal matters; there is great fluidity of the blood; ecchymoses in the heart and on the surface of the lungs. Waldinger says that the flesh of ruminants is rendered unfit for human food owing to the odour imparted to it. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 151 Treatment.—Exhibit chlorinated lime; oleaginous purgatives. _ If the prostration is great, give alcohol and ether. Persist in — the use of enemata. Puncture of the intestine for the escape of gas may retard death. Lests,—Sulphur is known by its characteristic pale yellow colour. When heated it easily inflames, and in burning evolves the highly irritating fumes of sulphurous acid. Sul- phur is insoluble in water and alcohol, but easily soluble in oil of turpentine and bisulphide of carbon. When sulphur is boiled for a considerable time with concentrated nitric acid, it is oxidized and converted into sulphuric acid. This may be detected in the solution by the tests for that substance. METALLIC IRRITANTS. Several broad chemical distinctions may be drawn between metallic and non-metallic irritants. The metallic are all pre- cipitated in neutral solutions by sulphuretted hydrogen gas, forming insoluble sulphurets of various colours. Hydro-sulphu- ret of ammonia precipitates them all excepting arsenic. The ferrocyanide of potassium forms ferrocyanides of various colours with all, excepting arsenic and its compounds, the vegetable salts of antimony, and the chloride of gold.* Arsenic— Arsenious Acip (White Arsenic). — Poisonous Doses. —40 grains if in solution, but if solid, from 1 to 2 ounces are destructive to horses. Sheep die if they swallow 2 drachms of it. Dogs, from their facility in vomiting, some- times escape after taking large quantities; but if the esophagus be tied, 2 grains suffice to kill (Orfila). In small and oft- repeated doses large quantities of arsenic may be given, and it is of great use to get horses into condition. At various times many animals and even human beings have been poisoned by arsenical preparations from their use in the * Taytor, On Poisons, p. 308. Digitized by Microsoft® 152 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. dipping of sheep for the prevention or treatment of scab. The most remarkable case on record is one which led to a lawsuit in which I was a witness in 1858, Early in August in 1858, Mr James Black, farmer at Burton, purchased of Mr J. Elliot, chemist and druggist, Hide Hill, Berwick, 14 packages of a mixture used as a sheep dip. The farmer dipped 869 sheep on a Saturday, and on Monday they began to die. Ina few days 850 had succumbed. In addition to the sheep, a donkey, an ox, five horses, and a number of fowls died suddenly. In Mr Elliot’s dipping mixture, the arsenic was associated with soda, ash, and sulphur, to which soft soap was afterwards added. The soda ash is usually employed for the purpose of rendering the arsenic much more soluble than it would otherwise be, which it does by combining with arsenic and forming the soluble arsenite of soda. The sulphur combines with a part of the arsenic and soda to form sulphurets, which aid in the de- struction of the vermin. Mr Elliot’s bath contained in each packet 20 ounces of arsenic, 20 ounces of soda ash, and 2 ounces of sulphur. The directions for use were—“ Pour upon each packet 3 or 4 gallons of boiling water, and stir well for the space of 10 minutes; add about 45 gallons of cold water, and dissolve in the mixture 4 lbs. soft soap; the preparation will then be com- pleted, and the quantity sufficient to dip 50 hogs.” Such a solu- tion is only dangerous if animals swallow it. It cannot be absorbed by the skin, and to demonstrate this I conducted a series of experiments, in company with Dr Stevenson Mac- adam. Dr Macadam analysed a large number of mixtures used in our experiments, and some were dips held in high estimation over the country. In order that the arsenical strength of these various baths may be more readily compared, a table is sub- joined, which includes the more important points connected with each dip, and gives the proportions of arsenic supplied to 50 sheep in ounces, and to each sheep in grains: — Digitized by Microsoft® 153 MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. £10¢8.0 |Ecpidog.cr1t | F91 10 99.91 | °° a os a “urereyy poddrp deays 09 ‘eunsaid om ‘pure ‘og Jo praysut aseyord ‘yore 07 peppe AIIM Joye JO SUOT[LS OQ BY ‘TOM yw posn sv “TZ SHOT G10 G61 | _LEE IO 1.98E §ge qo og.se | °° = a ‘op ‘op ‘7 dig B10 16.1 | free 10 9.FeE | TE 10 PZ.8E | me “* ureyg ur pesn ATaatsuayxe Area Sy dig. z BGe 10 g.1Ge OF ee a a sist ‘op ‘op s9p[eD G GGE IO 8.1 OF ue om me “ gangxtpl Suiddig ssuimmoig p $07 10 9.201 08 zg se cop TIT ‘op oc z ZGE 10 9.148 OF eae sis “cop TI op og I QLT 10 6.GLT 06 a we IT SAO Wa ‘T yuoursedxy sung Ava FL Jo 12.1 | 008 ¥pe 10 ga.pe | en ae oa ‘op ‘op og #101¢.0 | OOT IT 10 P-1T fo es AT ‘op ‘op og &¢ 10 ¢¢.g | 009 89 Io 16.89 | ** el TTT ‘op ‘op OL S110 eF.1T | 093 BE 10 10.85 | eae SPT ‘op ‘op og ST 10 €F.1 | 096 §9% 10 16.8% |“ ee "+ 7 quouttedxg sueprorypy puv soSurery I 9L1 10 6.941 0Z 10 00.06 | °° se ae pasn oq 04 pepoarlp sv TV sAorpT ‘T 10 00.1 st ‘daays “daays ueye, Suleq euo £q dn exe, | 4335 4q dn uoyey Waeq SAU pue ‘qyeq 9q 0} popueyuy *Wy8q Gore UE oyg Jo woTTes ue ‘gyeq “‘Ca8N SHUNLXIN ONIddIa quasoid o1uesie uo UI yuoseId aq} Jo suoTTes jo yumours oluesie Jo sulviy | 49s ur Juasead aatzeredulog oluasie JO SOOUNGO Digitized by Microsoft® 154 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. Thousands of sheep have been dipped in compounds such as the above, and have not been poisoned. I have immersed sheep, and observed their fleeces highly charged with the mixture for a period varying from 24 to 36 hours, and no unfavourable symptoms ensued. Mr Black’s sheep were hurriedly bathed— at the rate of 90 an hour—were turned out on good grass, and some slight showers washed the dip from the fleeces on to the soil, and Dr Douglas Maclagan found the grass growing from sods sent him for analysis, the sods themselves, and the contents of the alimentary canal, especially the ceecum of the sheep, conta- minated with arsenic. Great negligence is observed in the manner in which poisonous sheep-dipping compositions are used by farmers, and this was well illustrated in the case of Black v. Elliot, as no one at the trial could speak as to the disposal of from fifty to sixty gallons of arsenical solution. The cases of poisoning at Burton were therefore certainly due to poison swallowed, and not to that which never could be possible, the absorption of an arsenical solution by the skin. Symptoms.—Violent pain in the bowels; pulse quick, feeble, and often irregular; respiration laboured and quick; dog and pig vomit, and the vomited matter is of a yellowish colour, which is supposed to be due to a partial conversion of the poison to a sulphuret; intolerable sense of thirst; violent purging, with tenesmus; the urine becomes of a reddish colour; the animal cannot stand erect; there is a great dulness and general depression ; the natural heat of the body diminishes; the pupils are dilated; coma, paralysis, and sometimes convulsions occur, and the animal dies. In giving arsenic as a medicine, chronic poisoning may be induced, characterized by inflammation of the eyes, cutaneous eruption, jaundice, desquamation of cuticle, and loss of hair. The symptoms noticed in sheep, such as those that were poisoned at Burton, have been sickness, violent abdominal pains, anxious expression of countenance, discharge of frothy mucus from nose and mouth, laboured breathing, swelling of the head, dark and bloody urine ; the wool falls off in large patches, particularly from the back and loins, and the skin is Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 155 ‘black and blue” Mr Bird, veterinary surgeon at Belford, who used no means to stop the fatal results, found many of the sheep apparently well, eating or ruminating, and dead in 20 minutes afterwards. Chronic arsenical poisoning in ruminants has been recently shown to be attended with the formation of fistule of the reti- culum, and even of the true stomach. The first case of this deserip- tion was recorded by Professor Falke, and observed in 1857 near Erfurt by M. Julius Hesse, a veterinary student. The patient was a cow that had accidentally swallowed some poison laid down for rats. It appears, however, that arsenical emanations from mines and factories, being deposited on the grasses in adjoining fields, frequently induce organic lesions of the stomachs of ruminants, and the subject has been recently investigated by the professors of the Dresden Veterinary School. Professor Haubner gave a sheep daily from 3 to 74 grains of arsenic. The small dose was commenced with, and was gradually increased to the larger one. At first the effects appeared salutary, and indeed such as indi- cate the operation ‘of mineral tonics; however, there soon appeared dulneys, loss of appetite, and even little water was consumed. A painful spot then appeared at the anterior part of the belly. The skin was of a blue colour, the wool dropped off, and the animal experienced great pain on pressing the gastric region. In fifteen days a swelling occurred where pre- viously the painful spot on the belly had been noticed. The swelling increased, the animal was very costive, and refused all food. By the seventh week there appeared a hollow beneath the skin in the centre of the swelling, and by the tenth week an abscess formed, which burst, and resulted in a fistula com- municating with the true stomach. This passage was indirect, and it was only after three months that its size admitted of the exit of food through it. This experiment was performed with a view to determine the nature of a disease which occurred fre- quently in the neighbourhood of a village, and close to some arsenical mines. The malady attacked the cows, which were seized with dysentery and tumours on the belly, terminating in fistulous openings of the stomach, such as those above noticed. Digitized by Microsoft® 156 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. Anumber of post-mortem examinations were made on these cows, and that the disease was due to arsenic was confirmed, especially by analysis of the tissues around the fistula, of the flesh, and of the livers of the affected animals. Mr John George Dickinson, veterinary surgeon, Boston, was recently called to see a pig poisoned with arsenic green from paperbangings. Bits of paper coloured with the arsenite of copper had accidentally found their way amongst the pig’s food. Post-Mortem Appearances. —The principal lesions are met with in the stomach and intestine; and it is a strange fact, that the characteristic lesions of the stomach occur even if arsenic has been exhibited by applying it on an open wound, or otherwise introducing it into the system. The appearances are those of inflammation of the stomach, the mucous mem- brane being intensely red, coloured by extravasated blood. The stomach generally contains ropy, bloody mucus. Arsenic is seen adhering to the coats of the stomach, especially where these seem very actively inflamed and even thickened. Ulcera- tion is rare, but in the horse the whole intestine, especially the cecum, is intensely inflamed. The morbid appearances of the heart, lungs, and blood-vessels are not characteristic, but such as are met in cases of blood disease. Treatment.— Exhibit purgatives to herbivorous animals. Give emetics to omnivorous animals. The hydrated peroxide of iron has been found useful in the dog by Orfila, and in the horse by MM. Renault and Bouley, jun. The carbonate of iron, or the rubigo ferri, may be exhibited instead of the hydrated peroxide in oft-repeated doses. When the poison has acted on the system every mode of treatment will prove ineffectual. Orfila recommends bleeding and diuretics. The Italians give excitants and alcoholic — draughts. Opiates will be found useful. Tests—In a solid state, arsenic is known by its volatiliza- tion with white smoke if heated on a foil of platina. White arsenic In vapour has no odour; is not dissolved in boiling dis- tilled water; it floats on the surface in a sort of film, or is aggregated in small lumps in the bottom of the vessel. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 157 “Tf the powder be heated with a solution of hydrosulphuret of ammonia in a watch-glass, there is no change of colour, as there is for most metallic poisons; on heating the mixture, the white powder is dissolved; and on continuing the heat until the ammonia is expelled, a rich yellow or orange red film is left (sesquisulphuret of arsenic), which is soluble in all alkalies, and insoluble in muriatic acid. Arsenic in solution in water may be discovered by the crys- tallization on a slip of glass of octohedral crystals, presenting. triangular surfaces by reflected light. The solution in water, treated by ammonio-nitrate of silver, gives a rich yellow precipitate of arsenite of silver, passing rapidly to a grey-brown colour. The test is made by adding to a strong solution of nitrate of silver a weak solution of ammonia, till the oxide of silver at first precipitated is nearly re-dissolved. The solution of arsenic treated by ammonio-sulphate of cop- per, gives a pale green precipitate, or a bright green, according to the quantity of arsenic. This test is formed by the addition of liquor ammoniz to a weak solution of sulphate of copper, until the precipitate at first produced is re-dissolved. The solution, if previously acidified, may be tested by a cur- rent of sulphuretted hydrogen gas; a yellow precipitate is then produced (orpiment). This precipitate is insoluble in water, but soluble in pure nitric acid, nitro-hydrochloric acid, and in solutions of the alkalis, ammonia, soda, and potash. © Detection in Organic Mixture.—Marsh’s Test.—Founded upon the decomposition of arsenious acid by nascent hydrogen; the gas arseniuretted hydrogen is formed, and known by the follow- ing properties:—It burns with a bluish flame and thick white smoke. It produces a dark stain on a piece of porcelain or glass held in the flame. A slip of paper, moistened with ammonio- nitrate of silver, and held at a distance of an inch above the flame, will be coloured yellow. Fit a large, wide-mouthed bottle with a cork perforated by a glass funnel reaching to the bottom of the bottle, and a tube of Digitized by Microsoft® 158 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. German glass, bent once at aright angle, passing merely through the cork. Introduce pure zine and diluted sulphuric acid, and when all the air has been expelled, heat the horizontal part of the small tube with a spirit lamp. No deposit is formed if the materials be pure. Now pour in the suspected fluid through the funnel—and a dark, metallic crust is deposited immediately beyond the heated part of the tube if arsenic be present. Arsenic is not, however, the only metal which may be thus deposited. Antimony reacts in the same way. The portion of glass tube with the deposit of arsenic must therefore be filed off, and heated with nitric acid; the acid solution is evaporated to dryness, and tested with nitrate of silver. A reddish precipitate of arseniate of silver will be produced if arsenic was the metal deposited in the glass tube. . The exit tube of the Marsh apparatus may, with convenience, be drawn out to a jet, when the evolution of gas has proceeded for some minutes* it is lighted, and a porcelain plate is held over the flame. A dark stain, composed of metallic arsenic, is deposited; this may be distinguished from a similar stain of me- tallic antimony, by the method described above for the analysis of a deposit of metallic arsenic, when deposited in glass tubes, viz., by dissolving in nitric acid, evaporating, diluting with dis- tilled water, and testing with nitrate of silver. Reinsch’'s Test.—Filter the suspected liquid in the ordinary way; boil a portion strongly acidulated with muriatic acid; introduce into it, when hot, a bright slip of copper, and boil for some time. The presence of arsenic is ascertained by a metallic grey deposit on the copper; after some minutes, if the copper is unchanged, it may be inferred that there is no arsenic, or at least that it is so in minute quantities. If the grey deposit take. place, the copper must be dried and heated in a reduction tube; the octohedral crystals of arsenious acid will be deposited on the walls of the tube. * The operator must be very cautious that he does not apply a light to the escaping gas, until the whole of the atmospheric air has been expelled from the apparatus, in which case the apparatus would explode. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 159 The same process (Reinsch’s) may be applied for the detection of arsenious acid in the tissues. The latter are cut into small pieces, and boiled in a mixture of one part of pure muriatic acid and eight of water, until they are reduced to a soft magma. The liquid is to be strained and the residue pressed; the copper foil is then introduced. To save time, the straining may be dis- pensed with. The poison may also be detected in the tissues, by combin- ing Flander’s and Reinsch’s process—+. ¢., “by carbonizing the tissues with sulphuric acid, and then digesting the dry ash in muriatic acid and water.”—(Taytor, p. 362.) Distillation Process.—Dr Taylor has published, with the date of the Smethurst trial, which attracted so much attention, a method of separating minute quantities of arsenic, which seems to be superior to those previously in use. It is based ‘ upon the fact, that when arsenious acid is distilled with con- centrated hydrochloric acid, a volatile chloride of arsenic is formed, which readily distils and can be collected. ' . he organic substance to be tested for arsenic is heated to dryness in the water bath, and it is cut into very small pieces, or reduced to powder. It is then covered with highly concen- trated hydrochloric acid, the purity of which has been ascertained by a previous experiment, and the mixture is placed in a retort, or flask, connected with a Liebig’s condenser. To the conden- ser is attached a small receiver containing a little distilled water. The distillation is carried on over a sand bath, until all the acid has been expelled from the retort. The distillate is usually almost colourless, and is admirably fitted for examination by Marsh’s and Reinsch’s tests. It may be conveniently divided into three portions. The first is boiled with small pieces of bright copper foil for some time. The arsenic will be deposited upon the copper. “The larger portion of the distilled fluid should be intro- duced into a bottle or flask, the capacity of which may be regu- lated by the quantity of acid fluid to be examined. To the neck of this flask there should be fitted, by means of a soft cork, a hard glass tube of about a quarter of an inch in the bore. Digitized by Microsoft® 160 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. After rising an inch or two, it should be bent at a right angle, and carried horizontally for the length of a foot. It should be bent at another right angle for the convenience of dipping into liquid contained in glasses or tubes. The horizontal portion of the tube should be drawn out in three different places, until the diameter does not exceed the tenth of an inch. The tube should resist a red heat without blackening.”"—(TayLor, On Antimony and Arsenic; Guy's Hospital Reports for 1860, p. 243. ne distillate obtained by the process mentioned above is placed in a bottle such as we have just described, and a piece of pure zinc is dropped in. A rapid evolution of gas immediately commences; the gas consists of hydrogen mixed (in the case of arsenic being present in the fluid tested) with arseniuretted hy- drogen. In order to ascertain whether the latter gas be present, the free end of the delivery tube of the apparatus is plunged into a solution of nitrate of silver. In the event of arsenic being present in the gas, the solution will become blackened from the deposition of metallic silver, the arsenic being oxi- dized into arsenious acid, at the expense of the oxygen of the nitrate of silver. The solution of nitrate of silver is then re- served for further experiment. Heat is then applied to the horizontal tube about a quarter of an inch before each contracted space, beginning with that which is nearest to the flask evolving the gas. Arseniuretted hydrogen, if present in the escaping gas, is decomposed, and me- tallic arsenic is deposited in the contracted portions of the tube. The first horizontal tube may then be withdrawn, and another (previously prepared) quickly substituted for it; the free end of this is made to dip in strong nitric acid, which immediately decomposes any arseniuretted hydrogen escaping, and converts it to the condition of arsenic acid. This is then reserved for testing. By these processes we have obtained :— Istly. A solution of nitrate of silver, containing “some arsenious acid. 2ndly. Deposits of metallic arsenic. 3rdly. Nitric acid, holding arsenic acid in solution. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA.. 161 Istly. The solution of nitrate of silver is treated with dilute hydrochloric acid, in order to precipitate the silver in solution, it is filtered, and a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen passed through it. Any arsenic which it may contain will be precipi- tated as the yellow sulphuret. This may be further tested. 2ndly. The metallic arsenic deposited upon .the inside of the horizontal tube is heated in a tube, whereby octahedral crystals are obtained, which are examined with a microscope, and may, if present in sufficient quantity, be dissolved in a few drops of water, and tested with ammonio-nitrate of silver. 3rdly. The nitric acid is evaporated to dryness; a white de- posit of arsenic acid will remain, which may be dissolved in water, and tested with nitrate of silver. In concluding our remarks upon the very interesting and im- portant distillation process for the detection of arsenic, we must state that its advantages over former processes consist, Istly, in its greater delicacy; by it traces of arsenic may be separated both from inorganic and organic substances which by all former processes escaped detection; 2ndly, in its separating arsenic readily from some other metals which are liable to be con- founded with it, without in any way making their subsequent examination difficult. Let arsenic and antimony co-exist, for example, in an organic mixture; if it be treated by the distilla- tion process, the distillate will contain the whole of the arsenic in the form of chloride. The antimony will remain in the retort, and may be detected by subsequent processes. For further details on this process, we refer our readers to Dr Taylor's Memoirs in Guy’s Hospital Reports for 1860. * It is impossible to impress too much upon the minds of per- sons about to undertake an analysis for arsenic, the importance of being extremely careful in working with pure reagents. Before using Marsh’s test, the purity of the zinc and sulphuric acid employed should be tested very thoroughly by the process itself, and by dipping the free end of the conducting tube into nitrate of silver, before any organic mixture is added. In using Reinsch’s process it was formerly supposed that the only precau- M Digitized by Microsoft® 162 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. tion to be taken was to be certain as to the purity of the hydro- chloric acid employed; no mention was made of the fact that almost every sample of copper contains a trace of arsenic. Under ordinary circumstances, indeed, any ordinary sample of copper will suffice for the performance of Reinsch’s test, for no appreciable amount of copper is dissolved, and no arsenic can therefore find its way into the fluid to be analyzed. When, however, certain salts, e.g., chlorate of potash, are present in the organic matter to be tested, by exerting a solvent action on the copper, they will lead to the detection of arsenic derived from the ‘copper and not from the organic matters tested. In order to satisfy all the scruples of juries, the copper, as well as the hydro- chloric acid employed, should be tested for arsenic. The copper to be examined is placed for some days, with concentrated and pure hydrochloric acid, in a saucer freely exposed to the atmo- sphere; after some days a brown liquid is obtained, containing subchloride of copper. This liquid is distilled; and the distil- late is then tested by Reinsch’s and Marsh’s test, as we have described, , Insoluble Preparations of Mercury. Mercury.—Metallic mercury is an inert substance; but the unguentum hydrargyri, which contains the metal in a minutely subdivided state, and partially in the condition of oxide, induces poisonous effects when applied with friction to the skin. Of the domestic animals, the horse is the most unsusceptible to its action, From 3 to 4 ounces of the ointment rubbed daily on the skin induce symptoms of salivation, and death in from a fortnight to a month. Ruminants are much more liable to suffer, and Gasparin has seen lambs die when the ewes which suckled them had been rubbed with the ointment. Both dogs and cats are readily affected by similar applications. In an article on Sheep-Dipping Mixtures, published in the Ist volume of the Edinburgh Veterinary Review, I stated that many hundreds of sheep have been destroyed or seriously in- jured by the use of mercurial ointment, and to this day the Digitized by Microsoft® .MEMORANDA. TOXICOLOGICA. 163 farmers in England employ the blue ointment for scab in sheep, When we declare that the skin resists the absorption of medi- cinal and poisonous materials, we refer to these substances dis- solved in water, and not when incorporated in the form of pastes and ointments, I have recently ascertained from personal in- quiry that thousands of sheep die annually from the use of blue ointment. Since my first general inquiries into the nature of prevailing diseases amongst animals in different parts of the United King- dom, I have repeatedly been informed of the destruction amongst sheep by a disease of the lungs, occurring in Lincolnshire, espe- cially during the spring months. From the Ist April this season (1863) many flocks have been decimated, and my atten- tion has been again drawn to the subject by Mr John George Dickinson, veterinary surgeon, Boston.: I have rarely been more interested in the study of any dis- order than in the one which I witnessed amongst the Lin- colnshire flocks. The immediate causes I found to admit of classification under three heads. irstly, the mercury ab- sorbed by' the skin, especially when sheep are dressed more than once, tends to reduce the animal’s powers, and to prevent the system effectually withstanding any morbid influence. In some instances it is the direct cause of death, and, as usual, about the ninth or tenth day after the application of the oint- ment. Attention has been drawn at various times by scientific men to the fact that ruminants, and especially sheep, are more readily poisoned by mercurial applications to the skin than any other of the domestic quadrupeds. Secondly, the grease with which the mercury is incorporated in preparing the ointment tends to mat together the long fleeces of the Lincoln sheep. If the wool is opened out a few days after salving, it will be found knotted and plastered together so as to form an effectual and impervious covering, condensing the perspiration on the surface of the skin, and, indeed, soon arrest- ing the action of the skin altogether. This cause operates most potently in inducing a poisoned condition of the blood, and is, in my opinion, the direct cause of the apnea or suffocation, the Digitized by Microsoft® 164 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. pulmonary congestion and suffering characteristic of the “ sup- posed lung complaint in sheep.” Physiologists have long since shown that covering the skin with an impermeable coating is destructive to the life of an animal. Fourcault, Magendie, and others have observed that if any quadruped has its skin covered with an impermeable var- nish, or if the body is covered closely by a Mackintosh, leaving the head alone exposed, death soon occurs from suffocation. I have drawn attention in Scotland to the fatal results of cover- ing lambs, especially when in a plethoric state, with the skin of the natural offspring of a ewe. Many more would die from this cause if the skins were kept longer on; but in any flock with a tendency to blood-disease, the lambs die in a very few hours, with their lungs gorged, and frothy mucus in the air- passages, These results are due to the accumulation in the blood of carbonic acid, ammonia, and organic products, which should be constantly thrown off by the skin. It is very impor- tant that I should notice the influence of the dry weather in producing the disorder. Had there been much rain the fleeces would have opened up and been moist, whereas the dust and dirt have materially contributed to consolidate the matting which has so effectually checked the skin’s exhalations. / Thirdly, my inquiries lead me to regard the transition from poor feeding to rich pastures as deleterious to sheep, especially when such a common cause of plethora operates on a system poisoned by mercury, and by being covered with an almost im- permeable coating due to the ointment. Before referring to the symptoms, nature, and treatment of the disease, I may be ‘expected to state on what grounds I have been led to refer the recent mortality among sheep to the above- mentioned causes. All the flocks I have inquired into the his- tory of have been salved. Those that have been dressed most frequently have suffered most severely. A considerable number of cases have presented the symptoms of mercurial poisoning, such as salivation and loosening of teeth. Several of the most intelligent farmers have distinctly traced the accidents to the ‘salving, and have noticed the escape of animals not dressed, " Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 165 or dressed only once, and the deaths of others that had- been treated most severely and repeatedly with the sheep ointment. The losses have been greatest when four or five sheep alone have been smeared to the pound of the Cressing. The fatality has ceased in about a fortnight or three weeks, but a number of animals have survived over that period with laboured breathing and other symptoms, indicating that their constitutions have suffered. Symptoms of the Disease.—The reports I have generally re- ceived as to the appearance of the suffering animals have indi- cated that sheep in health have been suddenly seized with signs of suffocation, and have died in an hour or two. The animals pant, have a small frequent pulse, blood-shot eyes, and some- times splutter frothy mucus from the nose immediately before they die. ; I am satisfied, however, that the presumed absence of pre- monitory signs is rather due to the imperfect observation of shepherds than any other cause. I have inspected a flock, when several manifested languor, quick breathing, dilated nostrils, and capricious appetite, and yet the shepherds thought the sheep were all right. Some have noticed salivation and soreness of the mouth indicated by the animals collecting their food with some difficulty. A few have witnessed occasional shaking and shivering. This is a very important symptom, as in all cases of suppressed action of the skin the temperature of the body is lowered. There is no doubt that when the mercury has accumulated in the system, and the poisons which should have been thrown off by the skin have sufficiently modified the blood, severe symp- toms oecur so as to destroy life in a very short time; but that is only the result of a destructive process which has been in opera- tion ever since the application of the salve. After death the blood in the heart and vessels is dark- coloured and fluid. The lungs are gorged with blood, and frothy mucus fills the trachea and bronchial tubes. The ab- dominal organs are healthy, and there are none of the signs of blood extravasations characteristic of anthrax or braxy. Digitized by Microsoft® 166 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. Nature of the Malady.—My readers will understand from what has been said, that, according to the circumstances under which animals are attacked, they die of congestion of the lungs or suffocation, and sometimes from pure mercurial poisoning. The fact that many deaths have occurred after repeated applica- tions of mercurial ointment indicates that not a few sheep must have had their systems highly charged with mercury, and I ex- pect that chemical analysis will demonstrate this. I shall not be astonished, however, if many of the carcases show but a faint trace of mercury in them, owing partially to elimination, and chiefly to the prompt death from other impurities accumulating in the blood. Treatment.—I hope that the light at present thrown on this malady will diminish the number of animals to be treated, but it is quite evident that the proper measures to adopt consist in effectually washing or clipping all sheep that have been salved, in keeping the animals quiet on bare pasture, or sheltering the sick ones in the farm-yard. Blood-letting must be avoided, as it favours the absorption of the mercury, and weakens the vital resistance of the sheep. Tonics, oats, barley, common salt, &c., recommended by some, must be avoided. I do not approve of the animals being much disturbed by drenching, especially as all the sick ones, owing to the condition of their respiratory organs, may be choked by physic passing down the windpipe. The prevention of the disorder consists in preventing scab and other parasitic diseases, by enforcing the law relating to conta- gious affections amongst cattle, sheep, &c. Poisonous drugs should only be used by qualified professional men, and here we have a good illustration of the monstrous effects of quackery in the country. Preparations of arsenic, mercury, &c., so largely used by flock-masters, should not be sold as they are. Non- poisonous skin-dressings can and must be employed. Whatever dressings are used should not be too stiff, and should be usually saponaceous. When flocks are scabby, veterinary surgeons - should be employed to treat them, and see to their health, com- -fort, and safety, just as much as they have to do with regard to horses. They should not be called when animals are gasping Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA,. 167 for breath and moribund. It is unfair to them, as they cannot perform miracles and purify poisoned blood in the way in which pure water may be made to displace impure from a pitcher. This is a stupid notion which professional men encourage when they bleed as a means of purifying the blood. CaLomMEL—CHLORIDE oF MeErcury.—This agent may prove destructive from its partial transformation into corrosive sub- limate, on meeting with alkaline chlorides in the alimentary canal. “ Mr Swan found that calomel given to a full-sized dog, in doses of from 3 to 4 grains, night and morning for a week, gave rise to ulceration of the gums, a discharge of bloody saliva, loss of power in the hinder legs, and death on the ninth day. The stomach and all the thoracic and abdominal viscera * were sound, with the exception of some appearances of chronic inflammation in the large intestines. A similar experiment on another dog gave like results; and in both cases the ganglia of the sympathetic nerves were found inflamed.”—(Taytor, p. 417.) Mr Percivall made some interesting experiments on the action of mercurials on the horse. The conclusion he comes to is, that it is “surprising how comparatively little will, in some horses, take effect, while others appear all but unsuscep- tible of its action. I have known,” says Mr Percivall, “10 . grains of calomel, given twice a day, make the mouth so sore on the fifth day, that the horse, (a four-year-old one), cudded his hay ;’—opposed to which, he speaks of a mare who took “6 drachms of calomel, nearly 2 ounces of blue pill, and had 7 ounces and a half of blue ointment rubbed into her thighs; salivation was not produced, nor, indeed, was there any very evident symptoms of sore mouth, for she never cudded her hay. The mercury, however, affected her in another and in a fatal way.” An interesting case of poisoning in a cow by the chloride of mercury, is given by Mr Carter, of Northowram, Halifax, in the Veterinary Record for 1848. It runs as follows:—“ Nov. 29, 1847.—At two o'clock p.m, 1 was called to attend a cow, Digitized by Microsoft® 168 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. the property of Mr © , when the following symptoms were present:—Pulse 80, but weak; grinding of the teeth, but no discharge of saliva; the gums have a pink hue all round the incisors, and the mouth is extremely fetid; the animal is down, and scarcely able to rise; profuse diarrhea, with intense fcetor of the evacuations; legs, ears, and surface of the body cold; loss of appetite and rumination; milk diminished from 7 quarts to 1 pint per diem. I wag informed by the owner that she was suffering from gonorrheea, for which he obtained a re- cipe from a neighbouring farmer as follows :— 12 ounces Glauber’s Salts, 6 ,, Jalap, 2 4, Calomel, 4 ,, Sulphur. A mistake was here made—2 ounces of calomel being written instead of 2 drachms. The above was administered on the night of the 27th. Knowing this, I lost no time in giving the animal a quantity of albumen of eggs, with wheaten flour gruel; and ordered the same to be repeated at night, and also in the morning, with frequent drenches of milk. Exhibited an oleaginous purgative with Tinct. Opii, 3j., and ordered enemata to be thrown up twice or thrice a day.” Notwith- standing a continuance of unfavourable symptoms, under appro- priate treatment the cow recovered January the 8th, when the milk she gave amounted to a gallon twice a day; the appetite was good, and she appeared quite convalescent. Hertwig says that in doses for the horse, averaging from 3 to 6 drachms—for cattle, from 1 to 2 drachms—for pigs, the same —for sheep, from 15 to 30 grains—and for dogs, from 6 to 30 grains, purgation ensues in from 24 to 36 hours—in the dog often sooner, whereas in sheep it may be delayed to the third day. If such doses be repeated from two to four times in a day, and perhaps continued for two or more days, the pur- gative effect is much more decided; the feces are very fluid, and continue from three to six days to be passed in abundance, sometimes mingled with blood, and very offensive. The animals become very dull, thin, lose their appetite, and symptoms of the Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 169 effects of mercury in the system manifest themselves, such as salivation, etc. The diarrhcea often cannot be checked by the most energetic remedies, and the animals die from prostration and low fever. This is mostly seen with ruminants, especially sheep; not so readily amongst horses, and least of all with dogs. With reference to dogs, vomiting is so constantly excited, that the calomel is not absorbed but ejected. Post-Mortem Appearances.—Stomach and intestines pale and flaccid; the blood-vessels are empty, and the appearance of the organs blackened or grey; the intestine often quite empty ; sometimes the mucous membrane is of a bluish red or leaden hue, inflamed, deprived of its epithelium, with extravasations of blood upon it, or with excoriations, of which the borders are pale or whitish. In those animals having a gall-bladder, this organ is full of bile; the liver and other viscera appear soft and . fragile. In the ox and sheep such are the appearances; and there are generally red patches, due to blood-extravasation or to inflammation, in the fourth stomach, duodenum, and rectum.* Treatment. — Albumen; wheaten flour gruel; sulphuret of iron; astringents. Tests.—1. So insoluble in water, that it requires 12,000 parts of the latter to dissolve one part of calomel. ‘Soluble in strong nitric acid, but decomposed by it into corrosive sub- limate and pernitrate of mercury. Strong muriatic acid trans- forms it to corrosive sublimate and metallic mercury, and nitro-muriatic acid converts it readily to corrosive sublimate in boiling. 2. When heated on platina over a spirit lamp, it is sublimed, but it is not so volatile as corrosive sublimate ; during sublimation it is partially decomposed into that sub- stance and metallic mercury. 3. When dropped into a solution of iodide of potassium, it is slowly turned of a dingy, greenish black colour; but if the iodide be much diluted, the powder acquires a yellow colour. 4. By a solution of potash it is turned black, chloride of potassium being formed in the liquid. 5. It-is also turned black by a solution of hydrosulphuret of * HERTWIG, loc. cit. Digitized by Microsoft® 170 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. ammonia. 6. It gives a silvery stain when rubbed on clean copper with diluted muriatic acid. 7. It yields a ring of me- tallic mercury when heated with the carbonate of soda. 8, It is decomposed by a solution of protochloride of tin, and reduced to metallic mercury.”—(TayLor on Poisons, p. 420.) Rep Precrerratre—Rep OxipE or Mercury.—From 2 to 4 grains induce vomiting and abdominal pain in the dog. Symp- toms of colic are manifested in the horse after the exhibition of from 8 to 15 grains of red precipitate; and if the dose be in- creased to 1 or 2 drachms, or if several doses be administered in succession, inflammation of the stomach, enteritis, and death, result,—(H&ErRTwie.) Tests.—It is insoluble in water. Hydrochloric acid dissolves it, and forms with it a compound similar in properties to corro- sive sublimate. It becomes black when heated, and red again on cooling. Continued heat dissipates it, completely distin- guishing red precipitate from other powders of the same colour. Iopipes or Mercury.—Very active agents and _ irritant poisons. The biniodide of mercury is not quite so deadly, though it induces effects similar to those which follow the ad- ministration of corrosive sublimate. “ They are quite insoluble in water, and both yield a mercurial sublimate when heated with carbonate of soda. The scarlet iodide is further known by its becoming yellow when heated, and again red on trituration.” —(TAYLoR.) CINNABAR — VERMILION — PeRsuLPHURET oF MERcURY. —- Little is known of the poisonous properties of this agent. Dogs have been poisoned by it in doses varying from 30 to 70 grains. Turbith mineral, and other insoluble preparations of mer- cury, are poisonous, but rarely resorted to for the destruction of life. They act more tardily, but like other mercurial com- pounds, Soluble Preparations of Mercury. CorRosIvVESUBLIMATE— BICHLORIDE oF MERcuRY.— Poisonous Doses.—Two drachms to half an ounce dissolved in water, in Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 171 the horse; cattle die from the effects of 2 drachms; and sheep are poisoned in the course of twelve hours by 1 drachm. From 3 to 6 grains, and even less, if introduced beneath the skin, will kill a dog. The action of corrosive sublimate is more marked on carnivorous than herbivorous quadrupeds. Hertwig remarks, that fram 4 to 6 grains will produce in dogs violent and bloody vomiting, bloody diarrhcea, and paralysis; and this in the course of seven, twelve, or thirty hours. From 20 to 30 grains of the bichloride of mercury have been exhibited in a ball daily to horses, without inducing apparent symptoms; and several horses have even taken two such doses daily, for eight days, with a similar result. The exhibition of 1 scruple to 2 drachms daily produces, by the time a horse has had from 10 to 15 drachms, loss of appetite, very abundant secretion of urine, diarrhcea, with discharge of blood per anum, great debility, low fever, and death. One drachm at a dose causes acceleration of pulse, colicky pains, and redness of the mucous membrane; but all these symptoms disappear in from two to four hours. Half an ounce of corrosive sublimate, dissolved in 3 pounds of water, gives rise to abdo- minal pain, active salivation, and death in twelve hours. Mr Percivall relates an interesting experiment on the action of bichloride of mercury :*—“A brown gelding, having incipient glanders, and who had previously been taking large doses of cinchona, without producing any effects either on the constitu- tion or the disease, was, in consequence of becoming decidedly glandered, submitted to the operation of mercury. He com- menced with taking hydrarg. bichloridi, gr. x., which by degrees was augmented, until the large dose of Zv. was given. The horse now, for the first time, left part of his food unconsumed, and his pulse became accelerated. With four days of intermis- sion of medicine he recovered his appetite. The next dose administered, was the enormous one of Zvi., under the effects of which he succumbed. The following ,morning he showed alarming symptoms of illness, expressing great pain, frequently lying down and rising again, and being without perceptible * PERcIvALL’s Effects of Medicines. London, 1850. Digitized by Microsoft® 172 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. pulse; shortly after which, most profuse perspiration broke out upon him. He survived, however, until the next day. Intense inflammation had seized the lining vascular membrane of the stomach; large portions of effused coagulable lymph adhered to it; and the lymph had a reddened appearance, as though it had already had vessels shooting into it, which was afterwards proved to have been the case. The cuticular coat exhibited no change; and there was but a slight blush of inflammation upon the internal surface of the intestines. Altogether, this horse took, and within twenty-four days, the astonishing quantity of 4 ounces and 12 grains of bichloride of mercury.” Corrosive sublimate, given in solution, inflames the mucous membrane of the mouth. Its taste is described as powerfully austere and metallic. I have known horses poisoned by the application of corrosive sublimate to raw surfaces, especially when used as a dressing in canker of the feet. Four to 10 grains of the bichloride to an ounce of water, irritates and inflames the part to which it is applied. Thirty grains to the ounce. corrode and kill. The poison is absorbed, and induces gastro-enteritis, in- flammation of the peritoneum, carditis, and death. Symptoms.—These have been mentioned above, but may be briefly reiterated here—consisting in loss of appetite; intolerable = ‘thirst; violent pains of the belly; diarrhcea, with offensive and bloody evacuations ;—in dogs, vomiting of mucus with blood ;— palpitation of the heart; difficult breathing; and in ruminants there is exhausting cough. These symptoms are followed by great dulness, stupor, trembling, salivation, and death. Post-mortem Appearances.—Inflammation, and even ulceration of the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines; in- flammation of the heart, lungs, and even kidneys. Red or black spots of blood-extravasation are likewise seen on the mucous membranes. Treatment.—White of egg in water; mild linseed tea; farina- ceous draughts. Gluten has been much recommended. Small doses of chlorate of potash have been recommended by Mr Alison in man, to check excessive salivation. Tests—The powder, dropped into a solution of iodide of Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 173 potassium, turns the liquid of a bright scarlet colour. A yellow precipitate is obtained, by adding liquor potasse to a solution of corrosive sublimate; a white with ammonia, but a black pre- cipitate with hydrosulphuret of ammonia, or sulphuretted hydro- gen gas. Protochloride of tin yields with it a deposit, which is at first white, then slate grey, and lastly, nearly black. ‘There are various ways in which galvanism may be applied to the detection of mercury in corrosive sublimate. Dr Wollaston, on one occasion, employed an iron key and a guinea: he placed a drop of the suspected solution on a surface of gold, and touched it and the gold with the key; the mercury was deposited on the gold in a bright silvery stain. The following is a ready method of separating the metal :—Place a few drops of the solution on a clean surface of copper, and slightly acidulate it with muriatic acid; then touch the copper through the solution with a slip of zine foil. Wherever the copper is touched by the zine, the mercury is deposited; and on washing the surface with diluted muriatic acid or ammonia, a silvery stain is left, which is im- - mediately dissipated by the heat of a spirit lamp.” —(Tayor on Poisons, p. 409.) , Other soluble mercurial compounds, such as the nitrates and sulphates of mercury, are poisonous; but little is known of their action with reference to the domestic animals. All the preparations of mercury, if continued to be given in adequate doses, will induce in animals a constitutional state, which is termed ‘the Mercurial Cachexia.’ The chief symptoms of mercurialization—for thus have the effects of mercury been | spoken of—are small and feeble pulse, quickened and somewhat laboured breathing, loss of appetite, difficulty experienced in swallowing, tongue and fauces swollen, profuse salivation and diarrhoea; the fsces are peculiarly offensive, and the urine acquires a pale yellow colour and offensive odour; the animals are almost unable to stand, the articulations become rigid; con- vulsions may supervene; there is cedematous infiltration of head, limbs, and beneath chest and abdomen; females abort (Bouley); wounds acquire a gangrenous aspect. There is an Digitized by Microsoft® 174 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. eruption of the skin (mercurial erythema);* passive heemorr- hage; animal heat diminishes gradually, and death ensues.— (Tazounin, Mat. Med., p. 513.) Post-mortem Appearances,—Signs of inflammation of the in- testines; effusion of serum in the pleural and pericardial sacs; abscesses in the lungs; glands softened; bones excessively fragile. Treatment.—The administration of mercury must be sus- pended when the above symptoms are observed. Albuminous draughts must be given. In carnivora it is desirable to excite vomiting. Chlorate of potash may be tried in small doses to check salivation. Sulphur, cinchona, and both vegetable and mineral astringents, are recommended. Detection of Mercury and its Salts in Organic Mixtures.—In testing for salts of mercury in organic mixtures, in suspected cases of poisoning, the analyst must bear in mind that the - poison may be in a soluble and insoluble form, and that it is of the greatest importance to show in which of these conditions it exists. -Corrosive sublimate is the most poisonous of the mer- curial compounds, and its solubility is great. Calomel, on the other hand, is not poisonous, except in very large doses, and is constantly administered as a medicine. The analyst will clear up many doubtful cases if he can positively state the condition in which the mercury existed, for example, whether it existed in the soluble state as corrosive sublimate. The organic mixture to be tested is filtered, and the fluid portion is agitated for some time with its volume of ether. After allowing it to stand for some time, the supernatant ether is drawn off and evaporated. If corrosive sublimate be present in the fluid, it will be dissolved by the ether, and will remain as a residue on evaporation, which may then be tested. Mercury may, like arsenic and antimony, be readily detected by Reinsch’s process. The solid matters which have been separated by filtration from the liquid portion, are minutely * See Penctvati’s Effects of Medicines, p.9. Also, Etterlin in the Swiss ‘Archiv fiir Thierheilkunde,’ 12th vol., p. 359. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 175 divided and boiled with pure hydrochloric acid, diluted with seven or eight times its volume of distilled water, until they are completely broken up. Clean copper foil, or gauze, is then introduced into the fluid, which is boiled for some time. If mercury be present, it will be deposited on the copper, and on the deposit being gently polished, it will assume a brilliant silvery appearance. The coated copper is then heated in a test tube, whereby the mercury is volatilized, and condenses in the cool part of the tube, not in the form of octohedral crystals as arsenic, or as an amorphous powder like antimony, but in minute metallic globules. These may readily be detected by examining with a powerful lens, or by a low power of the compound microscope. _ Asa confirmatory test, the ring of mercurial globules may be dissolved in a few drops of aqua regia, and the acid solution thus obtained, when evaporated, yields a stain, which, when touched with a glass rod dipped in a solution of iodide of potassium, assumes a bright red colour. Lzap.—Metallic lead is not generally considered a poison. If inert in itself, its compounds, formed with acids in the stomach, may prove destructive to life. I have known shot to be given to broken-winded horses for the purpose of deceiving purchasers—the symptoms of broken wind not being so manifest after the introduction of a certain quantity of metallic lead into the stomach,—but I am not aware that the animals suffered from this reprehensible practice. Large doses of metallic lead have been given to dogs without effect. Dr A. T. Thomson has maintained that the only poisonous compound of lead is the carbonate. Litharge often proves destructive to animals; but there is nothing to prevent its conversion to a carbonate in the stomach. The acetate has been proved also a poisonous salt; and Mitscherlich has observed that it is more energetic when mixed with acetic acid than when exhibited alone. Dr Taylor remarks, that it is not very easy to perceive how the nitrate and chloride should become converted into a carbonate within the body. Digitized by Microsoft® 176 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. Tanquerel de Planches has considered several forms of lead poisoning in man. They are—Ist, Primitive saturnine intoxi- cation; 2nd, Painter’s or lead colic; 3rd, Saturnine athralgia; 4th, Lead palsy; and the last he calls ‘encephalopathie satur- nine,’—lead poisoning associated with convulsions, or delirium, or coma. In animals various affections seem to be likewise pro- duced by the entrance of lead into the system. In the present state of knowledge, we may accept a twofold division of effects —the one due to repeated doses of lead entering the system, and inducing a condition termed plumbism,; and the other consisting in the ‘Encephalopathie saturnine’ of De Planches, known by the names of stomach staggers, head disease, grass disease, and lead poisoning of cattle. Both forms of lead poisoning are en- zootic, the first in the vicinity of smelting works, and the second on fields where town manure containing the refuse of painters’ shops has been deposited. Lead poisoning in the vicinity of smelting works.—The ‘ Hauk- rankhet’ of the Germans. It is due to minute particles of lead, or its oxide, carried up the flues of furnaces, and blown by the winds over pastures where animals feed. Perhaps the minutely subdivided oxide of lead is converted into a carbonate by ex- posure to the air. Symptoms.—The gradual entrance of lead into the system, whether in the above form or in the water an animal may drink,* leads to impaired appetite; in the ox, irregular rumination; increased thirst; violent attacks of colic; constipation, dung hard, and rarely voided; urine scanty and pale. The animals * With reference to the taking in of lead in solution, the subjoined case is of particular interest. ‘A farmer, who kept a dairy near Glasgow, lately lost. eight cows in the following manner:—Having bought a large wooden tub from a dealer in second-hand articles of that kind, it was filled with water, and when delivered at the farm-house appeared perfectly clean. Boiled food for the cows was accordingly put into it, and then distributed among eight of the cows; three of the eight very soon showed symptoms of sickness and distress, owing, as was supposed, to their having been the last supplied with the food, which had been next to the bottom and sides of the tub; and, after suffering great agony, roaring and writhing in a manner most distressing to witness, they died in the course of the next day, and the Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 177 obstinately stand, are hide-bound, and with staring coat; the head is sunk low, the back is arched and stiff; the tail de- pressed; the region of the stomach distended; the pulse is small, hard, and slightly increased in frequency; eyes fixed, but no redness of the conjunctiva or other mucous membranes; some- times grinding of teeth. According to Shenton and others, the gums and teeth are of a grey or blue colour; the heat of the body is diminished; breathing disturbed; locomotion tolerably free. The first stage, as just described, seldom lasts over three days, when fever sets in with changeable temperature of the body, accelerated pulse, distinct heart-beats, increased respira- tion, and redness of the mucous membranes; the grinding of the teeth is more marked, and there is champing of the jaws and flow of saliva from the mouth; the eyes are motionless and rarely closed; appetite, rumination, and defecation entirely suspended; convulsions occur, during which the animals utter low groans. Hereupon supervenes considerable debility of the hind parts of the body. This second stage lasts for two, three, or four days, when the convulsions are very marked, the belly tucked up, and the animal dies, seized with cramps over the body, the breathing being very laboured, and, indeed, all symp- toms of apnoea present, so that the beast gasps for breath and dies.—(Fucus, HErine, SHENTON.) Post-Mortem Appearances.—The liver pale and soft; the rumen distended with air; the omasum hard, and its contents dry, with the mucous membrane nearly black, and its epithelium day following a farrier was got to open and examine the dead cows, and he found manifest symptoms of poison having been the cause of death. The other five were affected less virulently, but were evidently becoming worse from day to day, in spite of every remedy which was prescribed, and were therefore killed, to save them from more protracted suffering. The farmer thus lost eight cows, which, he says, averaged in value L.14 a-piece, L.112 in all. One of the staves of the tub having been sent to a chemist, was found to have been impregnated with sugar of lead nearly throughout its whole thickness; so that, he remarked, it contained as much as would have killed forty cows. The vendor of second-hand tubs said he had bought the one that had proved so fatal at a chemical works.” —Glasgow Matt. See Veterinarian, 1857, p. 157. N Digitized by Microsoft® 178 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. easily pulled off; the intestines more or less reddened at various parts. Schwepfer says of the muscular system, that it is flaccid, pale, and bloodless, Treatment.—As a preventive, sulphuric acid may be given often in water or linseed tea, and 2 or 4 ounces of sulphate of soda exhibited every two or three days. When active symp- toms are present, it has been recommended to bleed; at all times clysters are of use. At first a strong dose of sulphate of soda or magnesia, and then every two or three hours about 2 ounces of the same salts should be exhibited in linseed tea. Opium is recommended to allay pain, if the latter be intense; alum has proved useful in cases of lead poisoning. M. Melsens has found the iodide of potassium the most effective antidote to poisoning by lead compounds, iodide of lead, rendered soluble by an excess of iodide of potassium, being eliminated from the system by the kidneys. Lead poisoning in Cattle on grass fields—Stomach staggers of the Ou—Head disease—Mr Cuming, formerly of Ellon, drew the attention of the Aberdeenshire farmer to the true cause of a very destructive disease which occurs on fields where the police manure is given. The refuse of paints, and the sheet- lead thrown by grocers from out of their tea-chests, or pieces of painted oil-cloth, may be deposited on land amongst the town manure; and when cattle are grazing, they are apt to swallow the deleterious articles. Occasionally a field on which cattle have been for years without suffering becomes dangerous, from the lead deposited there in former times being dug up and coming to the surface again. This is the explanation of the cause, on many occasions, when stomach staggers occur, and there is a certainty that for long no police manure has been distributed over the land. The lead poisoning, with symptoms of staggers, may be confounded with a form of stomach staggers due simply to indigestion.* ‘ * For a short account of a case of this kind, see Edinburgh Veterinary Rerew, vol. i. p. 145. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA, 179 Symptoms.—An ox that has been feeding well, suddenly loses his appetite, ceases to ruminate, stands apart from the herd, with arched back and staring coat, with an anxious expression, staring eye, sometimes a protruded tongue, and foaming at the mouth; the pulse is variable, sometimes slow and oppressed, and at other times small and somewhat accelerated ; the breath- ing is rather quick, and from time to time the muscles of the body are observed spasmodically contracted and twitching. The ox may run round or forwards, be taken with all the symptoms of violent delirium, dashing his head right and left, as if labouring under an attack of inflammation of the brain. There are periods of exacerbation and remission; but the animal is so soon exhausted, that unless it injures itself when reeling and dashing to and fro, it is soon worn out by the complaint. Post-Mortem Appearances.—The stomachs may appear a little congested, and, in some cases, with some extravasation of blood. The brain is likewise congested. The third stomach is always closely impacted with food, and on washing this, as well as the contents of the first and second stomach, lead, in the form of refuse paint, or as sheet-lead, may be discovered. Treatment.—The antidotes mentioned at page 178 may be tried. Antacids and purgatives are strongly to be recom- mended. It is either the oxide or the carbonate of lead which, intro- duced into the system, gives rise to the diseases above described; of the other preparations of lead we shall say little. Acetate or Leap.—Sugar of lead owes its popular name to the decidedly sweet taste which it possesses. It occurs in the form of powder or of masses of aggregated crystals. Govuarp’s Extract, or solution of subacetate of lead, is much employed by veterinarians as a local application. It is one of the most poisonous of all the preparations of lead. It possesses an alkaline reaction, and deposits carbonate of lead very readily when brought in contact with the carbonic acid of the atmos- Digitized by Microsoft® 180 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. phere; it has on this account very generally a milky appear- ance. The poisonous action of the acetates of lead is that of irritants, and they accordingly give rise to purging and vomiting. The solution of Goulard is held by some, moreover, to exert a corrosive action. It may, if given in small doses, also give rise to the symptoms of chronic lead poisoning. Nrrrate or Leap.—“ Dr Christison found that 400 grains of this salt killed a dog in sixteen hours.” Cutoripz oF LEap.—This poison may exist in spring water asa contamination. It is soluble in 30 times its weight of water. SutpHate or Leap.—This preparation is almost inert. As much as 150 and 300 grains of it have been given to dogs with- out inducing disturbance, and Orfila has given as much as 534 with similar result. The Chromate and the Iodide of lead may poison, but I am not aware of any cases having fallen under the notice of veteri- narians. Tests for Lead.—The soluble salts of lead are colourless. Sulphuretted hydrogen causes a black precipitate in salts of lead, insoluble in sulphide of ammonium, soluble in hot nitric acid. Sulphuric acid causes a white precipitate of sulphate of lead, insoluble in acids, but soluble in excess of caustic potash. Iodide of potassium causes a yellow precipitate of iodide of lead. Chromate of potash gives a yellow precipitate of chromate of lead. Detection in Organic Mixtures—When a soluble salt of lead has been recently administered to an animal, we may often de- tect it in the contents of the stomach by heating these with distilled water, filtering, and then applying the tests for lead to the filtrate. When, however, an animal has died some time after taking the poison, or from the effects of lead taken in very small doses for a long period, the lead can generally only Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 181 be found in such organs as the liver and spleen. In such a case “the organ should be digested in aqua regia, over a slow fire, until all the soluble matters are separated. The liquid, which should then be clear and pale brown, is cooled, filtered through calico, and evaporated. The dried residue is charred in a Hessian crucible; boiled with dilute nitric acid; filtered, dried, and dissolved in dilute hydrochloric acid. This solu- tion will usually be sufficiently pure to exhibit with appropriate re-agents the characteristic reactions of lead and its compounds. It should give a black precipitate with sulphuretted hydrogen and sulphide of ammonium; a white precipitate with sulphuric acid and soluble sulphates; and bright gamboge yellow precipi- tates with iodide of potassium and chromate of potash.” This is the method of analysis pursued by Dr George Wilson and Dr Stevenson Macadam, and mentioned by Mr Dun in his work on veterinary medicines. Copprrer.—All the salts of copper are poisonous. They may destroy life if used as caustics, or when large doses are intro- duced into the stomach. Sutpate or CoppzR.—Poisonous doses :—Horse, 1 ounce. Two drachms introduced beneath the skin of the dog will kill. Tabourin says that 10 grains have proved fatal. Symptoms.—Vomiting of blue or greenish matter. Colicky pains, diarrhea, tenesmus, paralysis, insensibility, and indica tions of tetanus. In cases of chronic poisoning by this agent, there is emaciation of the frame and tremors of the limbs. The Susacerate or Copprr.— Verdigris,—The SuBCHLORIDE oF Copper, and the CarponaTe or Coprzr, or natural verdi- gris, may all kill, inducing similar symptoms to those observed after the exhibition of the sulphate. Post-Mortem Appearances —Inflammation of the alimentary canal, with redness and softening of the mucous membrane; sometimes perforation of the intestines, with effusion of fluid in the abdomen. Digitized by Microsoft® 182 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. Treatment.—Eggs, both yolk and white; milk, metallic iron ; avoid acids. Tests.—Sulphuretted hydrogen produces, in acid solutions of salts of copper, a black precipitate, insoluble in dilute acids, and almost insoluble in sulphide of ammonium. Ammonia produces a bluish green precipitate, which is dissolved by an excess of the re-agent, giving a clear solution of an azure blue colour. The ferrocyanide of potassium causes a reddish brown precipi- tate in acid solutions of salts of copper, and this tint, which is extremely delicate, may be applied to the azure blue solution produced by ammonia, after this is rendered slightly acid. Bright metallic iron, if introduced in a solution of copper, be- comes coated with the latter. In concentrated solutions, the iron becomes coated immediately; in dilute solutions, only after some time. Detection of Copper in Organie Liquids.—The liquid to be tested is filtered through calico. Asa trial test, a small piece of polished iron (and for this purpose nothing answers better than a needle) should be suspended in the fluid; if an appreci- able quantity of copper be present, it will be deposited in a few hours. The copper which has thus been obtained as a coat- ing on the needle may be dissolved by a little dilute nitric acid, and the fluid may be tested with ammonia and with ferrocyanide of potassium. As salts of copper are precipitated by albumen in an -insoluble condition, no evidences of the pre- sence of the metal may be obtained by merely testing the fluid. The insoluble matters separated by filtration should therefore be boiled with pure nitric acid. The acid solution should be evaporated to dryness. The dry residue should then be ex- tracted with water, and the watery solution tested for copper. Solid organs, such as the liver, may be tested for copper by boiling with a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids, evapo- rating to dryness, calcining the residue in a porcelain or pla- tinum crucible, and dissolving the ash by means of a little hydrochloric acid. Copper may then be detected if present by means of metallic iron, by the sulphuretted hydrogen, am- monia, and ferrocyanide of potassium tests. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 183 Antimony.—Antimonial vapours prove poisonous. The metal itself is considered inert when introduced into the stomach. Burrer oF Antimony.—Terchloride of antimony is a fluid which, as met with generally, varies in coiour from light yellow to dark red. It is powerfully corrosive and irritant. It is distinguished from all other substances by giving, on the addi- tion of water, a white precipitate of the oxychloride of anti- mony (SbCl3 + 28bO3), soluble in tartaric acid. Porassi0o-TaRTRATE oF ANTIMONY—Tartar Emetic.—Poison- ous doses :—Horse. Large doses of this agent may be sustained by the horse. It is best supported if exhibited in quantities that may be repeated. Dupuy, Viborg, and Hertwig, state that 2 ounces are sufficient to kill. Experiments instituted at Alfort show that 4 ounces produced death only on the third day. Eighty grains injected into a vein are poisonous (Bouley). The late Mr Barlow, in company with Mr Dun, performed some interesting experiments on this poison. A brown mare died from the effects of 86 drachms of tartar emetic, taken in six days. Another mare, 16 hands high, took 83 drachms in eighteen days; but without exhibiting any physiological effect. A black mare, of sound, healthy constitution, took 84 drachms, in doses of 4 drachms (repeated twice and thrice a day), during the ten days from the sixteenth to the twenty-fourth of Sep- tember 1852, and she improved in condition; she was in no way affected by it. “A healthy, well-bred horse got 10 ounces of tartar emetic in solution, and after showing a good deal of - nausea, uneasiness, and pain, died in about six hours. The only notable appearances, on post-mortem examination, were softness and vascularity of the intestines, analogous to what is seen in patients that have died while affected by diarrhea. Neither in this, nor in any of the other cases, were the lungs congested or inflamed, as is said to have occurred in Magendie’s experiments.”—(Dun, Veterinary Medicines.) Cattle can sustain doses twice as large as those tolerated by horses (Tabourin). Mr Balfour, Kirkcaldy, informed Mr Dun Digitized by Microsoft® 184 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. that he had given half a pound in solution without any very obvious effects. Pig.—A quarter of an ounce was sufficient to destroy an old pig (Hertwig). Forty grains and 80 grains, given in two days, killed a pig five months old. Dog.—If the esophagus be tied, from 4 to 6 grains will kill. If vomiting can occur, from 2 to 4, or even 8 scruples, can be administered, and death not follow. Symptoms.—Vomiting, diarrhea, vertigo, thirst, salivation, dulness, depression, cold and clammy skin, colic, spasmodic con- tractions of muscles, convulsions, sometimes paralysis of the hind quarters, and death. Post-Mortem Appearances,—General inflammation of the ali- mentary canal. Sometimes ulceration, if the tartar emetic has been given in a solid state. Occasionally an eruption on the mucous membrane is observed, similar to that of variola ovina. Lungs congested; blood dark and fluid; ecchymoses in the heart, etc. Treatment.—V egetable astringents combine with the oxide of antimony to form insoluble compounds, so that tannin, galls, oak bark, Peruvian bark, catechu, and even strong tea, may prove efficacious. If vomiting and purging continue, draughts and enemata containing opium, should be given. Tests.—Sulphuretted hydrogen causes, in acid solutions of antimonial salts, an orange precipitate, which is insoluble (or nearly so) in ammonia and carbonate of ammonia. The precipi- tate of sulphuret of antimony (SbS,) is soluble in hydrochloric acid, and when the acid solution is poured into water a white precipitate separates. If a solution containing antimony be brought in contact with zine and sulphuric acid, a portion of the antimony is deposited in the metallic form, as a black pre- cipitate, whilst a portion escapes in the form of antimoniuretted hydrogen. This test is best seen when an apparatus such as has been already described as suited for Marsh’s process for the detection ‘of arsenic is employed. When describing that process, we mentioned that antimoniuretted hydrogen re-acted in many particulars like arseniuretted hydrogen. When a jet Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 185 of antimoniuretted hydrogen is lighted, and a porcelain plate or capsule held above it like the analogous compound of arsenic, it produces a metallic stain, which, however, is black, whereas the arsenical stain has a hair brown colour. If a drop of sul- phide of ammonium be added to an antimonial deposit, on eva- porating, an orange stain is produced. A deposit of metallic antimony may also be obtained in the interior of the glass tube through which the gas passes, by applying the heat of a spirit-lamp flame to it. When a solution of an antimonial salt is boiled with a little hydrochloric acid, and copper foil be placed in the fluid, it will become coated with metallic antimony. This deposit resembles that of metallic arsenic, from which it is distinguished—1stly, By not giving, when heated in a tube, the characteristic octo- hzedral crystals of arsenious acid; the antimonial deposit yield- ing instead a white amorphous powder. 2ndly.—The antimonial deposit is readily dissolved by boil- ing in a solution of caustic potash. The antimony becoming oxidised, and combining with potash, forms antimoniate of potash. On acidifying the fluid, and testing with sulphuretted hydrogen, the orange precipitate of sulphide of antimony is obtained. Detection of Antimony in Organic Mixtures. — Antimony is invariably tested in organic mixtures, and in the solid organs, by Marsh’s or Reinsch’s processes, the manner of con- ducting these being precisely the same as was described under Arsenic. For the methods employed in distinguishing arsenic from antimony by these processes, see the preceding paragraph. Zinc—SuLPHATE OF Zinc—White Vitriol—Three ounces in solution injected into the jugular vein of a horse has often proved fatal. Doses varying from 10 to 50 grains, and intro- duced into the system in the same way, cause death in the dog. Symptoms.—General disturbance, quick pulse, injection of the mucous membranes, sweats, nausea. In smaller animals, vomiting, diarrhea, and the common symptoms of irritant poisons are observed. Digitized by Microsoft® 186 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. Post-Mortem Appearances.—Those observed after poisoning by metallic irritants in general. Treatment.—Warm water, milk, albuminous draughts, sub- stances containing tannin, oak bark, etc. - Lests-—Ammonia and sulphide of ammonium, a white preci- pitate. Potash, a white precipitate, soluble in excess and repre- cipitated by sulphuretted hydrogen. The Carbonate and the Chloride of Zinc may kill. The first is dissolved with effervescence by dilute sulphuric acid, and the second is detected by nitrate of silver. Tin—CuLoripE oF T1n.—Solution of tin used by dyers. Symptoms, as produced by other metallic irritants. Treatment.—Magnesia, albuminous and mucilaginousdraughts. Tests Hydrochloric acid and sulphuretted hydrogen, a brown precipitate of sulphuret of tin (Sa8.), soluble in yellow sulphide of ammonium. Ammonia, a white precipitate, insoluble in excess. Potash, a white precipitate, soluble in excess. Proto- chloride of mercury, a grey precipitate. SILVER—NITRATE OF SILVER or Lunar Caustic.—It is a powerful corrosive, and acts immediately after its introduction into the system. Vomited matters darken on exposure to light. There is great pain in the abdomen, purging, etc. Treatment.—Common salt and magnesia. Tests,—Hydrochloric acid, a white precipitate of chloride of silver (AgCl), not soluble in nitric acid, but readily soluble in ammonia. Sulphuretted hydrogen, a black precipitate of sulphuret of silver (AgS.) Tron—Supnare or Iron (Green Vitriol—Copperas)—CHLo- RIDE oF [Ron (Muriate of Iron).—Like other irritant poisons, iron acts on the alimentary canal. It induces pain and purging, with coldness of the limbs and surface of the body generally, tympanitis, etc. Treatment.—Magnesia and the alkaline carbonates, diluents. Tests.—Infusion of galls and sulphide of ammonium gives a Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA, 187 black precipitate; a blue with prussiate of potash; and a red or green precipitate with the free alkalies or their carbonates. BismuTH and its Salts—all acrid.—Orfila observed fatal effects in a dog to occur about 27 hours after the injection of 3 drachms of water, containing scarcely 5 or 6 grains of nitrate of bismuth. Another dog did not suffer from the injection into the jugular vein of the liquor proceeding from 8 grains of crystallized nitrate of bismuth, which had been boiled for six minutes in 2 drachms of distilled water. Two days after, 15 grains of the salt were boiled as above and injected. The animal was immediately attacked with vertigoes, he could not move a step without staggering; he looked ike an intoxi- cated person: breathing became difficult; the tongue and mouth were extremely livid, and death occurred eight minutes after the injection. The action of the poison was on the nervous system. Doses of 60 grains, of 1 drachm and 2 scruples, and of 24 drachms, proved poisonous to dogs, acting as corrosives on the stomach, and exciting inflammation of the intestine and congestion of the lungs—(ORFILA on Poisons, vol. i, p. 304.) Symptoms.—Violent pain, plaintive cries, efforts to vomit, trembling, difficult breathing, giddiness, coldness of the surface, of the body, awkward gait, death_—(ORFILA.) Treatment.—Mucilaginous drinks. Emetics. No antidote is known. Tests.—Hydrochloric acid and sulphuretted hydrogen, a black precipitate, insoluble in sulphide of ammonium, soluble in nitric acid (boiling.) Neutral salts of bismuth in solution are preci- pitated by excess of water, unless a large excess of nitric or hydro- chloric acid be present. The precipitate is distinguished from that obtained on pouring terchloride of antimony into water, by its insolubility in tartaric acid. The Salts of Nickrn are acrid and poisonous, as also the Salts of CoBALt. Curome.—“ CHROMATE oF Porassa produces deep fistulous Digitized by Microsoft® 188 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. sores on the hands of the dyers who use it, and even when applied to wounds in the dog, Gmelin found that it produced a lingering death in six days, with paralysis of the limbs, dyspnea, and inflammation of the mucous membrane of the air-passages.” —See TRAILL. Treatment.—Emetics, carbonate of magnesia, chalk and water. Goxp dissolved in nitro-muriatic acid forms a very poisonous salt. “Two grains will kill a dog in two or three days. In- jected into a vein, half a grain well kill a in four mes after vertigo, dyspnea, and piercing cries.” Vegetable Irritants. The Vegetable Irritants are numerous, but they all act very much in the same way, and their acridity usually depends on some oil or resin. General Symptoms.—Severe pain in the abdomen, diarrhea; in some animals vomiting, tympanitis, the feces contain frag- ments, or leaves, or roots of the poisonous plants. Supervening on the state of extreme irritation is excessive weakness, cold sweats, giddiness, the purging continues, and the animal sinks. Post-Mortem Appearances.—Of gastro-enteritis. Treatment.—In some animals emetics must be given. If in the ox there is reason to believe the rumen is loaded with the poisonous agent, it must be emptied by an incision through the left side. Purgatives and enemata are sometimes called for; whereas, at others, demulcents and astringents must be pre- scribed. Axors.—The extract of aloes, so valuable a purgative in the horse, is not unfrequently administered in strong doses, which may induce very unfavourable symptoms, and even death. Super-purgation carries off a good number of animals treated by inexperienced persons. It is no uncommon thing for a farmer to insist on having 10 drachms of aloes for his horse; and if the true Barbadoes be given, such a dose is attended with much Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 189 danger. Poisoning by aloes may occur by mistake; and I remember a case which occurred to me several years ago. I had prepared two balls for two horses in adjoining boxes. The one, a 6 drachm ball, was for a cart horse, and the other, about half the size, for a small pony. The pony had the largest dose, and suffered severely. In some diseases, horses can bear but little aloes, such as in influenza, and I have seen several animals literally purged to death. Symptoms.—Diarrhea, pains in the abdomen, tympanitis, hot and dry mouth, cold ears and extremities, pulse accelerated, thready, and small; violent straining and ineffectual efforts to void feeces, the mucous membrane protruding, reddened through the anus; the feces are often very offensive, and may be tinged with blood. If some of the salts of iron have been given before the purgative, the excrement is quite black. Treatment.—Demulcents, warm water, clysters, opium. Analysis —“ Powdered alves has a snuff-brown colour. When heated, it gives off a thick vapour, having the peculiar odour of this substance; it melts, and burns with a smoky flame, leaving an abundant carbonaceous ash. Strong nitric acid dissolves it, and acquires a rich red-brown colour; sulphuric acid gives with it a yellow-brown colour; a persalt of iron, a deep purple-black. It is soluble in water and alcohol; the solution is slightly acid, and has an intensely bitter persistent taste.—(Taytor.) ANEMoNE.—The anemone pulsatilla, or pasque flower of chalky hills ; the anemona nemorosa, or wood anemone, with snow- white flowers, in full bloom in April; and the anemone pratensis, have all been looked upon as poisons to the domestic animals. The wood anemone is supposed to be the cause of the enzootic gastro-enteritis known as the ‘darn or blackwater,’ common on woodland pasture. Mr Taylor says, “This is a genus of plants comprising several species all possessed of irritating properties in the moist state, but which they appear to lose in great part when dried or exposed to heat, owing to the presence of a vola- tile principle, anemonine.” Further on, the same author says, ‘No instance is recorded of the plant having destroyed human Digitized by Microsoft® 190 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. life; but experiments in animals show that it will act fatally like other irritants, and that it causes most violent inflamma- tion of the alimentary canal. In some instances symptoms indicative of an affection of the nervous system appeared. Puihn speaks of the wood anemone as a poison inducing hematuria, dysentery, and inflammation of the intestines— (Diss. de Venenis Veget., Erl. 1784, p. 117). This would sup- port the view, that the A. nemorosa is the cause of ‘blackwater’ or darn; but I have some doubt of the truth of this, and as I have elsewhere shown, though darn is very abundant in Dee- side as far up as the valley of the Feugh, if we travel as far as Balmoral and Braemay, though the plant is quite as abundant, the enzootic hematuria and gastro-enteritis are not known.* Arum Macutatum.—An irritant, inducing gastro-enteritis and death in the dog, in from twenty-four to thirty-six hours. —(ORFILA.) Bryony. —Bryonia alba, and B. dioica.—Possessed of active cathartic properties. Hertwig has given to horses 2 pounds of the fresh, or from 6 to 8 ounces of the dried root of bryonia alba, without observing symptoms of purging; but pains in the abdomen, accelerated breathing, loss of appetite, fever, great dulness, and copious urination. The same symptoms have been known to supervene the exhibition of 2 pounds of the fresh root to a cow. Dogs show symptoms of great dulness from having had half an ounce of the same agent; and without other indications of disorder, they die in the course of twenty-four hours. After death, the alimentary canal is found reddened in various parts, and in others ecchymosed.—(ORFILA.) Castor SEEps—The embryo and seedcoats of castor seeds contain a very active poison. “The irritant poison resides in the embryo, and is not expressed with the fixed oil, which is a mild purgative, unless a high temperature be employed, when the oil obtained is observed to possess much more drastic pro- * Highland Society's Transactions, July, 1857. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 191 perties.” Captain Pelletier has seen several horses die from eat- ing corn which contained about 54 ounces of the seeds. From 14 to 3 drachms will destroy a dog, if the cesophagus be tied to prevent vomiting.—(Orrita.) In carnivorous and omnivorous animals castor seeds are active emetics and cathartics. CreasoTe.—This agent, which has of late years been used considerably in the treatment of the diseases of cattle, is an active caustic or corrosive; and in virtue of these properties, it has been strongly recommended by Gerlach against canker in the foot. One to 2 drachms of creasote, given internally to a dog, induces great anxiety, staring look, debility, and even paralysis of the extremities, vertigo, vomiting of a white coagu- lated substance, bloody foam at the mouth, loud breathing, and symptoms of suffocation, ending in death. On opening the body, a strong odour of creasote (like that of smoked meat) is detected in all the viscera; the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines are of a dull red colour, and inflamed, in some parts corroded, and the blood is thick and black. The same symptoms have been observed to supervene the above-mentioned dose of creasote mixed with an equal weight of water. Croton SEEDS AND Or1L.—The acrid oil expressed from croton seeds is an energetic poison. One drachm of the bruised seeds ‘will sometimes kill a horse in from five to six days. Two drachms give rise to strong fever, colic, great debility, and in from six to ten or fifteen hours, super-purgation; the pulse not felt at the jaw; cold sweats bedew the body; and death super- venes in from twenty to forty hours: weak animals die even in ten hours. From 10 to 20 grains given to a dog excite violent purgation ; and if the cesophagus be tied, even the smaller dove will induce efforts to vomit, paralysis, and death in from four to seven hours. Both in horse and dog, after death the stomach and intestines are found inflamed ; sometimes there are erosions of the mucous membrane and effusions of blood in the intestines; in some cases the lungs appear inflamed.* * Hertwig: Arzneimittellchre, p. 426. Digitized by Microsoft® 192 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. A drachm of croton farina, introduced into the cellular tissue of a dog’s limb, brought about complete loss of sensation and power to move in twenty-eight hours, and after thirty hours, death. Mr Morton, in a paper on the purging croton, published in the Veterinary Record for 1846, says, that each part of the seed has in its turn been described as the residence of the active acrid principle. Hearing it asserted that the plumula was its seat, so that the rudiments of the future plant might not be preyed upon by insects, while the cotyledons, which preserved them, might even be altogether removed, Mr Morton instituted the following experiment :—“ Sixty grains of croton seeds were de- corticated, the teste and plumule carefully separated, and the remaining cotyledons administered in equal proportions to two horses. On the following morning both the horses were labour- ing under super-purgation, accompanied with much constitu- tional excitement. The alvine evacuations were profuse, fre- quent, and watery; the visible mucous membranes highly in- jected; the extremities and surface of the body cold; the pulse and respiration accelerated; and the prostration of strength extreme. Astringents, combined with sedatives, were immedi- ately had recourse to, and hot fomentations applied to the abdomen, but all in vain: one of the animals died about mid- day, and the other lingered in great agony till the evening. Inspection of the alimentary canal after death, showed the whole of its lining mucous membrane to have been in a state of acute inflammation, the blood-vessels highly turgid, and the large intestines filled with fluid feces. The cecum and colon were more particularly involved. The separated plumule and teste were afterwards exhibited to a horse without any visible action on the bowels.” Mr Morton remarks further on, that “it has been long thought that, in the upper provinces of India, croton seeds are given by the natives to horses for the purpose of poisoning them for the sake of their skins. Mr Hughes, V.S., Calcutta, informed me (Mr Morton) that, with a view to ascertain if this really were the agent administered, he gave to a horse 2 drachms of the Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 193 bruised seeds, allowing him afterwards as much water as he would drink, and for which a great desire was manifested. Most violent catharsis supervened, which continued for some time, but the animal ultimately recovered. Was not the allow- ance of the water the reason of this?’ Mr James Western, some months after the above appeared in print, wrote to Mr Morton in the following terms:—“In your paper alluded to, you state that Mr Hughes of Calcutta informs you, that he does not consider croton is given in India to horses with a view to cause death. I have had frequent cause to think differently; and I believe it is a generally received opinion amongst veteri- nary surgeons on this side India, that it is not uncommon in the cavalry. I will give you the history, from recollection, of a case that occurred when I was in the 5th Cavalry, stationed at Jaulnah. A rough rider’s troop horse was brought to the hos- pital at stable-hour in the morning, six a.m., freely purging, and refusing his grain; the nose-bag containing it accompanied him. He died the same afternoon about five o'clock. I had walked over to see him at that time, and found he had just expired. The farrier-major then brought to my notice the fact of two native horsekeepers having been attacked during the day with the same symptoms as the horse, and stated that they had eaten a good deal of the grain from the bag that the horse refused. They were both removed to the hospital, and had a narrow escape, but both recovered. The remainder of the grain had been thrown away. “This was the third horse belonging to this rough rider that had died under similar circumstances while I was with the regiment—all troublesome, vicious beasts, and no doubt got rid of to relieve the man from trouble. Nothing could be proved against him; but proceedings of so searching a nature were instituted, that he did not again repeat the experiment. “J think there were here good grounds for supposing croton had been used; for the symptoms were precisely the same in a horse I afterwards destroyed by a double dose, viz., 1 drachm. I have no doubt the nut had been given overnight; and a repetition of the dose, to make death certain, was intended for 0 Digitized by Microsoft® 194 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. the next morning, and which fell to the share of the horse- keepers.” Croton oil is an acrid poison, and even from 20 to 30 drops exhibited internally have killed horses. Hertwig says that 8 drops injected into the jugular vein of a horse, and 2 drops in a dog, will cause death. Active purgation ensues in from twenty- six to thirty-six hours if croton oil be rubbed over the skin of the belly in considerable quantities. This effect is produced on the horse by 60 drops, on sheep by 30, and on dogs from 15 to 20 drops.—(HERTWIG.) We have noticed the castor and the croton seeds and oils, which are drastic and dangerous purgatives, obtained from an order of plants—the Spurgeworts or Euphorbiaceze —character- ized as venomous. Dr Lindley says, in his Vegetable Kingdom, “The poisonous principle resides chiefly in their milky secretion, and is most powerful in proportion as that secretion is abun- dant. The hairs of some species are stinging: The bark of various species of croton is aromatic, as cascarilla; and the flowers of some, such as caturus spiciflorus, give a tone to the stomach. Many of them act on the kidneys, as several species of phyllanthus, the leaves of mercurialis annua, and the root of ricinus communis. Several are asserted by authors to be use- ful in cases of dropsy; some phyllanthuses are emmenagogue. The bark of several crotons, the wood of croton tiglium and common box, the leaves of the latter, of Cicca distichia, and of several euphorbias, are sodorific, and used against syphilis; the root of various euphorbias, the juice of commia, anda, mer- curialis perennis, and others, are emetic; the leaves of box and mercurialis, the juice of euphorbia, commia and hura, the seeds of ricinus, croton tiglium, etc., etc, are purgative. Many are dangerous, even in small doses, and so fatal in some cases, that no practitioner would dare to prescribe them; as, for example, manchineel. In fact, there is a gradual and insensible transi- tion in this order, from mere stimulants to the most dangerous poisons. The latter have usually an acrid character; but some of them are also narcotic, as those phyllanths the leaves of Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 195 which are thrown into water to intoxicate fish. Whatever the stimulating principle of Spurgeworts may be, it seems to be volatile, because application of heat is sufficient to dissipate it. Thus, the starchy root of the manihot or cassava, which when raw is a violent poison, becomes wholesome, nutritious food when roasted. In the seeds of some the albumen is harmless and eatable, but the embryo itself is acrid and dangerous. Many of the species furnish caoutchouc, that most innocuous of all substances, produced by the most poisonous of all families; which may be almost said to have given a new arm to surgery, and which has become an indispensable necessary of life. It exists in Artocarpads and elsewhere, but is also the produce of species of Spurgeworts.” From among the plants mentioned in the above paragraph- we shall specially consider three—Mercurialis Annua, Mercu rialis Perennis, and Buxus Sempervirens. Mercurtaus Annua.—Charlot,* Papin,t Dubois,} Schaak,§ _ have recorded cases of poisoning by this agent, Most of the animals partook of the plant for several days, mixed with other food, before symptoms were shown. These were dulness, loss of appetite, suspended rumination, hot and dry mouth, dry skin, tympanitis, pain in the abdomen, great sensibility of the loins, stiff back, cold extremities, bloody urine, diminished secre- tion of milk, accelerated breathing, small contracted pulse, dilated pupils, and a redness of the visible mucous membranes ; in some cases, plaintive cries were uttered, the mamme be- come indurated, the teat atrophied, and diarrhea with very offensive excreta supervened. A pregnant cow was taken in labour. From delay in treating a cow, an opportunity was afforded Papin of performing a post-mortem examination. He found the paunch full of dry stuff, amongst which the poisonous plant was readily recognised; the epithelium of the rumen was of a * Recueil de Méd. Véter., 1833, p. 97. + Ibid., 1834, p. 586. t+ Journal de Méd. Véter. de Belgique, 1847, p. 17. § Journal de Méd. Véter. de Lyon, 1847, p. 277. Digitized by Microsoft® 196 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. blackish colour, soft and easily pulled off; the reticulum con- tained but little food, and its epithelium was discoloured and readily detached. The greatest change was observed in the omasum or third stomach—it felt hard from without, and was filled with hard, black, dry food; the plant was recognised even here. The mucous membrane of the fourth stomach or aboma- sum was of a bluish-red hue. The intestine showed signs of inflammation. The animals were treated by being bled, and demulcent or acidulated injections were passed up the rectum. Cold ablu- tions over the back and loins, friction, and short diet were the other means resorted to with success. Pigs seem not to suffer from eating mercurialis annua mixed with other food. At Alfort two pigs were thus fed, and they ate it freely, losing flesh, but remaining perfectly healthy. —(Recueil de Méd. Véter., 1846.) MercuriAtis Perennis.—Herb Mercury.—Junginger says, that in regions where this plant grows, cattle suffer from hema- turia.* Horses will not partake of it. A cat that had eaten of the flesh of an animal poisoned by herb mercury, was sali- vated and lost its incisor teeth.(?) Buxus SEMPERVIRENS—Common Box.—The leaves contain a bitter, acrid principle. Camels eat it freely, but soon after die. A horse ate half a pound without sign of disorder; but, on eating a pound and a-half, his pulse became accelerated, and the abdomen distended. After death, the intestine was found inflamed.t For the notes on the three last-mentioned poisons, Iam indebted to a memoir by Professor Weiss, pub- lished in the Stuttgart Repertorium for 1851. Jatap.—This drug, the best sort of which is obtained from Euegonium Purga, is an active purgative for dog and cat. * Repertorium der Thierheilkunde, iv., p. 21. + Viborg, Abhandl. iii., p. 138. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 197 Vitet has seen a horse die from the effects of 2 ounces of pow- dered jalap. The symptoms were those of disquietude, heaving at the flanks, and convulsions. After death, the stomach was found distended and partially inflamed. Hertwig has given horses from 3 to 4 ounces, inducing disorder, but not death. White has given 8 ounces to a horse without purging him. The order of plants—Convolvulacee, Bindweeds—to which jalap belongs, is possessed of roots which “ abound in an acrid milky juice, which is strongly purgative. This quality depends upon a peculiar resin, which is the active principle of jalap, scammony, and others whose roots possess similar qualities.” Rayuncutus——Many varieties of ranunculus are irritant poisons. In the Veterinarian for 1844, allusion is made to a flock of sheep being poisoned by eating the ranunculus repens. “ A flock of sheep had not been many hours in a field into which they had been driven, before the shepherd observed that several of them suddenly fell down as if they had been struck by light- ning. Their eyes rolled about in their sockets, their breathing was laborious, and some of them kept turning round and round as if they were dizzy, and died with their heads inclined over their left flanks. He fancied that the seizure was owing to a “coup de sang,’ and accordingly bled the animals. The loss of blood, however, seemed to do harm rather than good, for eleven of them speedily died. “A veterinary surgeon, who was summoned, immediately detected the cause of the mischief in the great admixture of ranunculi with the grass. He therefore recommended that the bleedings should be discontinued, and a dose of sulphuric ether be given in milk to all the affected animals. Under this treat- ment the alarming symptoms quickly subsided; and although for a few days some of the sheep remained very feeble and tot- tering on their legs, the remainder completely recovered.” Delafond, in his “Traité sur la Maladie de sang des Bétes Bovines,” speaks of the various kinds of ranunculus as being the cause of acute enteritis, which is enzootic amongst cattle in different parts of France. Delafond states that many veterinary Digitized by Microsoft® 198 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. surgeons have remarked, that in fresh pastures where ranunculus acris, repens, flammula, and sceleratus abound, acute enteritis is common, and he can confirm their observations. “ They showed me,” says Delafond, “in the Niévre and in the valley of Bray, small portions of fields where horned beasts could not pasture without having an active and fatal attack of inflamma- tion of the intestines; and these portions of land were closed in by fences so as to prevent animals encroaching on them.” Daubenton has said that sheep will feed heartily on the ranun- culus bulbosus. Lipp has seen a flock of sheep poisoned by the corn crowfoot, ranunculus arvensis. Half an hour after the animals had been put on the field, some began to tremble, and indicated convulsive movements of the eyes and limbs, and died. Almost all the flock had symptoms of vertigo. Immediately after death the abdomen was distended. The stomach was found inflamed in various parts, the liver and spleen black and soft, and ecchymoses beneath the skin and in the flesh. Delafond has seen sheep poisoned by the corn crow- foot; and Brugnone likewise saw seven die from the same cause. Delplanque records an instance, in the Recueil de Méd. Vé. for 1855, of five cows losing their appetite, ceasing to rumi- nate, grinding their teeth, yawning, standing with arched back and staring coat, and having a small quick pulse, reddened visible mucous membrane, and dry mouth. These symptoms, it was found, had been induced by the animals having eaten abundantly of the corn crowfoot. Blood-letting, linseed tea, and clysters restored the animals to health in a few days. The Marsh Marigold—Caltha palustris—one of the crow- foots met with in meadows and wet ditches, contains an acrid principle; but when the plant is young, goats and cattle eat it greedily without danger. The. ranunculus aquatilis is eaten in large quantities in certain seasons of the year, by pigs and cows, at Ringwood in England, and the animals thrive on it. Ranunculus flammula is said to induce disease of the liver in horses; and Fabregow says that sheep partaking of it die of inflammation of the intestines. Ranunculus sceleratus is, perhaps, the most dangerous of all the varieties mentioned. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 199 The Stavesacre—(Delphinium staphisagria)—one of the Ran- unculacee, is a vermifuge, caustic, drastic, and emetic. “The black berries of the baneberry, actea spicata, are poisonous, the roots antispasmodic, expectorant, astringent: they are reported to have afforded very marked relief in cases of catarrh. Similar qualities are assigned to Botrophis acteoides, (Actza racemosa, L.), whose nauseous, astringent bitter roots are regarded, in the United States, as a remedy for the bite of the rattlesnake. Geyer says that the root of a species of Clematis is used by the North American Indians as a stimulant to the horses which drop down during their races. The scraped end of the root, held to the nostrils of the fallen horse, instantaneously produces trembling; the ani- mal springs up, and is led to water to refresh its limbs.”— (Linney, Vegetable Kingdom, p. 427.) Savin—Juniperus sabina.—The leaves or tops of this plant are usually looked upon as possessed of the properties of a uterine excitant or emmenagogue; but they are stimulating diuretic, owing to an acrid volatile oil, of a light yellow colour and terebinthinate odour, three per cent. by weight of which may be obtained by distillation. Hertwig says that horses are but little affected by large doses of savin. He has observed, as - Professor Sick before him, that from 4 to 8 or 12 ounces of the fresh or dried savin taken twice daily in food, or made up into balls, and continued for six or eight days, give rise to no dis- turbance. Professor Sick continued to give it for half a year with a similar result. Cattle and sheep suffer from large and oft-repeated doses, which give rise to tympanitis associated with much pain, loss of appetite, irritative fever, constipation, and afterwards bloody diarrhea. Dogs die of gastro-enteritis from the effects of 4 to 6 drachms of savin introduced into the stomach, if the cesophagus be tied to prevent vomiting. Orfila placed 2 drachms of powdered savin on a fresh wound on the limb of a dog: violent inflammation and bloody infiltration of the wounded extremity supervened, and in about. thirty-six hours the animal died. Hertwig has repeated this experiment Digitized by Microsoft® 200 VETERINARIAN'’S VADE MECUM. in the dog, and has observed violent inflammation to occur locally, but no constitutional disturbance. The volatile oil is possessed of very distinct properties, and activates the functions of the body, especially of the skin and kidneys; the blood acquires a scarlet hue, and the excreta pos- sess the peculiar odour of the drug. Pilger says he has seen the hair drop off the skin as one effect of the exhibition of savin; and most persons say that it induces the expulsion of the contents of the uterus in pregnant animals; but Hertwig - has noticed neither of these. In the Veterinarian for 1855, at page 401, is recorded the following history by Mr E. Mellet, of Henley-on-Thames :— “ About a fortnight ago, a farmer residing near this town had a misunderstanding with one of his carters, and discharged him ; but he continued to live in a cottage adjoining the farmer's premises. My professional attendance was required a few days since to two mares heavy in foal. One of them passed her foal in my presence, with very little assistance, on Monday evening, and the other on Wednesday last. Both colts were dead; and apparently, from the putrid state in which the mem- branes were, I should imagine they had been dead, one about ten, and the other about twelve days. This, however, is con- jectural. Abortion had evidently been produced by the aid of savin, the smell of which was very strong in the urine and feces. For a short time before, there had been observed a rapid falling away of the flesh of the animals; and when called to see them, I noticed that a mucous discharge took place from the anus, which seemed to excoriate the parts over which it passed. : “My treatment, after abortion had taken place, consisted in the administration of the spirits of nitric ether with laudanum, in consequence of the subsequent straining being violent, fol- lowed by a gentle aperient; and I am now giving tonics. The mares are both progressing favourably, but are still very weak.” Analysis. —“ When the poison has been taken in the form of decoction .or infusion, no test can be applied. The fact of poisoning can then only be elucidated by the symptoms, and by Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 201 circumstantial evidence. If the oil has been taken, it may be separated by distillation, and obtained by agitating the distilled product with one-third of its bulk of ether. It will be remarked from a case reported by Dr Christison, and from that which occurred to Mr Lord, that in spite of great vomiting, the powder remained in the stomach for a period of five days. The contents appear like green pea-soup. That the colour is not owing to bile, may be proved by diluting a portion with water, when the green chlorophylle, from its insolubility, will subside in a dense insoluble stratum; whereas, if the colour were due to altered: bile, the whole of the liquid would remain coloured. By washing the green matter in water, and drying it on plates of glass or mica, evidence may be obtained under a good microscope, by the rectilinear course of the fibres and the turpentine cells, that the substance belongs to the fir tribe. The only other poison of the coniferous order is the yew (Taxus Baccata); but this differs from savin, in having a lancet-shaped termination to the top of the leaves, while savin has a sharply acuminated point. A portion of the green powder, dried and well rubbed, will give the peculiar odour of savin. When freed from organic matters, it will yield, by distillation with water, the essential oil of savin. “ Orn or Savin.—This oil is of a light yellow colour, and it has a strong terebinthinate odour, sufficiently peculiar to render this an easy means of identification. A greasy stain made by this oil on paper is entirely dissipated by heat, or only a slight trace of resin is left. It is lighter than water, but insoluble in it, giving to it, however, its odour and acid reaction. It forms a milky solution with rectified spirit, but a clear, transparent solution with ether. It is exceedingly soluble in ether; and by this menstruum it may be separated from watery liquids, as the ether floats with it on the top. Nitric acid, in the cold, slowly gives to the oil a dark red-brown colour.”—(Tayior on Poisons, p. 522.) Ruvs ToxicoDENDRON AND Rapicans.—“ The juice of many Digitized by Microsoft® 202 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. species of rhus is milky, stains black, and is sometimes, as in R. toxicodendron and radicans, extremely venomous; being volatile, it is capable of poisoning persons who approach such plants in hot weather, and the same effects are produced by R. venenata,”—( LINDLEY.) Ericace&.—Lrica vulgaris or Calluna vulgaris, the common heather, is an astringent. According to Gasparin, the maladie . de sologne, blood disease or red water of sheep, is produced by this plant. I am satisfied that many lambs die of dysentery that are allowed to eat abundantly of common heather. RuopopEnDRoN.—The Alpine Rose.—T wo goats, which at four o'clock p.m. had eaten of this plant, became affected about one _ o'clock next morning with colic, and ejected a quantity of par- tially digested material by the mouth. The salivary secretion was very abundant, and from time to time some indications of vertigo supervened. The younger animal died about three o'clock in the morning, and the other a little later. Blood-letting and the exhibition of olive oil were attended with no beneficial result. After death it was found that the rumen was inflamed,’ and its contents were somewhat thin and liquid; in the reticu- lum was little food, in the omasum some fluid, and in the fourth stomach the medicine which had been given. The small intes-. tine was of a bluish red colour, the brain injected, and the ven- tricles contained a red fluid.—(GMELIN.) Ow or Tar, Or or TuRPENTINE, NapuTaa, and others, must be regarded as active irritant poisons. The oil of turpentine, regarded by some veterinarians as the sovereign of antispas- modics, is a dangerous drug, often aggravating the disease it is intended to cure. Decayep anpD DiszaseD VEGETABLE MarttTer.—Very apt to give rise to gastro-enteritis or obstinate diarrhea, with pains in the abdomen, etc. Decayed potatoes will induce severe colic and diarrhcea in the horse. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 203 Musty Hay.—A wet season, interfering with the proper making and drying of hay, is the sure precursor of many diseases of the digestive organs, and especially of stomach-staggers and colic. These effects are, perhaps, more often witnessed on the Continent than in Britain; but throughout Scotland, towards the end of 1856, there was considerable mortality amongst horses from stomach-staggers, induced by bad hay. During my sojourn in Lyons in 1855, I had occasion to see a very large number of cases attributed to the same cause. Scarcely a day passed but one or more cart-horses were literally dragged to the Veterinary School. They moved along with hanging head, sunken eye, depressed lip, and tottering gait, suffering from pain in the abdomen, with considerable tympanitis; partial sweats bedewed the body, the visible mucous membranes were of an intensely yellow colour, and the urine dark. On reach- ing the loose box, the horse was tied to a centre post, which turned as he moved round, thus keeping him from dashing his head against the wall. The muscles twitched, the horse writhed with pain, and dashed about in fits of delirium. Two hundred and forty-nine cases of this sort were admitted into the infir- mary from August 1854 to August 1855. The disease raged as an epizootic from the month of September 1854, and not only in the neighbourhood of Lyons, but in many departments of France. A large number of animals suffered from colie and skin diseases at the same time, and all referable to the same cause. The stomach-staggers which prevailed in Scotland in 1856 was often followed by partial paralysis of the hinder extremities. The treatment to be pursued in these cases is that of the exhibition of active purgatives, sometimes of stimulants, and mustard to the surface of the body. : Sun-burnt hay and musty oats are apt to excite the action of the kidneys, and diuresis ensues. Large quantities of pale coloured urine are passed, there is great thirst, the appetite is sometimes voracious, but the animal falls off in condition, and may get into a hectic state, which is rather difficult to over- come. Astringents, creasote, iodide of potassium, and purga- tives, usually effect a speedy cure. Digitized by Microsoft® 204 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. Rusty Srraw.*—An interesting little monograph was pub- lished by Gohier in 1804, entitled Des Effets des Pailles Rowillés. Gohier, afterwards director of the ‘Lyons Veterinary School, was then veterinary surgeon to the 20th Light Dragoons. The depdt of this regiment arrived at Arras on the 7th of June, with about two hundred horses. For about a month they con- tinued healthy, being supplied with good forage; some of the straw, however, was rusty. A few days after the regiment arrived, the straw supplied was worse, and several horses fell ill, being mostly attacked by violent colic. In three days four- teen were affected with this disease; but with the exception of two old horses that were ill for three days, the disease was only of a few hours’ duration. The horses that partook most freely of the rusty straw were most seriously affected. In seven days thirty had suffered, and MM. Gohier and Marigny drew up a report. condemning the forage. Their opinion was rejected by veterinary surgeons, and others called upon to inquire into the matter, and the whole evil was attributed to some water, of which, however, the horses had always drunk whilst enjoying * “The disease denominated rust, red-rag, red-robin, and red-gum, is caused by a fungus called Uredo Rubigo. It forms yellow and brown oval spots and blotches upon the stem, leaf, and chaff. The spores burst through the epidermis, and are dispersed as very minute grains. The disease is common in corn and in grasses. Mildew is a disease caused by a fungus denominated Puccinia Graminis. The ripe spore-cases of this plant are small, dark brown, club-shaped bodies, their thicker end being divided into two chambers, each filled with minute spores, and their lower end tapering into a fine stalk. The sori or clusters of spore-cases burst through the epidermis sometimes in vast numbers. The minute spores seem to enter the plant by the stomata. Some think that they, as well as other minute spores, are absorbed by the roots. The disease attacks wheat. Spring wheat is less liable to this disease than winter wheat, and heavy soils are less subject to it than light ones. Many have supposed that the Barberry is in some way connected with the production of Mildew. This idea has been proved to be erroneous by the experiments of Staudinger, near Ham- burgh, and of Hornemann at Copenhagen. Unger entertains the idea that Blight, Mildew, and Smut, are to be considered as exanthematous diseases of plants, caused by the spores of fungi entering the stomata.”—-(BALFOUR’s Class-Book of Botany.) Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. ~ 205 perfect health. After considerable annoyance and litigation, it was recognised that the rusty straw, and even bad hay, had given rise to much disease and death amongst the horses of the regi- ment. During eight months, out of seven hundred horses, there were constantly from forty-five to fifty in the infirmary, and in the month of November as many as sixty-two. The deaths were by those diseases which always prevail when animals are badly nourished, viz., stomach-staggers, colic, marasmus, glanders, and farcy, skin diseases, catarrhal affections, and cedematous swellings. Those horses subject to cedema were very subject to gangrene; and if setons were applied, or a farcy bud cauterized by fire, mortification of the wounded parts supervened, and the animals died in a few hours. Gohier says, that not only the rusty straw, but likewise the bad hay, was the cause of such serious loss amongst the horses of his regiment. Gohier instituted several experiments to prove that the dis- eased straw was injurious; and not only was he successful with the straw, but a decoction of it induced loss of appetite, the animals became thin and sickly, giving evidence that they had been poisoned. Several epizootic attacks have been attributed to rust or mildew in plants. Fromment looked upon it as causing great loss amongst sheep in Franconia, during the years 1663, ’64, and ’65. Rammazzini, Professor of medicine at Padua, speaks of a contagious malady affecting men, cattle, and even the silk- worm, which broke out in 1690. The four or five pre- ceding years had been very hot, and during 1689 and 1690 much rain having fallen, the country was inundated, the grasses, fruits, and leguminous plants became affected with rust. . Plagues which raged amongst animals in Hesse in 1693, in Hungary in 1712, and in Saxony in 1746, occurred simultaneously, and as a result of mildew affecting vegetables. Gerlach has known it to produce abortion and inflammation of the womb in ewes. Nu- man, Marshand, and Niemann have also written on the noxious properties of plants affected with rust. Digitized by Microsoft® 206 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. Mov.py Breap.—Two kinds of mould have been described —the very noxious red or orange coloured (penicillium roseum), and the less poisonous greenish blue (penicillium glaucum). “ Acurate researches have shown that inferior descriptions of flour are very prone to undergo these changes when they are kept in a damp place, When the bread is first baked it appears good and wholesome; but the crumb contains the sporules - of the mould not destroyed by the heat of baking, and these only require favourable conditions (humidity) for their develop- ment. The corn of one season may be particularly prone to this change, from the weather having been unfavourable to its growth. M. Gaultier de Claubry found the corn grown in France, in 1841, to undergo this noxious conversion readily (penicillium roseum) in the state of flour or bread; but it was not so with that grown in 1842. The season of 1841 was re- markably wet for the harvest.”—(See Tayior on Poisons.) Horses have been known to die of gastro-enteritis from hav- ing eaten mouldy bread. Fuchs saw two cases of stomach staggers induced by it; purgatives relieved the animals. Seve- ral authors have written on the poisonous effects of mouldy bread, including Kners, in his Drdtetik, Berlin, 1839, 1 bd., p. 66 f£.; Sproegel, Hxperimenta circa varta venena, etc., Gottingen, 1753; Gohier, Observations et expériences sur le pain motsi et sur quelques poisons min. et végét., Paris et Lyon, 1807. Ereot.*—This is a disease found in all grasses, but chiefly in rye—hence ergot of rye—secale cornutum, and maize. The * «Ergot is a monstrous state of the grain, in which the enlarged and diseased ovary protrudes in a curved form, resembling a cock’s spur; hence the name from the French—ergot, meaning a spur. The ovary is black ex- ternally, spongy internally, and contains much oily matter. Some consider it as produced by the attack of a fungus, which induces a diseased condition in.the ovarian cells. The disease is usually met with in rye, and the name of spurred rye is applied to it. It sometimes occurs in wheat and in barley; and it has also been noticed in Lolium perenne and Lolium avernse, Festuca pretensis, Phleum pratense, Dactylis glomerata, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Phalaris arundinacea and Alopecurus agrestis. Ergot consists of a very dense tissue formed by polygonal cells, united intimately with one another, Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 207 ergot of rye abounds in many countries; and the Abbé Tessier first visited Sologne to study its effects on the health of the people, and to perform experiments with it in animals. Ergot of rye, highly prized as a uterine excitant or emmenagogue, if eaten regularly, is a horrible poison, and causes mortification of the limbs. The ergot of maize is, according to Roulin, very common in Columbia; and the use of it is attended with a shedding of the hair, and even the teeth, of both man and beast. Mules fed on it, lose their hoofs, and fowls lay eggs without shell. Its action upon the uterus is as powerful as that of rye ergot, or perhaps more so. The country name of the maize thus affected is Maispeladero. This statement, however, requires confirmation.—(LINDLEY.) The condition induced when an animal partakes of ergot for some time is termed Ergotism. One large dose induces in man and animals dryness and irritation of the throat, salivation, thirst, burning: pain in the stomach, vomiting, colic, and some- times diarrhea. Cerebral symptoms, such as headache, giddi- ness, and stupor, are also met with—(Taytor.) The chronic and filled with an oily fluid. It is developed in the unimpregnated ovule of rye; for although extremely dilated by the entophyte, and rendered difficult of recognition, the integuments of the ovule increase without completely losing the form which they would have assumed if they had grown into a true grain, imitating in this respect the ovaries of wheat, in which Tilletia Caries (Bunt) has replaced the seed. The solid mass, which has been called Sclerotium clavus by De Candolle, and the filamentous portion, called Sphacelia by Leveillé and Fee, and Ergotcetia by Queckett, are only, properly speaking, organs of vegetation. ‘ The fungus destined to grow from this apparatus is an elegant Spheria, probably that called by Fries Cordy- liceps purpurea. This plant has been seen by Schumacher in diseased cereal grains, and it has been detected by Roussel in Sclerotium Clavus growing on Bromus sylvaticus, and Arundo calamagrostis, and by Dumeril in ergot of rye. ° Taulasne has shown that this cordyliceps is produced from the ergot when it is allowed to vegetate. Ergot of grass and ergot of cyperacez, according to Taulasne, do not belong to the same vegetable species. Rye affected with this disease, when used as bread, is very prejudicial. The Abbé Tessier showed that ergot caused gangrene on animals fed on it; and many instances are recorded of gangrene of the extremities occurring in per- sons who had lived on diseased rye. Ergot is said to prevail in rye grown on wet and stiff lands.” —Batrovur’s Class-Book of Botany. : Digitized by Microsoft® 208 VETERINARIAN 'S VADE MECUM. effects have been observed by Tessier on birds and pigs; by M. Bonjean on birds and dogs; by Parola on solipedes; and by Descote on ruminants. The first effect is to produce loss of appetite and stupefaction; when it begins to act, dogs howl frightfully until they are completely under its influence, and then lie down and groan. The most usual symptoms are dull, stupid expression, staring look, dilated pupils, vertigo, signs of inebriation, coma; tremors, convulsive twitchings, tetanic spasms, especially of hind-limbs, and the latter soon become feeble and paralysed; the animal can scarcely stand upright, moves slowly and with difficulty; there is general debility and loss of flesh; pulse slow and weak; skin cold; coat staring. The extremities, ears, horns, and tail, have lost their natural temperature; there is a sero-mucous or sometimes bloody dis- charge from the nose; the limbs are edematous; black spots, livid patches, and gangrenous sores form on the surface of the body; dry gangrene of beak and tongue of birds, of the ears, tail, and the phalanges of the limbs, and these parts separate slowly and without pain from the living tissue adjoining.* When in Lyons I saw a case of ergotism in man. Both hands were black and dead, with a distinct mark of separation above the wrist. They were amputated by M. Valette. The post-mortem appearances in cases of poisoning by ergot are of more or less irritation of the alimentary canal; the vis- cera are flaccid and softened; the muscles semi-gelatinous; the blood fluid, and interior of the heart and blood-vessels ecchy- mosed and red as in putrid disorders. M. Bonjean has compared the action of the ergot of rye on animals to that of morphia, although it contains no trace of that substance. M. Bonjean has determined by numerous ex- periments, Ist, That the ergot gathered on the first day of its formation, has not the poisonous properties which it has when taken on the sixth day; 2nd, That a heat of 212° Fahr. pro- duces the same effect as gathering it too early; and 3rd, That fermentation deprives it of its properties. These circumstances serve to explain the want of success which sometimes attends * See Tazourin, Matiére Médicale. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA, 209 its administration. M. Bonjean has discovered in it two active principles—tIst, The oil of ergot, of a uniform consistence—a yellow colour, an acrid flavour, and possessing poisonous pro- perties in a high degree; 2nd, The aqueous extract obtained by treating ergot with water, either deprived of its oil or not, of a brown colour, a thick consistence, and a musty smell. It is soluble in water, and can be formed into mixtures, syrups, pills, etc. It possesses decided hemostatic properties. It exerts a specific influence ob the uterus, occasioning a contraction of that organ. Animal Irritants. The most remarkable of the animal irritants, and the first we shall consider, is the Spanish fly. CanTHARIDES—Blistering Fly.—The poisonous doses are half an ounce and upwards for horse or ox, a drachm for sheep, and half a drachm for a dog. Symptoms.—The mouth and fauces, and indeed the whole of the alimentary canal, being excessively irritated or inflamed, the buccal membrane is red, and there is considerable difficulty in swallowing. Dogs vomit, and efforts of a similar nature are made by horse and ruminants. The genito-urinary organs are very much affected; sometimes there is diuresis, but generally the opposite condition is strangury; the testes are drawn up close to the inguinal canal. In all animals there appears to be a.certain degree of sexual excitement. The urine is voided with difficulty and pain, as it is irritating and burning; it is highly albuminous; the feces are covered with mucus and mixed with blood. At first the animals appear excited, and soon prostration of strength supervenes; cold sweats bedew the body; there are muscular twitchings ; paralyas of the hind quarters; and death. Post-Mortem Appearances.—The intestinal tube and genito- P Digitized by Microsoft® 210 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. urinary apparatus are congested or inflamed. The kidneys may sometimes appear perfectly healthy, but the lining membrane of the bladder is always reddened. There are ecchymoses and even spots of ulceration in the intestine. Treatment.—Mucilaginous and albuminous draughts, Lin- seed tea, a strong emulsion of gum-arabic, white of eggs, are all very useful. Carnivorous animals should be excited to vomit. Emollient clysters are of great service. Oleaginous draughts are to be avoided, as oil dissolves the cantharidine, and favours its absorption. , Analysis.—Cantharidine, the active principle of the blistering _ fly, is a white crystallizable fatty body, insoluble in water, and extracted from the insect by ether or alcohol. Water takes up cantharidine with other principles, so that an infusion of can- tharides is poisonous. Cantharidine is volatile when strongly heated, and the vapour attacks the eyes in a very painful manner. The vesicating power is the only safe means of identi- fying cantharides. The powder of cantharides may be detected by reflected light, some shining points of a beautiful golden green colour are observed. M. Poumet recommends that the suspected liquids, mixed with alcohol, should be spread on sheets of glass, and allowed to evaporate spontaneously to dry- ness. The shining scales will then be seen, on examining, by. reflected light, either one or both surfaces of the glass.—(See Taytor, p. 546.) SausaGE Portson—Poisonous Souse.—Many opinions have been emitted, and experiments performed, to demonstrate the nature of a formidable poison which is developed in the brine into which meat and fish are steeped. This agent is an active poison for all the domestic animals. In some parts souse is used as a medicine for horses by quacks; and Spinola has related a case of sixteen pigs dying from poisoned brine being mingled with their food. The symptoms presented were of vertigo and apoplexy, and after death the brain was found congested, and the brain and spinal cord inflamed. Souse is slightly acid, and, according to Clement, its composition is as follows :— Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 211 Water, ‘ i : : : : 74.400 Chloride of sodium, ‘ ; : : 22.780 Acid lactate of ammonia, ; ; : 0.648 Albuminous matter in solution, ‘ : 0.820 Undetermined animal matter, Sulphate of potash, } 1.352 Phosphate of lime, ° ; 100.000 The symptoms which it produces in the pig are general un- easiness; the animal alternately rises and lies down, pricks his ears, extends his head, and is seized with twitchings of the muscles of the head, neck, and back; the jaws are subject to involuntary movements, and there is foaming at the mouth. These paroxysms last several minutes, and are followed by periods of intermission. These periods become shorter and shorter, until permanent tetanic spasms exhaust the animal. A strong dose of the poison generally destroys ife in eight hours. The post-mortem appearances are usually of congestion of the lungs; irritation of the stomach, the contents of which have a peculiar odour of rancid fat. The cerebellum and medulla ob- longata seem the most affected, and the membrane covering them is injected, and may be the seat of extravasations of blood. Between the pia-mater and the brain there is sometimes an accumulation of reddish fluid-——(ALBERT, Mag. fiir die ges. Thierheilkunde, 1851.) M. Reynal, of the Alfort school, published some experiments in the Paris Veterinary Journal for 1855; and he came to the conclusion, that souse was only poisonous three or four months after its preparation; that about 34 pints were required to kill a horse; a pint and a half for a pig; about 7 ounces for a dog : much smaller doses induce vomiting in dog and pig. The use of this substance for some time, mingled with food, though in small quantity, may be attended with fatal results. Albert has noticed that it is that portion of the souse exposed to the air which becomes poisonous; and a French veterinarian, Digitized by Microsoft® 212 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. Plasse, who is a great advocate for the theory, that all epidemics and epizootics are the result of the development of cryptogama in food, etc., believes the souse to be poisoned by fungi growing on the exposed surface of brine into which any animal substance is steeped. There is still some mystery respecting the nature of this poison; and we cannot admit entirely the opinion of M. Fuchs or Gonbaux, who regard souse as poisonous because it is a solution of common salt,—the latter, in certain doses, being a poison.* Treatment.—M. Reynal recommends blood-letting; decoctions of linseed; nitre; acidulated draughts; cold applications to the head; mustard poultices to the surface of the body. Train O1t.—Mr Taylor says, “I am not aware that this oil has acted as an irritant on man, but it has caused the death of cattle within a quarter of an hour, producing intense suffering, and foaming at the mouth. After death the intestines were found inflarffed. The oil was not pure train oil, but a mixture of naphtha and fish oil."—(Pharm. Journal, April 1845.) ANIMAL POISONS—CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. Under this head we include all poisons developed in the animal system, in communicable disorders. Their number is limited, and their true nature unknown; but they are exceed- ingly active, and often induce complicated and fatal maladies, Some would appear to be volatile, and others fixed; they. are * After the publication of M. Reynal’s ‘‘Memoir on Souse,” in the Paris Veterinary Journal for May 1855, M. Gonbaux performed experiments to show that the poisonous properties which had been studied were simply those of common salt; and in administering poisonous doses of the latter, as the action of vomiting interfered with the results, M. Gonbaux adopted Orfila’s method of ligature of the cesophagus. Reynal had not done this, and with M. Bouley instituted a series of experiments, afterwards confirmed by Jobert, which proved that ligature of the cesophagus does of itself induce symptoms of vomiting and prostration, which are of course more intense if any emetic substance has been swallowed. Death results unless the cesopha- gus is set free, or the passage is by some other method restored. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 213 absorbed by the cutaneous or mucous surfaces, or introduced into the blood by inoculation, to exert their specific influence in the production of disease. Each poison of this class is developed in one particular constitutional state, and is capable of inducing a similar systemic condition, and no other. All animals are not affected by one poison, and in some instances, as with the con- tagious element of the typhoid plague of cattle, only animals of one species are affected. Occasionally animal products acquire irritant properties of a non-specific nature, and act as local irritants when brought in contact with living tissues, and con- siderable doubts exist regarding their constitutional effects, just as we are at a loss to explain their primary mode of develop- ment. Human obstetricians, as well as veterinary surgeons, have had to notice cases in which the secretions from the mucous surface of the genital organs, in protracted labour, gave rise to erysipelatous inflammations, and pustular eruptions on the hands and arms of those assisting at the birth, It may be stated that, in this instance, the specific poison of puerperal fever of woman, or of the parturient fever of animals, is de- veloped and discharged with the mucous secretion of the vagina; but I should be inclined to classify this irritant discharge with others proceeding from inflamed or irritated mucous mem- branes, such as from the bronchia, and which do not appear to owe their origin to a specific constitutional fever. It is well known that in animals the worst forms of parturient fever occur when the birth has been quick and easy, and, therefore, not: as the result of a poison developed in the system during a process of exhaustion, which has been compared to that of the over- driven ox, whose flesh becomes indigestible and irritating to the gastric mucous membrane. Of the specific animal poisons we know more or less about eight—Ist, The anthrax or carbuncular poison; 2nd, The vario- lous poison; 3rd, Poison of panzootic aphtha; 4th, The virus of farcy and glanders; 5th, The poison of rabies; 6th, The syphi- litic; 7th, The contagious element of a peculiar eruptive disease of the genital organs of stallions and mares; 8th, The fixed and volatile poison of contagious typhoid—rinderpest—in cattle. Digitized by Microsoft® 214 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM.. As it is beyond the object of this work to give a history of the various forms of disease, produced by the inoculation of, or contamination by, the different animal poisons, I shall only briefly allude to thei» nature and effects. As regards treatment to be adopted in the separate maladies, we may refer the reader to the Therapeutical Synopsis. : 1. Anthrax Poison. The terms carbuncular and anthracoid, as applied to a whole class of diseases, signify the condition of the blood—black as coal—and of the tissues that speedily lose their vital properties, and are liable to decomposition even before the animal’s death. The chief forms of anthracoid disease have been classified under three heads—Istly, The anthrax fevers without local manifesta- tions; 2ndly, Those associated with erysipelatous swellings and gangrene of tissues in various parts of the body; 3rdly, Those in which boils, pustules, or malignant carbuncles are developed on the surface of the body. Under the first head we include, a. a malignant fever of the horse, observed more especially in warm climates, bearing a close analogy to typhus; this is probably the Loodianah disease of India—(See Veterinarian for 1854, page 504): 6. the carbuncular apoplexy of cattle and sheep, also called splenic apoplexy, blood-stroke disease, and by the French, maladze de sang, sang de rate, etc. This last affection was for long looked upon as a gangrene of the spleen, milzbrand. Of the anthrax fevers with erysipelatous swellings, we have, a. the black quarter or quarter evil of young cattle; }. the gan- grenous erysipelas of pig, and—braxy—of sheep; c. anthracoid angina or carbuncular cynanche of pigs; d. hemorrhoidal an- thrax; ¢. .erysipelatous swelling, and gangrene of the tail in cattle. : : : Under the third head is, a. the malignant pustule of animals, as developed in man after inoculation with the poison developed in all the forms of carbuncular diseases of domestic quadrupeds; 6. the glossanthrax of cattle and pigs; c. lastly, the malignant Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 215 boil of the throat of the pig, called sove or pigue by French veterinary authors. As our knowledge of the above diseases will become more exact, the various forms may be found to differ in some essential features; and as a poison is developed in the animal system in every instance of what we now call anthracoid disease, several poisons, and not one only, may be discovered to exist. A mild form of such a poison is, perhaps, the cause of various pustular eruptions of the skin in man and animals, and may be the active element in the spread of boils and carbuncles in the human race. The anthrax poison is most readily developed in herbivorous and omnivorous quadrupeds, and spreads from them to all warm-blooded animals, and even to fishes and other cold- blooded creatures. 2. Vartolous Poison. Variola or pox occurs in a peculiar form in different animals. It is typical and most malignant in man; the sheep-pox is very analogous to human small-pox; the cow-pox, a much more mild affection, is similar, but perhaps not identical with the form of pox affecting man and sheep; the horse and dog would almost appear not to suffer from any form of this disease peculiar to themselves, though some authorities would regard strangles and distemper as modifications of variola, and associ- ated with the development of strangle and distemper poisons which, however, are of very doubtful existence. The pig, goat, and domestic fowls appear as exempt as horse or dog. The virus which accumulates in the vesicle or pustule on the skin of any animal subject to variola, is capable of exciting a similar eruption, or, at least, constitutional disturbance, in almost any _ warm-blooded animal. 38. Aphthous Poison. Epizootic, or, rather, panzootic aphtha, communicable to all animals over extensive tracts of land, is an eruptive disease, called by some English veterinarians, eczema epizootica, chiefly Digitized by Microsoft® 214 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM.. As it is beyond the object of this work to give a history of the various forms of disease, produced by the inoculation of, or contamination by, the different animal poisons, I shall only briefly allude to theiv nature and effects. As regards treatment to be adopted in the separate maladies, we may refer the reader to the Therapeutical Synopsis. 1. Anthrax Poison. The terms carbuncular and anthracoid, as applied to a whole class of diseases, signify the condition of the blood—black as coal—and of the tissues that speedily lose their vital properties, and are liable to decomposition even before the animal’s death. The chief forms of anthracoid disease have been classified under three heads—lIstly, The anthrax fevers without local manifesta- tions; 2ndly, Those associated with erysipelatous swellings and. gangrene of tissues in various parts of the body; 3rdly, Those in which boils, pustules, or malignant carbuncles are developed on the surface of the body. Under the first head we include, a. a malignant fever of the horse, observed more especially in warm climates, bearing a close analogy to typhus; this is probably the Loodianah disease of India—(See Veterinarian for 1854, page 504): 6. the carbuncular apoplexy of cattle and sheep, also called splenic apoplecy, blood-stroke disease, and by the French, maladie de sang, sang de rate, etc. This last affection was for long looked upon as a gangrene of the spleen, milzbrand. Of the anthrax fevers with erysipelatous swellings, we have, a, the black quarter or quarter evil of young cattle; b. the gan- grenous erysipelas of pig, and—braxy—of sheep; c. anthracoid angina or carbuncular cynanche of pigs; d. hemorrhoidal an- thrax; ¢..erysipelatous swelling, and gangrene of the tail in cattle. Under the third head is, a. the malignant pustule of animals, as developed in man after inoculation with the poison developed in all the forms of carbuncular diseases of domestic quadrupeds; 6. the glossanthrax of cattle and pigs; c. lastly, the malignant Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 215 boil of the throat of the pig, called sove or pique by French veterinary authors. As ow knowledge of the above diseases will become more exact, the various forms may be found to differ in some essential features; and as a poison is developed in the animal system in every instance of what we now call anthracoid disease, several poisons, and not one only, may be discovered to exist. A mild form of such a poison is, perhaps, the cause of various pustular eruptions of the skin in man and animals, and may be the- active element in the spread of boils and carbuncles in the human race. The anthrax poison is most readily developed in herbivorous and omnivorous quadrupeds, and spreads from them to all warm-blooded animals, and even to fishes and other cold- blooded creatures. 2. Variolous Poison. Variola or pox occurs in a peculiar form in different animals. It is typical and most malignant in man; the sheep-pox is very analogous to human small-pox; the cow-pox, a much more mild affection, is similar, but perhaps not identical with the form of pox affecting man and sheep; the horse and dog would almost appear not to suffer from any form of this disease peculiar to themselves, though some authorities would regard strangles and distemper as modifications of variola, and associ- ated with the development of strangle and distemper poisons which, however, are of very doubtful existence. The pig, goat, and domestic fowls appear as exempt as horse or dog. The virus which accumulates in the vesicle or pustule on the skin of any animal subject to variola, is capable of exciting a similar eruption, or, at least, constitutional disturbance, in almost any _ warm-blooded animal. 3. Aphthous Poison. Epizootic, or, rather, panzootic aphtha, communicable to all animals over extensive tracts of land, is an eruptive disease, called by some English veterinarians, eczema epizootica, chiefly Digitized by Microsoft® 216 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. affecting cattle and pigs, more rarely sheep and goats, but attacking all warm-blooded animals, including game, and not sparing man. Aphthe form in the mouth, on the hairless parts of the skin of cattle, and round the upper part of the feet be- . tween hair and hoof. It is especially from the vesicles on the teats that the poison may escape and mix with the milk, which, if drunk warm, induces inflammation of the fauces, irritation of the alimentary canal, and even eruptions on the skin. Hertwig proved this by experiment on himself and two medical friends; but I have known of calves and pigs dying by being thus _poisoned. It must be especially dangerous when epizootic aphtha is raging in the dairies, as it does so frequently, and the warm milk is given to young children. 4, The Virus of Farcy and Glanders. Farcy.—Malleus s. morbus farciminosus, cachexia lymphatica farciminosa, is a disease which originates spontaneously only in “the horse and allied species; the lymphatic. system is chiefly affected, the superficial lymphatics inflame, and along their * . course inflammatory tumours form, called farey buds, which suppurate, and indolent ulcers result from the opening of the abscesses; these constantly yield an ichorous discharge con- taining a poison capable of producing in other animals, not alone in the single-hoofed quadruped, either farcy or glanders, or both. Glanders.—Malleus s. morbus equi humidus (Vegetius), coryza virulenta, ozena maligna contagiosa, morbus lymphaticus con- tagiosus cum ozenis, developing spontaneously in the equine tribe, is an affection met with in both acute and chronic forms —almost invariably acute in the ass and mule. Farcy and glanders are two forms of the same morbid state; in the one instance the morbid lesions are superficial and cutaneous, in the latter the respiratory passages and lungs are chiefly involved. The virus of farcy or glanders inoculated in man invariably _. induce acute glanders and farcy combined, proving speedily fatal. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA, 217 Farcy or glander poison is not volatile, only recognised as existing in the ichor discharged by the ulcers on the skin and mucous membranes, or accumulating in the pulmonic abscesses which follow inoculation of such pus or ichor. The latter is alkaline. highly charged with solid elements, consisting of albumen, carbonate of soda, chloride of sodium, phosphate of lime and mucus. The microscopic elements of all specimens I have examined are pus and granular corpuscles in large quantities. The virus has been ascertained to exist in the blood, as transfusion of the latter, from a glandered to a sound horse, communicated the disease. According to Viborg, it exists in the saliva, in the urine, and in the perspiration, when the latter flows abundantly under the influence of heat, exertion, etc. It may adhere to any cold substance, dry and preserve for months; when moistened again and introduced in the blood of a healthy animal, farcy or glanders may result. It is carried from animal to animal, by any conceivable means of transfer, adhering to living or dead objects, and taking effect when applied to excoriated surfaces, and under rare circumstances, when brought in contact with a mucous membrane capable of absorbing rapidly, such as the conjunctiva. The action of the ‘ gastric juice destroys it as much as heat and strong chemical re-agents, 5. Poison of Rabies. Several species of the genus canis, and even the cat, would appear susceptible of spontaneous attacks of rabies—usually qualified as rabies canina. It is an excessively dangerous and contagious disease, occasionally observed amongst dogs as an epi- zootic; but whenever existing in man and other warm-blooded animals, it may be traced to inoculation from bites of rabid carnivora. The symptoms of the disease indicate at all times great disturbance of the sensorial and instinctive faculties. Great derangement of the nervous functions are peculiar in animals of different species. The saliva of rabid animals con- * tains the poison, the real nature of which is unknown. Various have been the causes mentioned which induce rabies Digitized by Microsoft® 218 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. in the dog. That certain breeds are specially predisposed to it, appears erroneous. It has rarely been seen amongst fox-hounds, well-kept and protected as these animals are, but frequently in every other variety of dog, because not so strictly attended to, and exposed in a thousand ways to contagion. It has been said, wrongly I believe, that it may supervene on distemper, mange, and sudden suppression of the secretion of milk in cats. Climate has been said to exert a great influence on the distribution of the diseasé. Excessive heat and excessive cold are not pro- ductive of the disease; it is most frequent in the temperate parts of Europe, and far less common in the torrid zone and polar regions. The countries that are most free of it are Kamschatka, Greenland, and even Sweden and Denmark. Amongst the hot countries we have the tropical regions of Asia, of Africa, and America. As the disease is transmissible, so may it be imported into countries usually favoured with exemption; and, as Boudin says, this may explain how Prosper Alpin, and Larrey, who declared that rabies did not exist in Egypt, might have been as right in their assertion as Pruner, who has recently seen the malady in that country. This may likewise explain how the disease which was rare, if ever it occurred, in Algeria, has become common there since the French invasion. According to Ulloa, rabies was once unknown in South America; and, according to Stevenson, Smith, and others, the affection first visited Peru in 1803,and Lima in 1807. We are assured that it was imported in the Mauritius by an English vessel from Bengal. In 1852, according to Schrader, the dis- case spread with great intensity on the right and left banks of the Elbe, the islands on the river being spared. The saliva of the rabid dog preserves its poisonous properties about twenty-four hours after the death.of the animal; but Count Salm has experimented on the dried foam from the mouth, and has been successful in communicating the disease. Of 59 dogs inoculated by Hertwig, 14 became rabid, viz., 23.7 per cent. According to Faber, out of 144 dogs bitten by rabid ones, 77 or 53,3 per cent. became affected with the malady. Hertwig has known a dog resist every attempt to communicate Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA, — 219 the disease to him, having been repeatedly bitten by mad dogs which had inoculated others in the same way. I have known of one case of individual immunity manifested by a pointer dog which Professor Rey kept for a long while in the Lyons veterin- ary school, causing him repeatedly to be bitten by dogs un- doubtedly rabid without any effect. This must clearly be ascribed to idiosynerasy, which is quite as remarkable in persons resisting contamination by syphilitic poison. From the de- cennial period of 1827 to 1837, of 224 dogs taken to the Alfort veterinary school, after having been bitten by dogs that were rabid or supposed to be so, and kept in the infirmary for upwards of two months to ascertain their real condition, 74, that is to say nearly a third, became rabid, 130 not having suffered. But as M. Renault says, these numbers cannot indicate the activity of the poison of rabies, for it was not always certain that rabies existed in the dogs that first bit; that the bites were not care- fully searched for and detected in those animals taken to the school, so that many might have escaped unhurt; and, lastly, they might have been bitten in parts thickly covered with hair, so that the saliva could not penetrate to the wound. From 1830 to 1831, at different times and under different circumstances, M. Renault’ caused several animals, both carni- vorous and herbivorous, to be bitten on parts only slightly covered with hair; occasionally M. Renault. procured some saliva from rabid dogs during the severe paroxysms, and inocu- lated other animals. Some were both bitten and inoculated. Sixty-seven out of the number became rabid, of the other 32 none suffered, that isto say, three-fourths became affected, and the other fourth, though not subjected to treatment, escaped free. At Lyons, it has been found that of the animals bitten accidentally, one-fifth of dogs and one-fourth of horses took the disease. The results of experiments were similar to those obtained at Alfort. At Toulouse, according to Lafosse, out of 16 animals—dogs, cattle, and horses—5 only, viz. less than a third, became affected. In Berlin, out of 137 dogs bitten about the town and taken to the college, from 1823 to 1837, only 16 became rabid; and out of 25 dogs which Hertwig caused to be Digitized by Microsoft® 220 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. bitten, 10 suffered. Thus at Berlin the number of cases follow- ing bites and accidental inoculation, have proved fewer than in Alfort, Lyons, and Toulouse. It is generally admitted, that the bites of wolves are more frequently followed by rabies than the bites of dogs. Out of 254 persons reported as having been bitten by wolves, 164 died of hydrophobia. It is supposed that this depends on the fact, that the wolf in biting, aims at the face, neck, and head.-—-See Boudin, Geographie Médicale, vol. ii. p. 678. ‘ 6. Syphilitie Poison. Syphilis has been held by many as a disease peculiar to man, but others have considered certain eruptive affections of the genital organs of animals, as syphilitic. That this is the case would appear more than doubtful ; nevertheless, Auzias Turrene has positively demonstrated that, from man to, animals, and vice versa, syphilis may be communicated. “Almost unani- mously,” says Sperino, ‘were medical men admitting, till lately, the non-transmissibility of syphilitic diseases to brutes.” The unsuccessful inoculations of Hunter, of Turnbull, of Ricord, of . Castlenau, had consolidated this ancient belief. Towards the close of 1844, M. Auzias Turrene read a memoir before the Academy of Sciences in Paris, in which it was announced that he had succeeded in communicating, by inoculation, syphilitic ulcers to the monkey, the cat, rabbit, and dog. These experi- ments have been repeated, and their results confirmed. Pro- fessor Sigmund of Vienna obtained positive results from inocula- tion of the virus in all warm-blooded animals; and in the dog, the rabbit, and horse, the primary symptoms were followed by a cutaneous syphilide. Weltz, Diday, and others, have proved that from the syphilitic ulcers developed as the results of inoculation of animals, syphilis may be communicated to man. 7. Virus of Eruptive Disease of Stallions. A benignant and a malignant eruptive affection of the organs of generation in the horse have been described They are essen- Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA, ; 221 tially distinct diseases. Both exanthematous affections; the benignant one has been termed aphtha or phlyctenoid eruption of the genitals; whereas the malignant form, very indefinitely named, because obscure in its real nature, is termed chancre plague, malignant disease of stallions, maladie du coit, by the French ; beschiil-krankheit (stallion’s disease) of the Germans. The last has been looked upon as identical with syphilis by Daumas, Delafond, and others; some veterinarians have con-— sidered the contaminating poison as similar to that of farcy and glanders. It would appear distinct and sui generis.—See The Veterinarian, 1856, pp. 89, 145. 8. Poison of Contayious Typhoid in Cattle. Many diseases reputed contagious, spread from a combination of influences, often quite independently of the operation of a specific virus or contagious element. Yellow fever, cholera, typhus, and pleuro-pneumonia of cattle, are to be included in this category. There is one disease of the ox tribe, however, of spontaneous origin in the Russian Steppes, where it more or less constantly creates ravages, which only extends westward over the Continent of Europe in the lines of communication between different countries; the contagious element may be carried by oxen, by people, merchandise, hides, horns or hoofs, and even pigs, dogs, and cats that have approached or perhaps eaten portions of the diseased carcases. This cattle plague, rinderpest, loserdurre, typhus contagiosus boum, etc., is an essen- tially contagious pestilential fever of a typhous type peculiar to the ox, not even affecting the nearest allied ruminants, such as the buffalo and yak. It is peculiarly malignant, and charac- terised by intestinal lesions analogous to the lesions of typhoid or enteric fever of man; hence, I prefer the name contagious typhoid, to contagious typhus. We only speak of contagious typhoid here with reference to the materies morbi developed and capable of inducing the disease in healthy animals. This element may be carried over to a limited space through the atmosphere, and may contaminate Digitized by Microsoft® 222 : VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. water, so that it is not safe to allow healthy animals to drink from buckets or pails from which diseased oxen have drank. When an animal is affected, according to Barrach, there is an area of 20 to 300 yards around, within which animals carinot be brought without great danger of infection. It pervades every part of the diseased animal, the blood, bile, mucus, and all the excrements. Not only are the flesh and viscera impregnated, but if these be steeped in water, the water becomes poisoned. The materies morbi is not easily destroyed. The disease may occur by placing oxen in stables which have been empty for more than a year, after diseased ones had died in them. A general outbreak has occurred from exhuming carcases that had been buried for nineteen. years; the remnants of the skeleton and less readily decomposed portions of the animal contain the poisonous principle, to spread disorder and death amongst cattle. The chemical and organic characters of the poison are unknown. It is destroyed by chlorine, chloride of lime, nitric acid, and other powerful disinfectants. Poison or VENOMOUS SERPENTS,—The only venomous serpent found in Britain isthe common viper. A single bite is sufficient to kill a dog, but a horse or ox can resist three or four attacks. Fontana has estimated that 12 grains of the poison were. neces- sary to kill an ox. The poison of all serpents acts in a similar manner, varying in different species in the intensity of symp- toms, and the rapidity with which death follows the bite. Symptoms.—Great pain in the wounded region, swelling ; nausea, vomiting; signs of syncope, convulsions; small and frequent pulse; cold sweats; inability to rise; tetanus, and death. : Post-Mortem App:arances.—Nothing peculiar has ever been observed, and the tissues swell round the wound, which is often gangrencus. Treatment.—The wound must be sucked, and the parts around scarified with cupping-glasses ; amputation when practicable ; the application of caustics, of a solution of ammonia ; a ligature to be applied above the wound when possible. Internally, wine, Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 293 ammonia, and other excitants may tend to rouse the poleoned animal. Porson or Venomous Insrcts.—The scorpion of the East and West Indies is the only insect whose sting is worth notice. Its poison is not fatal to large animals, but induces severe pain and swelling of the limbs. Treatment.—The wound must be sucked, and liquor ammonia and oil rubbed on the part. NARCOTIC POISONS. Tue “narcotics” proper, of which opium and prussic acid offer the best examples, act specially upon the brain, inducing a torpid, dull, or stupid condition, sometimes coma, and less fre- quently convulsions and paralysis. These poisons do not exert any irritant action upon the alimentary canal; and therefore both the symptoms of such irritation during life, and any marks of it after death, are absent. The symptoms which they induce are liable very readily to be mistaken for those of diseases of the nervous system. The symptoms of poisoning by opium resemble very closely, for in- stance, those of apoplexy ; and prussic acid induces very gene- rally convulsions, which are almost undistinguishable from those of epilepsy. An attentive study of the history and symptoms of individual cases, if joined to an accurate knowledge of diseases, will, however, enable the practitioner almost invariably to form a correct opinion. Narcotics generally induce death by secondarily implicating and arresting the functions of the heart and lungs; death may be induced by a sudden failure of the heart’s action, as seen in cases of poisoning by prussic acid (death by syncope), or more slowly by first implicating the function of respiration, which almost ceases before the action of the heart is materially affected. Under the influence of the narcotic the walls of the thorax, Digitized by Microsoft® 224 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. unacted upon by their excito-motor nerves, cease to act, and as 4 consequence the oxygenation of the blood ceases; when the darkened and impure blood has circulated for some time, the heart becomes affected; wanting its accustomed stimulus— oxygenated blood—its action becomes weaker and weaker, and ultimately ceases; the mechanism of death exactly resembling that of those diseases of the nervous system which prove fatal by inducing “ coma.” Unlike the irritant class of poisons, the narcotics leave little or no trace of their action in the dead body. Where death has occurred in the way which has been described above, there is very generally an increased quantity of serous fluid in the ven- tricles of the brain; the right side of the heart, and the large veins are gorged with blood, which is often in a fluid condition. In determining the probability of death having been caused by a narcotic poison, great importance would be laid on the fact of there being no lesion of the nervous system which could account for the symptoms; the fact being, however, held in remem- brance, that sometimes, though rarely, nervous diseases prove fatal, inducing coma ‘and convulsions, without leaving any traces on the dead body which enable us, in the present state of pathology, to ascertain their existence. A correct knowledge of the mode in which narcotics act, sup- ply certain general principles, which guide us in the treatment of cases of poisoning by them. Im all cases of poisoning, the first indication is either to remove, as far as possible, the poison from the system, or to introduce into the system some substance which will, by forming an insoluble compound, render it inert. In the case of many of the mineral poisons, we may make use of the latter method, employing their chemical antidotes; in the case of narcotic poisons we cannot rely upon these, and should, therefore, invariably procure the mechanical removal of the poison from the stomach by means of emetics, or (more effec- . tually), in the case of small animals, by using the stomach pump. Having procured the removal of any portion of poison which may exist in an unabsorbed condition in the stomach, our next endeavour will be to keep up as far as possible the Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 225 functions of the heart and lungs, whilst the elimination of the poison is going on. It has been shown that narcotics very commonly affect the respiration, and ultimately the heart. By keeping up artificial respiration we may secure, in these cases, the oxygenation of the blood, and the heart will continue to act almost as well as normally: we eliminate, to a great extent, by such a plan of treatment, one of the chances of death. Whilst the important functions of respiration and circulation are going on, the poison is gradually being eliminated from the blood by the different excretory channels. When the elimina- tion has advanced to a certain extent, the brain begins to resume its action, the walls of the thorax begin to act again, and the animal recovers ; in cases of poisoning by the narcotics, there is, as a rule, no lesion of any of the organs; so that if the poison be completely eliminated, ultimate recovery is almost certain, the functions of the organs and not their structure hav- ing been implicated by their action. This constitutes an essen- tial form of difference between poisoning by the irritants and narcotics ; for in the former class death often results long (months and even years) after the administration of a poison, which has, by its chemical or physiological properties, induced important alterations in organs essential to life. Thus death from starva- tion, from stricture of the gullet, has followed, in some cases, months and even years after a poisonous dose of one of the caustic alkalies had been taken ;“and persons have lingered on for months with the most distressing symptoms of disease of the stomach, which originated in the administration of a single dose of arsenic. PaPAVERACE#, the poppy order possessed of narcotic proper- ties.—The seed is universally oily, and in no degree narcotic. The oil from the seeds of Papaver somniferum is found to be perfectly wholesome, and is, in fact, consumed on the Continent in considerable quantity. Poppy oil-cake is used as food for cattle. Poppy heads, or the dried red capsules of the poppy, are narcotic ; but the domestic animals have suffered most fre- quently from eating the petals of the red or corn poppy. , Q Digitized by Microsoft® 226 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. Papaver Ruaas.—The recent petals of the red or corn poppy have a peculiar heavy odour of opium; their action is similar to that of the latter substance, but slight. On the domestic animals they induce symptoms similar to those of epilepsy or madness. Professor Weiss has collected much information on this sub- ject, and from his paper, frequently quoted in this work, we extract the following :—“ Grimm” observed that cattle having eaten much of the red poppy had a weak, awkward gait, uttered a groan at every step, were affected with diarrhcea, and re- mained in a stupid, sleepy condition. Schmagert and Lichtet witnessed trembling, foaming at the mouth, loss of conscious- ness and sensibility, rolling of the eyes, loud bellowing, restless- ness amounting even to raving, tympanitis, shining and twitch- ing movements of the eyes, fixed and widely-dilated pupil, agitated pulse, the secretion of the milk is stopped. According to Gaullet,§ the secretion of milk was watery, without fat or caseous matter, and diminished in quantity ; pulse small and quick; skin dry, staring coat; grinding of teeth ; the animals flew, as if rabid, on the people that approached them, and bit themselves in the legs. There was constipation ; the feces dry and tinged with blood. As the symptoms of raving and roar- ing subsided, the animals became dull, stupid, and sleepy, some- times they lay down,- at others they stood, but every now and then the signs of furor supervened. In one case the cattle got loose, ran madly up the village, and struck their heads against the walls and posts. The mad stage lasted for about two hours; the animals fell like dead, but awoke again after several hours. The food taken by these animals was examined by an apothecary, who found it to consist of three-fourths of the corn poppy, ripe ‘and unripe seed capsules; adonis autumnalis (pheasant’s eye) ; delphinium (larkspur); and the remaining fourth was clover.” * Repert. der Theirheil., v., p. 112. + Landw. Wochenbl. fiir das Grossherzogth, Baden, 1838, No. 35. t+ Magazin fiir Thierhielkunde, iv., 520. § Recueil de Méd. Vetér., 1829, 99. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 227 In the larger number of cases the symptoms are not so violent. As a general rule the animals are restored to health in the course of from six to twelve hours. Occasionally the animals get worse; cows could scarcely walk three or four days after taking the poison, and the symptoms lasted until the sixth and seventh days, when convulsions and diarrhea super- vened, and Gaullet saw six animals die. Post-Mortem Appearances.—Gaullet had only one opportunity of inspecting an animal after death. In the rumen and reticu- lum, the contents were hard, floating in an alkaline fluid; the epithelium was readily stripped. The abdomen was distended, and contained hard food; fluid material existed in the fourth stomach. The small intestines were inflamed, and adhering together in various parts by plastic lymph. The kidneys were large and inflamed. Treatment.—Gyrimm prescribes decoction of linseed, worm- wood, and gentian, with 4 ounces of sulphate of soda; the abdomen is well rubbed with oil of turpentine and camphor- ated spirit. Schmager recommends vinegar, oil, and strong coffee alternately ; under this treatment the animal recovered in from four to twelve hours. Lichte advises cold affusions, large doses of neutral salts, and clysters ; the symptoms disap- peared in the course of twelve hours. Orium.—The inspissated juice of the poppy capsule.—Its narcotic properties are due to the morphia, with many other alkaloids, in very variable quantities, combined with sulphuric acid and a peculiar organic acid, the meconic. Poisonous Doses.—From 1 to 2 ounces prove poisonous to the horse. Cattle sustain much larger quantities. A pig or dog may die from the effects of 2 drachms, or of 8 to 10 grains injected into the jugular vein. Large quantities of opium may be supported if an animal be made to take it constantly. Symptoms.—At first an animal is restless; the eyes look bright, there is a vague expression, the pupils fixed ; the belly tympanitic ; there is twitching of the ears and tail, determina- tion of blood to the skin; warmth of the extremities, until Digitized by Microsoft® 228 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. perspiration breaks out in parts, or over all the cutaneous sur- face ; the breathing is accelerated, pulse quick and full; the bladder is emptied, and the sexual organs in an excited state. In from half to two hours a state of somnolence, with unsteady gait, and symptoms of vertigo, ensue; the pupils are dilated; the conjunctiva of a purplish colour, and the state of stupor and unconsciousness increases; convulsions and tremors suc- ceed, with partial paralysis of body, relaxation of the sphincters ; involuntary discharge of urine and feces; cold sweats; and death, Post-Mortem Appearances.—The digestive organs are more or less full of hard and dry material ; the mucous membrane is apt to be in a congested state. The blood in the vessels is dark- coloured ; the whole of the organs, but especially the heart and nervous centres, are full of blood. There is often serous effusion under the arachnoid, and in the ventricles of the brain. There are, sometimes, ecchymoses on the serous membrane. Treatment.—The smaller animals must be made to vomit. The vegetable astringents recommended by Orfila are compara- tively useless. Coffee, nux vomica, and the salts of strychnia have been recommended. Bleeding has been proposed to re- lieve the nervous centres of blood. Stimulants in moderate quantities are useful. Cold ablution, ammonia, etc. Artificial respiration. Tests—The peculiar odour of opium forms a good preliminary test of its presence, though too much reliance cannot be placed on the positive or negative character of this test. The strictly chemical detection of opium is confined to the separation and recognition of its two principal constituents, morphia and me- conic acid. The best process for separating these ingredients from pure opium, or from opium or laudanum mixed with organic matter, is to reduce the material to a state of fine division, add a little acetic acid, and as much distilled water as is required to make a somewhat thin fluid, then heat gently for. two hours, and filter through (1) muslin, and (2) paper. The extract is treated with solution of acetate of lead till precipitation ceases, heated to near ebullition, and filtered. The morphia, as acetate Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 229 of morphia, will be present in the liquid or filtrate A, and the meconic acid, as meconate of lead, is left on the filter B. A. The acetate of morphia solution is treated with a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen, to precipitate the excess of lead, heated and filtered from the black sulphide of lead ; the filtrate is evaporated gently to the consistence of a syrup, and the ex- tract is acted upon by alcohol, which dissolves out the acetate of morphia. The alcoholic solution is evaporated to dryness, a little water added, and the liquid tested as follows :— Tests for Morphia. (1.) The liquid has a bitter taste. (2.) Nitric acid, an orange-red colour, which passes quickly to a yellow tint. (3.) Perchloride of iron or persulphate of tron (nearly neutral), an inky blue colour. (4.) Lodic acid, separation of iodine with a brown colour, and distinct odour of iodine. The iodine may be further detected by adding a solution of starch, when the blue iodide of starch is formed. B. The precipitate of meconate of lead is washed into a vessel containing water ; and while suspended in the liquid, a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen passed through till the formation of the black sulphide of lead ceases. The mixture is heated, filtered, and the filtrate evaporated to small bulk, and refiltered. This liquid, containing meconic acid, is then examined as follows : Test for Meconic Acid. Perchloride of tron, a deep red solution, insoluble in bichloride of mercury, which distinguishes it from a similarly-coloured solution formed by the action of perchloride of iron on a soluble sulphocyanide. Digitized by Microsoft® 230 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. Although the method of analysis recommended above is, per- haps, the best at the disposal of the toxicologist who is searching for opium in organic mixtures, it often fails to detect the con- stituents of the poison when these are undoubtedly present. The tests for morphia are excessively delicate, serving to detect the most minute traces of the pure substance. It is very rare, however, to obtain characteristic reactions by applying them to the fluid obtained by the process which we have described (A), when cases where large quantities of opium are known to be present. The bitter taste of morphia will often be perceived in the fluid, when none of the other tests give a satisfactory reac- tion. Meconic acid is more easily detected in organic mixtures than morphia, and evidence of its presence can often be obtained in cases of poisoning by opium, when morphia escapes detection altogether. In almost every case where an organic fluid is ex-' amined for opium, it is advisable, as a preliminary operation, to apply the perchloride of tron test for meconic acid,fand the nitric acid test for morphia, directly to the fluid, as reactions will be obtained in this way in fluids which contain so small a quantity of meconate of morphia as not to be precipitated by acetate of lead.—(Tayror.) Hyprocyanic Acip.—Prussic acid.—Undiluted, 10 drops were attended with death in ten seconds, when given to two horses; a drop on the conjunctiva or buccal membrane will kill a dog in about three seconds. Two ounces of Scheele’s acid, which contains from four to five per cent. anhydrous hydro- cyanic acid, will kill a horse; but, as Mr Morton says, it is surprising what large doses, when gradually increased, this animal will bear. The vapour of prussic acid is very deadly, and a high temperature favours its volatilization. Symptoms.—If fifteen or twenty minutes elapse before death ensues, the symptoms are of uneasiness, giddiness, stupor, quick pulse, difficult breathing, palpitation of the heart, and loss of power. Convulsions, tetanic attacks, with dilated pupils, and insensibility, precede a period of complete collapse, and death. In carnivorous animals there is usually vomiting; abundant Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 231 alvine dejections; salivation; and paralysis, first of the hind quarters, and nextly, of the thoracic extremities. Post-Mortem Appearances.—The body is subject to considerable cadaveric rigidity; the jaws are closed, and there is foam at the mouth ; the alimentary canal is sometimes found in a healthy state. In many experiments on dogs the gastric mucous mem- brane has been observed injected and red. The head and large vessels are full of dark fluid blood, and the lungs appear soaked in the same liquid. The nervous centres are much injected. Treatment.—V enesection has been recommended for plethoric animals. Cold ablutions to head, neck, and vertebral column, undoubtedly hold the first place amongst the remedial measures to be adopted in this form of poisoning. Applications of am- monia to the nostrils. Chancel saved the life of a cow by exhi- biting the protosulphate of iron. Orfila preferred chlorinated water in the form of draught or enema. Tests.—(1.) Nitrate of silver, a white precipitate, not soluble in cold nitric acid, but soluble in excess of ammonia. (2.) Perchloride of iron, protosulphate of tron, a little caustic potash, and, finally, an excess of hydrochloric acid (all added to the same solution), give rise to Prussian blue. (3.) Yellow sulphide of ammonium added in very small quan- tity, the mixture evaporated to dryness, gives, on the addition of perchloride of iron, a deep red colour, which is readily rendered colourless by dichloride of mercury. Analysis.—When hydrocyanic acid’ has been taken or ad- ministered as a poison, it may be generally recognised at once by its characteristic odour. The presence of hydrocyanic acid in an organic mixture containing it, may be very beautifully shewn by merely testing the vapour which is given off. For this purpose the mixture is placed in a jar having an orifice which can be accurately covered by a watch-glass. To apply the silver test (1), the watch-glass may be moistened with a drop of a weak solution of nitrate of silver. If the vapour of prussic acid be given off, a white film will form after some time. On examining the film microscopically, acicular crystals may some- times be detected. Digitized by Microsoft® 232 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. The sulphur test (3) is, in like manner, applied by moistening a watch-glass with a drop of yellow sulphide of ammonium, and allowing it to remain exposed to the vapour escaping from the jar for some time; then drying it thoroughly by exposing it to a water-bath heat, and adding a very small quantity of perchlo- ride of iron. The zron test can likewise be applied to the vapour. The watch-glass is moistened with a drop of a solution of potash and exposed to the vapour given off by the jar for a few minutes. A drop of a mixed solution of aproto and per saltof iron, and then a little hydrochloric acid are added. In this way the presence of prussic acid can be proved in an organic mixture, without subjecting it to the action of any re-agents, or any compli- cated chemical process. The complete separation of the acid from organic matter may be readily accomplished by placing the material in a retort, thereafter adding a little dilute sulphuric acid and distilling, the first portions of water which pass over contain the prussic acid in a state of purity sufficient for applying the tests. Prussic acid combined with alkalies forms poisonous com- pounds. The cyanides of potassium and iron are poisonous like prussic acid. Bitter almonds, laurel oil, laurel water, and cherry laurel water owe their poisonous properties to this acid. Hyoscyamus NicEer. — Henbane. — Poisonous doses. — One ounce of the tincture is deadly to horse or ox. Sheep are but little affected by it. Two ounces of the decoction of the roots killed a small but robust dog in a few hours. Two drachms of the extract were attended with a similar result, and 30 grains of it injected into the jugular vein killed in a short time. The whole plant is poisonous, but especially the roots, which resemble parsnips, for which they have been mistaken, with fatal results. The fresh herb is said to be eaten with impunity by horses, cows, sheep, goats, and hogs, while birds and dogs are affected like man. - Symptoms.—Crouzel has published a case of poisoning by hen- bane in a cow; the animal fell to the ground; was subject to Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 233 | irregular movements, to dilatation of pupils, feebleness of the hind quarters, foaming at the mouth, purging, etc. In dogs there is delirium, vertigo, efforts to vomit, plaintive cries, deep and difficult breathing, and stupor. Post-Mortem Appearances.—Congestion of the lungs and ner- vous centres. No sign of inflammation. Treatment.—Emetics in carnivora. In ruminants it is recom- mended to void the rumen by an opening in the flank. Bleed- ing and acidulated draughts have proved of service. Analysis.—“ The poisonous properties of hyoscyamus are known to be owing to a crystalline body which is called hyoscy- amia. It is very difficult of extraction. The crystals have a silky lustre, they are not very soluble in water, but easily dis- solved by alcohol and ether. It has an alkaline reaction, and its solution is precipitated by tannin. It has an acrid, disagree- able taste, resembling that of tobacco. It is highly poisonous, and causes dilatation of the pupils. When the vegetable has been eaten, it can be identified only by its botanical characters. The seeds are very small and hard, they are honey-combed on the surface, and may easily be confounded with those of bella- donna.” —(Tayior. ) Lactruca.—The lettuces are all narcotic. Lactuca virosa, scariola, and sylvestris yield an extract resembling opium in its qualities. The garden lettuce, L. sativa, furnishes the narcotic drug called lactucarium. But according to Aubergier, the best lactucarium is obtained from Lactuca altissima. SoLtanum.—“ There are twospecies of this plant,—the Solanum dulcamara, bitter-sweet or woody nightshade, which has a purple flower,,and bears red berries; and the Solanum ‘nigrum, or garden. nightshade, with a white flower and black berries, - Dunal gave to dogs 4 onnces of the aqueous extract, and in another experiment, 180 ripe berries of the Dulcamara, with- out any ill effects resulting. On the other hand, Floyer states that thirty of the berries killed a dog in three hours.—(WisMErR, Digitized by Microsoft® 234 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. op. cit. Solanum.) These differences may perhaps be reconciled by supposing that the active principle, solania, on which the poisonous properties of both species depend, varies in proportion at different seasons of the year.”—(TAYLOR.) CampHor.—Poisonous doses—Two drachms of camphor in- jected into the jugular vein, or 2 ounces introduced into the stomach, kill a horse. According to Dupuy, an ounce and a- half proved fatal in two cases, Hertwig considers the deadly dose for a dog to be from a quarter to half an ounce. Symptoms.—General excitement; injection of the mucous membranes ; muscular twitchings, vertigo, profuse sweats ; the odour of camphor is emitted by the nostrils and the secretions of the body; the animal falls to the ground with outspread nostrils and dilated pupils, and foaming at the mouth. The smaller animals often appear affected with paraplegia ; there is loss of sensibility. Often in animals there are symptoms of apoplexy, with loss of motion and sensation, and death ensues without convulsions. . Post-Mortem Appearances.—Although classed with narcotic poisons, nevertheless camphor often produces irritation of the alimentary canal. The blood is dark and coagulated in the heart and larger vessels. The sinuses of the dura-mater, espe- cially about the medulla oblongata, cerebellum, and pons Varolii, are gorged with blood. The body exhales a strong odour of. . camphor, which is perceptible even after the flesh has been boiled. Treatment.—Acidulated draughts and purgatives. If the dose does not prove fatal, diuretics help to expel the drug by the kidneys. In the smaller animals, emetics must be given.— (Newron.) OrpEat Bran or CaLtaBar—FPhysostigma Venenosum.—The Calabar bean is the product of a plant belonging to the natural order Leguminosz, and is found in the neighbourhood and to the west of Calabar proper (Africa). It has only recently been introduced into this country in large quantities, no interest having been felt in its properties until the publication (in 1868) Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 235 of a very remarkable prize thesis, by Dr Thomas R. Fraser of Edinburgh.* The Calabar bean is of a shiny chocolate-brown colour, of a uniform shape, and has an average length of 1 and 1-16th of an inch, the breadth being 12-16ths of an inch. The beans have two margins,—a shorter or concave, and a longer or convex, with two flattened surfaces. The outer covering of the bean (spermoderm) is excessively tough, and highly impervious to water. The inclosed kernel or embryo is of a white colour. Examined microscopically, it consists of a cellular texture, with cavities enclosing starch corpuscles. It is in this portion of the bean that the active principle is chiefly resident. Poisonous Doses.—Five and a half grains of the kernel were found by Dr Fraser to kill a buck rabbit eight months old in the space of forty-one minutes. Two grains of the alcoholic extract (equivalent to forty-eight grains of the kernel) killed a full-grown, strong, and well-fed English terrier in fifty minutes. Symptoms.—“ When a small fatal dose of the kernel is administered to one of the lower animals, a train of symptoms is produced usually in the following order :—A slight tremor is first seen, especially at the posterior regions, and this extends forwards to the anterior extremities and the head. The limbs yield immediately afterwards, the posterior becoming generally first paralyzed, and the animal lies extended in a state of almost complete muscular flaccidity. A few attempts may be made to recover the normal position, but they are usually ineffectual. The bowels, in some cases, are evacuated. The pupils con- tract ; as the symptoms advance the respiration becomes slow and irregular, with a distinct stertor accompanying both inspira- tion and respiration, and frothy mucus escapes from the mouth. A few muscular twitches occur, especially in the extremities. Reflex action cannot be produced by either pinching or prick- * Almost the whole of our knowledge concerning the chemistry and physiological action of this remarkable plant is due to Dr Fraser’s re- searches ; and it is from his memoir that we have compiled the information on this subject. . Digitized by Microsoft® 236 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. ing the skin. By and by the eyelids do not contract when touched, or even when the eye-ball is pricked. On lifting by the ears, the limbs hang inertly, and the only sign of life is an occasional gasping inspiration, which also soon ceases, and the animal appears dead. ‘“ Consciousness is preserved during the whole time, until the power of expression is lost. During incomplete paralysis, proofs of sensation may be obtained by pinching the ears or pricking the skin. Immediately after death the pupils dilate.”* “When a large fatal dose of the kernel is administered, the hind limbs almost instantly yield, and the animal falls, It lies flaccid, and in any posture on the table, and exhibits muscular power only by a few twitches. The pupils contract; in a few cases, fluid escapes from the nostrils, and the lachrymal secre- tion is increased. Reflex action cannot be produced by irrita- tion, and the respiration, after a few gasps, cease.” —(FRaSER, op. cit., page 12.) The most remarkable action of the Calabar bean is its power of inducing, when applied topically to the eye, contraction of the pupil. A small quantity of the extract, applied to the eye, induces very rapidly the most remarkable contraction of the pupil. Post-Mortem Appearances.—Ist, After a small fatal dose.— “The heart may continue its action for one hour and a half after death. Its chambers usually cease to contract in a definite order, the Yeft auricle first losing its contractility, then the right and left ventricles, and after an interval, the right auricle. The large veins in the thorax are found distended. The surface of the brain is injected of a dark colour, and the spinal cord appears normal as to its supply of blood. The lungs are engorged. The kidneys and liver are dark, and their vessels appear full of vinous blood. The back of the tongue is injected, and the fauces contain frothy mucus, which covers the top of the larynx, but seldom extends to the trachea. Serous fluid is found in the abdomen to a greater or less extent. The stomach * On the Characters, Actions, and Therapeutic Uses of the Ordeal Bean of Calabar. By Thomas R. Fraser, M.D. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 237 is usually full, and no change can be detected in the digestive tract.” —(FRASER, op. cit., p. 12.) 2nd, After a large fatal dose.—Appearances much the same as when a smaller fatal dose has been administered. The action of the heart ceases much sooner, however ; irritation only producing contraction for about ten minutes after death. The vessels of the brain and spinal cord are full, without injection. The liver, lungs, and other organs appear quite normal. Analysis.—By Stas’s process a substance may be obtained which exerts the peculiar physiological actions of the Calabar bean, and more particularly which causes powerful contraction of the pupil. When treated with bi-chromate of potash and sulphuric acid, binoxide of manganese and sulphuric acid, or binoxide of lead and sulphuric acid, a play of colour almost identical with those produced by strychnia is obtained. In the case of this poison the physiological test is even more important than the chemical, and should, indeed, never be omitted. The fact, however, that the substance obtained by Stas’s process exhibits the chemical reactions alluded to, and, in addition, causes powerful contraction of the pupil, will enable the experimenter to state positively that the Calabar bean, or its active principle, is present in the substance submitted to analysis. Axconot.—Eight ounces of pure alcohol are sufficient to kill a horse; 16 ounces of commercial alcohol induce intoxication, but not death. One or two ounces of pure alcohol injected into the jugular vein of a horse may prove fatal. Cattle can sustain higher doses than the solidungula. Dogs are easily affected by alcohol. From 1 to 2 ounces of it soon kill. Symptoms.—At first there is great constitutional excitement, with irregular movements; bright eyes, but haggard look; pupils contracted; colicky pains, convulsions. During the second stage, viz., that of stupor, there is nausea and vomiting in those animals that can perform this act; loss of sensibility ; the pulse is small and feeble, breathing deep and slow ; the skin Digitized by Microsoft® 238 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. is covered with perspiration, and the animal falls to the ground in a comatose state, to rally in the course of afew hours, if the dose has not been too large. Post-Mortem Appearances.—Irritation of the digestive organs; congestion of the nervous centres, and of the lungs, etc, Treatment.—Cold ablutions, friction, ammonia, emetics in some animals, bleeding with caution, to overcome the cerebral congestion. ETHER AND CaLoRororM.—Exhibited internally in large doses, these agents produce intoxication and death. If animals are made to inhale them, they become giddy, insensible to pain, lose the power of motion, and fall into a profound sleep, with complete muscular relaxation. Large quantities of ether or chloroform may thus be given, if diluted with air ; but if the re- prehensible practice be followed out of applying a sponge or rag saturated with chloroform over the nostrils, preventing the access of atmospheric air to the lungs, the animals make violent efforts, as in cases of drowning, and die of apnea. The effects of chloroform on animals and man are precisely similar. An over-dose of it by long-continued inhalation in- duces paralysis of the respiratory nervous centre, hence of the lungs, and, secondarily, of the heart. But even asmall dose may kill, owing to an extraordinary influence on the nervous system, or on the heart itself. As Dr Wood remarks, the patient dies almost as if his heart had been paralyzed by a stroke of light- ning. My experience does not tally with Mr Dun’s, that chloro- form cannot be used so conveniently and safely in the lower animals as in man, though I admit that, in horses, its anesthetic action is sometimes preceded by considerable excitement ; and if, to prevent this, it be given rapidly, and in large amount, it may prove fatal. After death by inhalations, the signs are of congestion of the nervous centres and respiratory organs, with flaccidity of heart. The blood in the circulatory system is always fluid and dark. Treatment.—Dashing cold water over the head and body generally ; stimulants applied to the nostrils ; artificial respira- tion ; galvanism. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 239 NARCOTICO-IRRITANT POISONS. Sunstanczs belonging to this class exert a narcotizing influ- ence over the cerebral functions ; but at the same time have a direct action on the spinal centre, and induce tetanic spasms, convulsions, and paralysis. They may induce active inflamma- tion of the digestive system, but are not corrosive, and gene- rally require to be taken or given in large doses, which is often precluded from the strong taste most of them possess. The action of most of the narcotico-irritants depends on pecu- liar alkaloids,which are commonly recognised by tests. It is, however, important in suspected cases to examine carefully the stomach and intestine, and determine the botanical and micro- scopic characters of any part of the ee contents sup- posed to be poisonous. In treating such cases of poisoning, the sibibialh and intes- tines must be emptied as soon as possible. In cattle the rumen may be cut into, and the mass of contained poison abstracted by the hand. In the horse we have to trust to the tardy effects of purgatives and clysters. In the dog, pig, and cat, recourse may be had to emetics. Stimulants and cold ablutions have been recommended in man; also tannin as a precipitant, and black tea or strong coffee when tannin is not at hand. , Coccutus Inpicus.—Picrotoxine, a most venomous principle, resides in the seed of Anamirta paniculata, well known in com- merce under the name of Cocculus Indicus; and the no less formidable alkaloid principle, menispermine, has been obtained from the pericarp of the same fruit. “ From the facts collected by Wibmer, neither Cocculus Indicus nor picrotoxine, which forms 1-100th of the kernel, appear to be possessed of very active properties upon large animals. Orfila gave 3°38 grains of picrotoxine to a good-sized dog; it produced frequent vomit- ing, but the animal soon recovered.”—(Taytor.) Darnet Grass.—Speaking of Grasses in general, Lindley says, “ None are unwholesome in their natural state, with the Digitized by Microsoft® 240 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. exception of Lolium temulentum—darnel grass—a common weed in many parts of England, the effects of which are undoubtedly deleterious, although perhaps exaggerated ; of Bro- mus purgans and catharticus, said to be emetic and purgative ; °°” of Bromus mollis, reported to be unwholesome ; and of Festuca quadridentata, which is said to be poisonous in Quito, where it is called Pigonil. To these must be added Molinia varia, inju- rious to cattle, according to Endlicher ; and a variety of Paspa- lum scrobiculatum, called Hureek in India, which is perhaps the Ghohna grass, a reputed Indian poisonous species, said to render the milk of cows that graze upon it narcotic and drastic. .It is, however, uncertain how far the injurious action of some of these may be owing to mechanical causes, which, in the case of the species of Calamageostis and Stipa, seem to be the cause _ of mischief in consequence of their roughness and bristles. In their qualities the poisonous species seem to approach the pro- _perties of putrid wheat, which is known to be dangerous.” According to Riviére, the poisonous effects of the darnel are due to an acrid resin, which amounts to three-fifths of the ground seed. The plant grows abundantly in wet seasons, and in the green state is quite harmless, but the ripe seed is danger- ous. According to Burkhard, the straw has proved deadly to calves. The poisonous properties of the Lolium have been contested by some, and Weiss suggests that this might arise from the properties of the plant varying in different localities ; and the active principle is, without doubt, volatile; so that old, dried, or roasted seeds are almost, if not quite, inert. In man the seeds have produced heat, with pain in the stomach, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, followed by languor, loss of vision, ringing in the ears, and vertigo, without proving fatal, though taken in a somewhat large dose. Mr Tait of Melrose has recorded the following in The Veterinarian for 1842, at page 212:—“T was requested by a gentleman in this town to look at three pigs that were taken suddenly ill. Before my arrival one of them had died. The other two were lying foaming at the mouth, with convulsive twitching over their bodies, and they also appeared to be dying. I lifted one Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 241 up, when it immediately commenced running round about and against anything that happened to be in its way, or, meeting with an unyielding object, it stood thrusting its head against it; the other would not stand at all. We gave them some purga- tive medicine, but without any effect, for they soon died. I made inquiry of the man who fed them. He said that he had given them some dressings of barley a few hours before I saw them, in which was a great quantity of ‘sturdy’ (Lolium temulentum). On opening them, their stomachs and intestines were found to be highly inflamed. The lungs also were sadly congested. It is often remarked by old people that they. were formerly in the habit of mixing the lolium with malt, whem brewing beer, as its intoxicating nature is very great; hence, I suppose, its name ‘sturdy.’ ” In 1831, Meyer* observed horses, after having eaten of the seeds of this plant, to gather their feet under their body, foam at the mouth, have an anxions expression, irregular and quick- ened breathing, tucked-up appearance of the abdomen, pulse slow, from 25 to 28 beats in the minute, viscid saliva in the mouth, disturbed temperature of the body, listlessness, uncer- tain, feeble gait. The condition lasted for about three days and three nights. A case is related by Seeger,t which occurred in Switzerland in 1341. A horse had eaten such a quantity of the seeds of Lolium, and was so stupified and affected, that he was taken for dead and removed from the village. He awoke and returned to his stable, much to his owner’s astonishment. In olden times the darnel grass was the supposed cause of periodic opthalmia, or moon blindness. Seeger has experi- mented on dogs to ascertain the effects of Lolium. Brosche has observed them in sheep, and has noticed the giddy and staggering symptoms ; and after death no lesion of the alimen- tary canal, but inflammatory spots on the upper and right side of the brain; and on the right side of the medulla oblongata a table-spoonful of clear liquid. Rafn has found the Lolium not injurious for fowls. Bauhin, Hertwig, Nestler, and others * Archiv. der Schw. Thierarzte, 1831, p. 163. + Seeger, Diss. de lolio temul. Pris, Camerario Tiibingen, 1710. K Digitized by Microsoft® 242 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. investigated the poisonous properties of darnel grass; and Hertwig has fed sheep, horses, and hens with it for whole weeks, without seeing any ill effects from it. This is confirmed by Professor Nestler’s experiments on horses and cows. Nest- "°° ler says, “that we are quite certain of 100,000 cases in which the eating of Lolium temulentum has been unattended with mis- chief, to one in which untoward symptoms were manifested.” Foxentove.—tThe leaves and seeds of Digitalis purpurea pos- sess active properties ; the leaves only are officinal. The pur- ple foxglove is a beautiful biennial or perennial hedge plant, indigenous in Europe, growing abundantly in the south of England. As a medicine, digitalis has been much extolled, from a marked and peculiar influence it exerts over the heart’s action. It is capable of irritating the alimentary canal, is sedative to the nervous centres, and, through them, affects the heart, as proved by the experiment of division of the parvagum, which prevents the digitalis inducing any effect on the central organ of circulation. According to Delafond, the poisonous dose of digitalis for the horse is from 14 to 2 ounces; Bouley and Reynal consider half-an-ounce, and Hertwig 6 drachms, as sufficient to in- duce symptoms of poisoning. Half-an-ounce may excite gastro- enteritis. Cattle suffer from larger doses; and dogs die from the effects of from 2 to 3 ounces of the drug, if the cesophagus be tied. Six to eight hours after the exhibition of a poisonous dose of digitalis, there is dulness, loss of appetite, staring coat, injected visible mucous membranes, staring prominent eyes, dilated nostrils, breathing and pulse accelerated ; in the course of twelve hours, symptoms of gastro-intestinal irritation, with nausea, colicky pains, purging, and in some animals vomiting, supervene. In about twenty-four hours the nervous centres are affected with symptoms of coma, fixed and haggard look, dilated pupils, feeble condition of the hind quarters, skin and extremities cold, great muscular relaxation and debility, and death. The characteristic symptoms of poisoning by digitalis consist in violent and intermittent action of the heart ; pulse Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 243 feeble and indistinct ; apparent mucous membranes of a violet colour ; respiration accelerated, then becoming slow, irregular, interrupted ; rapid emaciation of body; at first deficient urinary secretion, spasmodic efforts of the bladder, and, lastly, copious micturition.—(See Tanourin, Matiére Médicale, p. 399.) The post-mortem appearances consist in marks of inflammation of the stomach and bowels; black uncoagulable blood. - The ventricles of the heart will probably be found remarkably con- tracted, and the auricles dilated—(See Digitalinum.) Digitalis accumulates in the system, and for some time with- out obvious effect ; but it may begin abruptly to act with great energy, a8 if with the accumulated power of all that may have been taken, and symptoms of poisoning become manifest. Tn the treatment of cases of poisoning by digitalis, substances should be used containing tannin, as this renders the digitalia in- soluble and inert. When there is much prostration, the system must be supported by stimulants until the poison is eliminated. Dicitatinum.—The active principle of Digitalis purpurea is a substance which has been very rarely used in medicine, as the processes by which it is obtained are complicated; the quantity and strength of the substance are very apt to vary ; and its poisonous properties are so powerful, that its medicinal doses are inconveniently small. Digitalinum has recently attracted very great attention, in consequence of a trial for poisoning with this substance having occurred in France (Trial of Dr Pommerais for the murder of Madame de Pauw). This case led to the physiological action of the substance in animals being very carefully studied by the medical jurists who were appointed to investigate the case (MM. Tardieu and Roussin), and likewise to some new re- searches on the tests for this substance. Symptoms.—Digitalinum, when administered to dogs, induces vomiting, accompanied with excessive prostration, great slow- ness, irregularity and intermittence of the heart’s action, fre- quent micturition, and cold sweats. Post-Mortem Appearances.—The only remarkable appearance Digitized by Microsoft® 244 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. noticed by MM. Tardieu and Roussin in their experiments was an extraordinary degree of contraction and bloodlessness of the ventricles of the heart, the auricles being at the same time quite relaxed. No traces of irritant action were visible. Analysis, — Digitalinum is a neutral, uncrystallisable sub- stance, of a white colour, and possessing no odour. It is very ‘sparingly soluble in water, but more freely soluble in alcohol and ether. Its taste isso intensely bitter that one part of digitalinum imparts a perceptibly bitter taste to 200,000 parts of water. When digitalinum is exposed to the action of hydrochloric acid gas, the peculiar odour of digitalis leaves is evolved, and a green colour developed. Sulphuric acid acting on digitalinum produces a brownish- red colour. If the coloured solution thus obtained be exposed to the vapour of bromine, a violet colour is produced. — (GranpEAu, Comptes Rendues, June, 1864.) As we have no means of separating very effectually digitali- num from organic mixtures containing it, the above tests would in all probability be of very little use in detecting the sub- stance in the contents of the viscera of an animal. _ In examining an organic mixture for this poison, we should evaporate it to dryness on the water bath, treat it with boiling alcohol (absolute), and evaporate the solution to the consistence of an extract. This should be tasted, for if devoid of bitterness, no further tests need be applied. If the extract be bitter, it may be introduced, by means of an incision, under the skin of a small animal, and the symptoms which follow noticed, more par- ticularly the action upon the heart during life, and the condition of the organ after death. Experiments should be at the same time performed on animals with digitalinum of undoubted purity, so as to familiarise the analyst with its action on the economy. If the extract possess, in a very high degree, the physiological properties of digitalinum, an attempt may be made to obtain the chemical reaction of this substance. With this object, subject the extract to the process of dialysis (see a description of this method in the Appendix), and evaporate the fluid which has pialysed to dryness, then expose a portion of the result to the Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 245 vapour of hydrochloric acid, noticing (a) whether the odour of digitalis be evolved, or (b) whether a green colour be produced. HELLEBORE. — White Hellebore — Verarum Album. — Wal- dinger has said that 2 ounces of white hellebore root may be given to the horse, inducing alvine evacuations, but not purg- ing, much salivation, and efforts to vomit; Rytz, on the other hand, declares that 1 ounce will purge, an excite a fatal gastro- intestinal inflammation. I have repeatedly observed the poisonous effects of the tincture of white hellebore injected into the veins; from -half to 1 ounce thus introduced into the system proves speedily fatal. The poisonous dose for the sheep is from a quarter to half an ounce. Dogs will sustain large doses introduced into the stomach, as the substance is imme- diately expelled by vomiting., If the esophagus be tied, death occurs in a very short time, from the exhibition of a few scruples, and a like result follows the injection of from 15 to 30 drops of the tincture into the jugular vein. Symptoms.—The injection into the jugular vein of a horse of a decoction of white hellebore root, consisting in about 2 scruples of the substance to 1 ounce of water, induced, in one instance that I observed, general disquietude in about four minutes. These gradually passed off; and on injecting a simi- lar dose half an hour afterwards, violent emetic efforts super- vened, the abdominal muscles were violently contracted, at the same time the muscle of the neck became spasmodically rigid; apparent signs of choking or of constriction of the pharynx, the mouth being convulsively opened. There was frequent deglu- tition of pharyngeal fluid, the breathing became laboured, and pulse accelerated. The emetic action subsided, and the animal was left in a state of extreme prostration, with cold surface of body, and cold sweat in the inguinal region. Phrenic contrac- tions continued at intervals, indicated by marked and unmis- takeable hiccough. All symptoms abated, and on the next day the horse was destroyed by the injection of 3 drachms of the tincture of white hellebore, presenting symptoms of extreme prostration, vomiting, etc. Digitized by Microsoft® 246 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. In the dog the symptoms are sometimes of sudden cessation, apparently, of respiratory and cardiac movements; but almost immediately the most violent efforts to vomit are observed, with singultus, enormous flow of secretion from the mouth, spasm of the throat, copious discharge of urine, giddiness, convulsions, stupor, staggering and moaning, insensibility, and death. Analysis.—“ Powdered white hellebore root has a reddish- brown colour, resembling jalap. Nitric acid gives to it a red, rapidly passing to a dark-brown, colour. Sulphuric acid pro- duces with it a dark brown tint, almost black; iodine water, a bluish-grey tint, slowly brought out. The proto and per salts of iron have no effect upon it.”—(Tayior.) White hellebore owes its properties to an alkaloid veratria, which is a brownish-white uncrystalline powder, scarcely soluble in water, even on boiling, but it is more readily dissolved by alcohol and ether. It is a powerful poison, possessing a hot, acrid taste, without bitterness. When a trace of veratria comes in contact with the mucous membrane of the nose, it induces violent sneezing. Tests.—The salts of veratria in solution are recognised by a flocculent white precipitate, formed with potassa, ammonia, and the simple carbonates of the alkalies. If veratria is treated with concentrated sulphuric acid, it agglutinates at first into small resinous lumps; but these dissolve with great readiness to a pale yellow fluid, the colour of which gradually increases in depth and intensity, and changes afterwards to a reddish-yel- low, then to an intense blood-red, subsequently to crimson, and finally to violet. Sulphocyanide of potassiwm produces only in concentrated solutions of salts of veratria flocculent gelatinous precipitates. Additions of chlorine water to the solution of a salt of veratria impart to the fluid a yellowish tint, which, upon addition of ammonia, changes to a faint brownish colour. —(FRESENIUS.) Buack HeELLEBORE— Helleborus Niger.— Christmas Rose, Brankursine of Lancashire, Bear’s foot, Setter-wort or Helle- boraster.—Not quite so active as the white hellebore; the leaves Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 247 but especially the roots, are poisonous. Of the latter, 1 ounce, according to Hertwig, suffices to kill a horse; from 2 to 3 ounces prove invariably fatal; the same result follows the in- jections into the veins of a horse of a drachm of the substance in decoction. The doses for the ox are the same; 15 grains injected in the veins induce vomiting and nervous symptoms. Sheep die from the effects of 1 to 3 drachms taken internally. Dogs readily evacuate the stomach of the poison; but when the cesophagus is tied, from 1 to 2 drachms will kill. The powder is absorbed from a wound with fatal effects. Symptoms.—The recent root is violently acrid, and, applied to the skin, induces inflammation and vesication. Internally it is a drastic hydragogue cathartic, inducing vomiting, colicky pains, cramps, convulsions, and death. Black hellebore has also been ranked amongst the emmenagogues as a uterine excitant; but its action is very unequal, sometimes operating on the brain, though it is not so stupefying as Veratrum album. Hellebore contains an acrid volatile oil, and a peculiar white, ' erystallisable, bitter principle, helleborin. The fcetid hellibore, or bear’s foot, has been made the subject of comment by Mr Mayer of Newcastle-under-Lyne.* He says, “The hellebores have been employed in veterinary medicine for destroying worms, for which purpose the leaves of the Helle- borus foetidus have been administered.” . . . “In respect to the deleterious effects of the leaves of the stinking hellebore as an anthelmintic, a case came under my observation a short time ago, where a gentleman, from his horse not being in con- dition, gave it three half-pints of the leaves chopped small, and after being digested in some water, mingled in a bran mash. This the animal took the first night without any perceptible inconvenience ; the owner, therefore, on the second night, ad- ministered similarly two half-pints. The following morning they found the animal very ill from violent inflammation of the mucous membranes of the bowels, accompanied with constant and violent tenesmus, and a constant discharge of frothy mucus ; but there was no effort to vomit, the effects of the agent being * See Veterinarian, 1847, p. 5. Digitized by Microsoft® 248 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. more concentrated upon the large intestines. We did not see the horse till eleven o'clock a.m., when we found the vital powers fast sinking, and he died shortly after.” “T consider,” continues Mr Mayer, “the use of hellebore root for pegging calves and cows as often fraught with danger, where animals are of bad habit of body, from its tendency to produce erysipelas and gangrenous inflammation.” Hemiocn.—This is the product of Conium waculatum, but several plants are popularly included under the name. The extract of the leaves and roots of the Common or Spotted Hemlock have been found by Dr Christison to produce para- lysis of the voluntary muscles, with occasional slight convul- sions; then paralysis of the respiratory muscles; and lastly, death from apncea, the heart continuing to contract long after respiration had ceased: sensation did not seem to have been impaired. Opposed to these results are the observations of Mr Judd, who found that in cats doses even not large enough to be poisonous caused great languor and drowsiness, and often pro- found sleep for two or three hours; the muscular excitability being lessened, and the circulation and general temperature reduced. After death, the appearances are general venous con- gestion, fluid state of blood, and softening of brain. In the Veterinarian for 1845, Mr Read has spoken of lambs poisoned by eating the Conium maculatum. They became giddy, listless, could not move about, struggled, and died. On opening the rumen, Mr Read was struck with the beautiful green colour and peculiar odour of the contents. The hemlock thickly covered a boggy spot in the field where a number of sheep were feeding. Only three died; the rest were saved by bleeding, and a solution of sulphate of magnesia, acidulated with sulphuric acid, was given to each. On the 10th of May 1841, Mr Holford of Northwich was called to attend a stock of dairy cows that had been turned out the previous day on a marshy piece of ground surrounded by a brook; the latter must have overflown during heavy rains; the ground was covered with coarse grass of all kinds, and much Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 249 of the common hemlock. On entering the cow-house, of those that appeared to be worse Mr Holford found three seemingly lifeless; but, on a close examination, he with difficulty found the pulse, of an extremely feeble character, beating but little more than half so rapidly as when in health. The extremities were deathly cold, but respiration not much altered. The eyes were closed; and on elevating the lids the pupils were much dilated, and the retina anaffected by light. All the animals were comatose, the bowels inactive, the skin cold, and hair standing erect. These were the symptoms of three; but, durihg * the day: twenty- -one more of the stock exhibited similar ap- pearances in a milder form. One cow that was bled by the owner died; the others were kept up by stimulants every hour, evidently rallying after each dose; and if the medicine was dis- continued, they sank into a state of lethargy. During two hours of the night stimulants were administered eight times, and perspiration at length broke out on the skin, the extremities became warm, the countenance lively, the bowels responded, and in aweek or two the animals regained their original strength. Lecog saved a cow by bleeding, and giving 12 ounces of acetate of ammonia in water, in two doses. Noll saw two goats poisoned by common hemlock. Ducks have been seen stupefied and paralytic from eating the seeds of the plant. Milk and oil save seven out of nine affected by the poison. The treatment of poisoning by hemlock consists in emptying the rumen, of cattle and sheep, and inducing vomiting in the dog ; in all animals the strength must be supported by stimu. lants, and artificial respiration resorted to should the breathing | have ceased. Analysis.—Hemlock yields a volatile oil upon distillation with water, which appears destitute of noxious properties. The active principle is a peculiar volatile alkaloid, conda, which exists in the plant, combined with an acid, probably the coneic, by which it becomes fixed, so that it is not given over with water in distillation. Conia is a yellowish liquid, of oleaginous aspect, strong, penetrating, mice-like odour, and very acrid, benumbing taste, This mouse-like odour can very readily be perceived Digitized by Microsoft® 250 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. when the leaves of hemlock are triturated with solution of caustic potash in a mortar, and affords a valuable test. Conia is an energetic poison, its effects being identical with those of hemlock itself. It is obtained by distilling the plant with caustic potash. The Water Hemiock—Cicuta virosa—is often left untouched on pasture ground by horses and cattle. In Sweden and Nor- way, goats and sheep, but especially the latter, are affected by the poison. Donkeys become vertiginous from eating it. It is said that in Norway pigs eat it without danger, and birds like- wise are unaffected by partaking of the seeds. Weidmann ob- served a two-year-old ox suffering from the effects of the Cicuta. The symptoms were—loss of appetite, distended belly, hanging head, listlessness, half-closed eyes, reddened mucous membranes and feeble gait ; pulse quick and irregular. Blood-letting seemed to do harm ; half-an-ounce of muriatic acid in 3 quarts of water appeared to be more beneficial. Damitz saw four head of cattle die four hours after eating the fresh root. Other seven were taken with tetanus and other symptoms, which disappeared by bleeding and the administration of strong vinegar. Krausse speaks of horses dying from eating hay which contained water hemlock: the head and neck were bent to the right ; the look was dull, eyes strongly withdrawn in the orbits, pupils dilated; involuntary mastication; blush- coloured mucous membranes ; pulse indistinct, heart-beats 120 to 123, and respirations 26 to 30 in the minute ; death occurred with convulsions. OrnantHE Crocata—the hemlock Water-Dropwort or Water Parsnip—is considered one of the most virulent of English vege- table poisons. Dr Christison considers that as it grows in Scot- land it is not poisonous. M. Bellamy, veterinary surgeon at Rennes, published some experiments on this poison in the Recueil de Médecine Vétérinaire for 1856. The symptoms noticed were of accelerated breathing, foaming at the mouth, injected mucous membranes, pulse feeble and frequent, tetanic spasms or violent convulsions of the limbs, symptoms of colic, and, lastly, paralysis Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA, 251 of the hind extremities, and death. The canine species would seem to be less affected by the poison than man, horse, or catile. Bellamy recommends, in the treatment of cases of poisoning by this agent, to use blood-letting, emetics and purgatives, mucila- ginous draughts, and cold applications to the head. The fine-leaved Water Hemlock—PHELLANDRIUM AQUATICUM —is another umbelliferous poison. The leaves of AitHusa Cyna- PIuM are also to be feared ; Mogford has known them to induce purgation in the horse, but nothing further. CHaropHyLLUM SYLVESTRE is noxious ; and Srum Larirouium has proved poison- ous to cattle in Sweden, inducing copious perspiration, delirium, and sometimes death. TIprcacuanna.—According to Bracy Clark, 3 ounces of this drug may kill a horse ; Tabourin thinks that a large dose is re- quired. Cattle are more affected by it. The symptoms are agitation, colicky pains, nausea, violent efforts to vomit, and purgation. Cotcuicum AUTUMNALE.—Professor Weiss has been at some trouble to collect information regarding poisoning by meadow saffron, which is the most common of plants proving injurious to domestic animals. The latter will generally avoid it, unless pressed by hunger, or if it be cut up and mixed with other sub- stances. Mr Musgrave, in the Veterinary Record for 1846, says that cattle will graze amidst the deep-green tufts of meadow saffron, seldom touching it, except they come from a dis- tance, or from a different pasture, when they do not seem to recognise its nature at once, and partake of it freely, until its poisonous effects, characterised by profuse, liquid, muddy, and foetid stools, are produced. The leaves, stems, and seeds are all noxious, but especially the seeds, which, if swallowed, are said to adhere to the coats of the stomach, and induce, at the several points of adhesion, spots of inflammation, which occasion death. Colchicum acts on the stomach and intestines as an irritant, on the brain as a narcotic, and favours decomposition of the blood. Digitized by Microsoft® 252 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. Death sometimes occurs rapidly from paralysis, but generally animals survive several days. Htibner mentions an instance of three cows dying an hour after partaking of meadow. saffron in the green state. Horses and oxen that survive remain for weeks dull, and have an awkward gait. Stolz and others observed pigs, after eating of the unripe seed capsules, with visible mucous membranes of a blue colour, dulness, nipped in at the flanks, weak gait, tail depressed, eyes dull and closed, cold extremities, foaming at the mouth, vomit- ing of green frothy matter, diarrhcea with foetid and blood- stained feces. Most pigs retain their appetite and desire for drink. Frey observed difficult breathing and accelerated pulse, shrunken abdomen, and liquid greenish evacuations per anum. According to Stolz, 20 out of 32 pigs, from two to four months old, died presenting the above symptoms. Three out of four pigs died from partaking of a boiled mess containing colchicum and. potatoes. The post-mortem appearances consisted in distended stomach, inflammation and gangrene of the latter, and of the intestines; blood dark and thick; the brain congested. Milk and animal charcoal were exhibited as antidotes. Gierer, Trachsler, Aschmann, Hierholzer, and others have spoken of cases of poisoning in the horse by colchicum. The animals were dull, without thirst or appetite; in some cases the thirst was excessive. The mucous membranes were of a dark blue colour; eyes dull, expression staring, pupils dilated; pulse quick, scarcely perceptible ; abdomen distended, and urine dark; occasionally there were no fever symptoms. In the cases that were not severe the breathing was scarcely disturbed; but in others it was difficult, panting, and accompanied with sighs and groans. Hierholzer observed colicky pains, rolling, sitting on the haunches, no discharge of feces or urine. After death, in- flammation and gangrene of the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines were observed; the lungs were gorged with blood. In the treatment of these cases, Aschmann recom- mends marsh-mallow decoction with foenigreek seeds, with elder and chamomile flower decoction; the animals to be warmly Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 253 clothed, and warm fomentations to be applied to the abdomen. The horses that were spared remained weak, and with a feeble gait, for fourteen days. Mr Morton has spoken of the sedative, laxative, diuretic, and diaphoretic properties of colchicum given in 3-ounce doses twice daily. The animals evinced no disincli- nation for food, but it was rather thought that the appetite had increased. When cattle partake of large doses of meadow saffron, ac- cording to Musgrave, the first effects consist in purging of liquid feeces, which are muddy and very offensive ; extreme depression of the general system, and especially of the circulatory apparatus, the pulse being irregular and scarcely perceptible, and the ex- halants on the surface of the body called into augmented action from apparent debility. Mr Musgrave first observed the poison- . ous effects of the meadow saffron in 1842, when three bullocks became quickly purged after eating the leaves and seed-vessels _of the plant, which had been separated from the new hay, that the latter might not be too much heated. On the 22nd of May, 1844, Mr Musgrave was requested to see eight yearling heifer calves which had just been brought from Gloucestershire, and, two days previously, turned into a pasture where the meadow saffron grew in considerable abundance. It was at that time in full leaf, and beginning to seed. Mr Musgrave found all the calves more or less affected, and presenting the following symp- toms :—Violent purgation, the dejections being liquid, of the colour ef muddy water, and extremely fetid. Two were lying down and unable to rise ; the rest stood with their backs arched, their coats staring, the abdomen of some of them swollen, and they all seemed afraid to move. Their ears and heads were drooping ; the eyes were glassy, and the pupils dilated ; the nose dry and cold, as were the ears and other extremities ; the pulse was irregular, and too quick and weak to be counted. On the two lying down, prespiration stood in drops on the hair like dew. The urine was small in quantity, and dark in colour, Five out of the eight died. Kufener has observed no discharge of excre- ment, and Frey speaks of diminution in the quantity of milk secreted, Lindenberg has seen many of the above symptoms, Digitized by Microsoft® 254 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. — with staring coat, grinding of teeth, evacuation of blood with the feces, and twitchings of the limbs, with slow and difficult movements in progression. The post-mortem appearances are, according to Lindenberg, those of carbuncular fever, with the veins gorged with blood ; the alimentary canal the seat of extravasation of blood, but not of true inflammation. The firstandsecondstomachs contained liquid matters, whereas the contents of the third and fourth presented nothing particular. The bladder contained red urine. Mus- grave mentions peritoneal inflammation, and inflammation of the omasum. : “The treatment of cases of this kind must always depend,” says Mr Musgrave, “on the severity of the symptoms when the animal is first seen. Under all circumstances, the beast should be at once housed or clothed; then, if the poisoning be only in the first stage—that is, before the circulation is much de- pressed, or very violent purging has set in—it would be as well, perhaps, to give a strong oleaginous purgative at once, with the twofold view of overcoming the action of the poison and forcing it onward, a practice which seems to be very successful with the farmers I have alluded to. But if, on the contrary, it should have arrived at a more advanced stage (and it is rare that it will not be so when the practitioner is called upon to attend), when the general system shows considerable depression, and violent purgation, with liquid fcetid stools, have commenced, the first object must undoubtedly be to allay the pain and irritation set ° up, by giving a full dose of opium and camphor, combined with linseed oil; also, apply some strong stimulating embrocation to the belly and extremities. If the symptoms still continue severe, throw up emollient injections with opium; drench freely with linseed tea and gruel, repeating the opium if found © necessary, and even adding ether, according to the state of depression, until the unfavourable symptoms begin to subside. Should any signs of debility remain, a dose or two of a carmina- tive tonic and astringent will seldom fail to effect all that is required to perfect the cure. But if these measures prove of no avail, nothing that I am aware of will save the animal. One Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 255 circumstance connected with these cases is worthy of especial remark—namely, that in every post-mortem examination I have made, oak buds and leaves have been found with the colchicum among the ingesta. They looked fresh, as if just eaten, and were scarcely discoloured. It struck me that the animals might have been instinctively led to eat these astringent substances as a remedy for their sufferings; and this view was strongly con- firmed on turning out some affected animals, when they began immediately to browse on the oak boughs within their reach, and would touch nothing else. Animals after their recovery may be safely turned again into the colchicum meadows, as they will ever ores refuse the plant.” MonyxsHoop—Aconitum Napellus.—This plant, indigenous in the European Alps and common in gardens, is a most viru- lent poison. Its flowers are large and violet-coloured. The roots somewhat resemble a cluster of radishes, and have been mistaken for horse-radish, with fatal consequences. All ani- mals are poisoned by aconite; but cases of accidental poisoning are chiefly observed amongst the young cattle in Switzerland. It has been said that goats on the Austrian mountains eat the plant without suffering. Hertwig has seen sheep, and still oftener goats, eat the flowers of monkshood, and die speedily afterwards. Hiibner says that goats that eat of it become affected with tympanitis, vomit frightfully, and have a staring and anxious look. They recover without treatment; and the milk secretion, which is checked from the influence of the poison, soon returns. The symptoms produced in the horse by aconite are coma, efforts to vomit, cold sweats, difficult breath- ing, small and thready pulse, and paralysis of the hind quarters. Dr Fleming considers that death by aconite may occur, Ist, by producing a powerful sedative impression on the nervous system; 2nd, by paralysing the muscles of respiration, and caus- ing apnea; and 3rd, by producing syncope. Analysis—Aconite owes its active properties to an alkaloid called aconitia. The taste of aconite, which is at first bitter, but after a few minutes giving rise to numbness and tingling of the Digitized by Microsoft® 256 VETERINARIANS VADE MECUM. lips, is believed by Dr Christison to be sufficient to distinguish the’ poison from others. When the plant has been the cause of death, the contents of the stomach should be carefully examined with a view to detect any fragments of it. Besides noticing the botanical character of them, small portions should be chewed, in order to observe the highly characteristie tingling which the aconite plant produces. An alcoholic extract of the organic mixture may be made, and this may be examined, Ist, by tasting it; 2nd, by applying a small quantity to the eye, as the extract of aconite produces contraction of the pupil. Instead of merely making an alcoholic extract, the contents of the stomach may be subjected to Stas’s process; the product ob- tained by it, although not possessing the physical characters of aconitina, will exhibit its physiological action in a very marked degree, if a considerable quantity of the plant has been taken. AconiT1A.—The most formidable poison yet discovered. It is an alkaloid contained in all parts of the aconite, but especially the root. Its chemical reactions are not characteristic, and we must therefore rely upon its physiological action when searching for it. Deavity NicutsHaprt.—Atropa Belladona.—Poisonous doses. ——For the horse, from 4 to 6 ounces of the powder (Hertwig). Six drachms of the tincture in injection produced death in two hours. The ox is even more severely affected than the horse, but smaller ruminants can eat it with impunity. In the dog, 40 grains of the watery extract, or 2 drachms of the powdered leaves, are sufficient to destroy life. Symptoms.—In the dog there is loss of appetite, dulness, dry- ness of mouth, vomiting, borborygma, general excitement fol- lowed by lowering of the temperature of the body; indications of paralysis of the hind limbs, vertigo, very great dilatation of pupils and blindness, convulsions, and coma. In herbivorous quadrupeds there are most of the above symptoms, with diar- rhea, relaxation of sphincters, paralysis of the hind quarters, and death, preceded or not by convulsions. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 257 Treatment.—Strong decoctions of coffee, and the general treat- ment as recommended for opium. Atropia.—The alkaloid and active principle of belladonna, poisonous, and occurring in white silkly crystals of alkaline re-. action. Soluble in 500 parts of water, and readily dissolved by alcohol, ether, and diluted acids. Strycunos Nux Vomica.—aA plant of the order Loganiacee, the seed of which is the deadly Nux Vomica. The tree is of moderate size, growing in Ceylon and several districts in India, has a short crooked stem, ribbed leaves, small greenish-white flowers, and a beautiful orange-coloured round fruit, the size of asmall apple, having a brittle shell, and a white gelatinous pulp. The wood is exceedingly bitter, particularly that of the root, which is nsed to cure intermittent fevers and the bites of veno- mous snakes. The seeds are employed in the distillation of country spirits, to render them more intoxicating. The pulp of the fruit seems perfectly innocent, as it is greedily eaten by many sorts of birds.—Roxb. The seeds are circular, not quite an inch in diameter, and two lines in thickness, concave on one side, and convex on the other, very tough and horny, covered with a velvety down consisting of fine hairs, ash-coloured and silky ; internally the seeds are whitish and translucid ; they are difficult to pulverise, possess no odour, but are extremely bitter. The Germans fancy they can discern a resemblance in them to grey eyes, and call them crow’s eyes. Dog-killer and fish-scale are two Arabic names for the vomic nut. Tue Bean or St Icnwatius.—The seed of Strychnos Ignatii, a tree of moderate size, growing in the Philippine Islands. “ The bean of St Ignatius is about an inch long, of less thickness, convex on one side, obscurely angular on the other, of a pale brown colour, externally covered with a very short down, in- ternally translucent, hard, and horny.” Nux vomica and the bean of St Ignatius both owe their properties to three alkaloids—Strychnia, Brucia, and Igasuria, united with a peculiar acid, the igasuric or strychnic. For practical purposes, strychnia may be regarded as the active 8 Digitized by Microsoft® 258 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. principle ; it is most abundant in the bean of St Ignatius, which is therefore much more powerful than the. vomic nut; the first contains 1.2, and the last 0.4 per cent. « Whether the nux vomica, or its alkaloid strychnia is used, the effects on the system are the same, the difference is in the dose. A horse has been said to take from 1 to 3 ounces of powdered nux vomica with impunity. Wallon, on the other hand, asserts that from 6 to 74 drachms invariably prove de- structive. Ten grains of strychnia are sometimes more than sufficient to killa horse. From 3 to 4 grains introduced into the cellular tissue, and any dose above half-a-grain injected in a vein, will prove fatal. Ruminants will support much larger doses of the nux vomica than the horse. According to Tabourin, 4 grains of strychnia introduced beneath the cellular tissue destroyed a cow in the course of twenty minutes. As regards the smaller ruminants, Hertwig has said that a goat two years of age partook ‘of upwards of 4 ounces of powdered nux vomica, in the course of eleven days, without giving any indication of suffering. In the Report of the Lyons Veterinary School for 1812, Tabourin has found stated that a sheep will die in the course of half-an- hour from taking about an ounce of vox vomica, but that it would require about 8 ounces to give rise to marked symptoms of poisoning in the goat. Tabourin has experimented on the pig, and has seen the most alarming symptoms from the exhibi- tion of 50 grains of the powdered nut. Dr Christison has seen a wild boar killed in ten minutes with the third of a grain, injected, in the form of an alkaline solution, in the chest. Dogs, if very robust and large, can only be destroyed, according to Barthelemy, by half-an-ounce of nux vomica. Orfila has ob- served poisonous effects in these animals from 10 grains of the powder. Of strychnia, half-a-grain blown into the mouth of a dog produced death in five minutes.—Pelletier. I haveseen the eighth of a grain give rise to alarming symptoms in a pointer. Dr Christison says he has killed a dog in two minutes with the sixth part of a grain, injected, in the form of an alkaline solu- tion, into the chest. ' From the experiments of Magendie and Delille. in 1809, it Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 259 was learned that 10 grains of nux vomica, taken internally, killed a dog in forty-five minutes, and a grain and-a-half thrust into a wound killed another in seven minutes. The symptoms are the following :—A few minutes after the introduction of the poison the animal becomes agitated, and tumbles; in a short time it is seized with stiffness and starting of the limbs, which increase until a violent general spasm ensues, in which the head is bent back, the limbs are extended and rigid, the spine stiffened, and respiration checked, the chest being fixed. The slightest noise and touching the animal, excite the fits. During the latter, there are occasionally involuntary emissions of urine and semen. Intervals of rest occur; but the mucous membranes acquire a red colour, the pulse is quick and hard, paroxysm follows paroxysm, until the animal perishes, suffocated or ex- hausted. Post-Mortem Appearances.—The left auricle of the heart, as also the intestines, have been known to contract for nearly an hour after death—Dun. The lesions are those met with in cases of death by suffocation. The viscera have been found perfectly healthy. The brain and spinal cord injected, and fluid accumulated in the spinal canal. Treatment.—When the poison is in the stomach, vomiting must be excited in those animals that can thus evacuate this cavity. Oleaginous draughts and purgatives must be given. Alcohol, ammonia, sulphuric ether, and camphor have proved useful. Morphia and opiates in general likewise act beneficially. M. Bardet has proposed chlorinated water as an infallible re- medy. Artificial respiration ought to be persevered in ; and infusions of galls and green tea, on account of the Game they contain, are said to be useful antidotes. , Tests.—Dr Marshall Hall proposed the adoption of a physio- logical test for strychnine. The contents of the stomach and intestines, of the heart and blood-vessels, being carefully evapo- rated, a portion of the dry residue is placed in water, and a frog placed in the latter will become seized by tetanic spasms. Marshall Hall, in writing to the Lancet for the second time, advocating the physiological test, said (in June 1856) that the Digitized by Microsoft® 260 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. 500th of a grain had been made manifest to a multitude of beholders at once, and so manifest, that no visual object could be more conspicuous—one even very different from the fact of . a mere change of colour. In adopting this test, it should be be remembered that the smaller frogs are more susceptible than the larger—these should be used recently taken from the pond, from the mud if possible. The skin should be well dried by means of blotting paper. The strychnia to be tested should be dissolved in as small a quantity of water as possible, and dropped on the back or inserted under the skin of the frog. In a short time the frog becomes affected with tetanoid epileptoid spasm or convulsion, on the application of the slightest cause of excita- tion. It is strychnoscopie. Dr Macadam has made some very interesting experiments on strychnine poisoning, and the tests for strychnia. The tests are many, and some quite characteristic, as seen by the follow- ing table :— THE STRYCHNINE TESTS. Potass, a white precipitate, insoluble in excess. Bicarbonate of Soda (in acid solution), no precipitate. Sulphocyanide of Potassiwm, a white precipitate. . Perchloride of Mercury, a white precipitate. Perchloride of Gold, a lemon yellow precipitate. Chlorine Water, a white precipitate, which dissolves in ammonia to colourless liquid. G. Nitric Acid (cold), colourless solution ; (heat), yellow solution, H. Sulphuric Acid (with trace of Nitric Acid) and Binowide of Lead, a violet, changing to a red colour. I. Sulphuric Acid and Binoxide of Manganese, a violet, changing to a red colour. J. Sulphuric Acid and Bichromate of Potash, a violet, chang- ing to a red colour. The tests A to G cannot be applied’ excepting when the quan- tity of strychnine at the command of the operator is consider- able, so that in dilute solutions they fail to act. The remaining Se OOt > Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICCLOGICA. 261 tests, H to J, are, however, much more delicate, and will indi- cate a most minute amount of strychnine.* To detect the substance, digest a part of the stomach, or other substances supposed to contain strychnine, in a dilute solution of oxalic acid for some hours. Thereafter warm, and strain * Dr Macadam says, “So far as my experience goes, I prefer the sulphuric acid and bichromate of potash test, as it is much more certain in its action, and is more delicate than any or all of the other tests. The colour indica- tions are best seen in a pure solution of strychnine ; the presence of organic matter impedes the action of the test, and alcohol, acetic acid, and other bodies, entirely destroy the characteristic colour. In order to steer clear of these sources of error, Dr Letheby has lately suggested that the substance to be tested should be treated with sulphuric acid, and placed on a piece of platinum foil connected with the positive pole of a galvanic battery, and thereafter, on touching the liquid with the negative pole of the battery, which terminates in a platinum wire, the characteristic violet tint is at once produced. In this way zy}ysth of strychnine in pure water has been detected. I have repeatedly tried this process, and can bear witness to the accuracy of the test; but in practice I have found the sulphuric acid and bichromate of potash to be a more delicate test, though it is much more difficult to manage. Lately a good deal has been said in disparagement of the colour tests for strychnine, and considerable doubt has been thrown upon the trustworthiness of colour tests in general. Precipitate tests are certainly more satisfactory than colour tests, because they signify the pre- sence of a larger amount of the particular substance under examination ; but, in general, colour tests are far more delicate in their action than pre- cipitate tests. A very good example of this occurs in testing for iodides. When these are abundant, precipitate tests with soluble salts of lead and mercury may be readily obtained ; but by dilution a point is at last reached when lead or mercury solutions cease to be precipitated by the liquid con- taining the iodide. At this point the starch test, which, in a very dilute solution of an iodide is essentially a colour test, comes into play, and long after the precipitate tests fail to indicate an iodide, the colour test shows unmistakable evidence of its presence. The same remark applies to test- ing for solutions of persalts of iron, and copper, by means of ferrocyanide of potassium. In strong solutions, a blue precipitate is indicative of iron, and a ruddy-brown precipitate speaks of copper ; but when dilute solutions are examined, blue and ruddy-brown colourizations are alone obtained. Colour tests, therefore, are the most delicate of all tests ; they indicate the presence _ of a body when precipitate tests cannot do so; and for my own part, I see no reason why I should distrust my sense of colour whilst manipulating in my laboratory, and confide in it at other times.” Digitized by Microsoft® 262 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. through muslin. The filtrate is rendered slightly alkaline by stirring with a rod of caustic potash. It is then placed in a stoppered narrow-necked bottle, several ounces of ether are added, and the whole is well shaken. The liquid is allowed to settle, when the ether will rise to the surface with strychnine (if any be present) in solution, The ether is then drawn off into a porcelain evaporating basin, or even in a common porce- lain plate; it is allowed to evaporate spontaneously. When nearly dry, heat is applied to remove any remaining traces of ether, and the residue is tested for strychnine in the following manner :—A little of the residuum is tasted; if the taste be strongly bitter, strychnine is very likely present. A few drops of the strongest sulphuric acid are placed upon the plate, and a drop of solution of bichromate of potash is added ; the two sub- stances are then allowed to run together, when, if strychnine be present, beautiful violet streaks will be perceived, which soon change to red. The two above mentioned tests are quite sufficient to identify strychnine. The other colour tests, viz, sulphuric acid and binoxide of lead—sulphuric acid and bin- oxide of manganese, are worked in the same way, except that small crystals of binoxide of manganese or lead are added in- stead of the solution of bichromate of potash. Rur.—The leaves of Ruta graveolens, an under shrub, two or three feet high. ~ In very large quantities it acts as a narcotic poison, producing vomiting in some animals, besides purging, violent abdominal pains, tenesmus, bloody feces, severe strang- ury, fever, giddiness, delirium, involuntary muscular move- ments, and somnolency ; with a small, slow, and feeble pulse, and great debility. THORN-APPLE—Stramonium.—Datura stramonium, or James- town weed, “is an annual plant, from two to six feet high, growing in all quarters of the world, and flourishing especially in rank soil, as on dung-heaps, and on the roadsides and com- mons near towns and villages, where refuse matter is apt to be collected. Its original native country'is uncertain. It is often Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 263 clustered in patches, and scents the air of the neighbourhood with a disagreeable odour.” The operation of stramonium resembles closely that of bella- donna. Five ounces of the fresh juice produced only drowsiness in a horse; and two pounds and-a-half of the seeds, given to another horse, though they proved fatal, did not destroy life until after fifty-two hours.—(Pereira's Mat. Med.) The seeds and the flowers are considered to be more noxious than other parts of the plant. Tabourin says that 4 pounds of the seeds have been necessary to kill a horse, In the dog, half-an-ounce of the extract introduced into the stomach, and 2 drachms in- jected in the veins, have produced death.—(Orfila.) The symptoms of poisoning by stramonium in man have been well described :—“ It causes great uneasiness of the throat, with a feeling as of strangulation, anxiety, and faintness; partial or complete blindness ; great dilatation of the pupil ; sometimes deafness ; flushing of the face; vertigo; headache ; hallucina- tions ; delirium, of a whimsical, ludicrous, or more rarely furious character ; tremors ; paralysis ; and at last, stupor, with convul- sions in rare instances. There is usually, in the advanced stage, great prostration, as indicated by the very feeble pulse and cool skin ;. and sometimes the:local irritant influence of the poison is evinced by a burning pain at the stomach, nausea, and vomit-. ing.” Similar symptoms have been observed in the domestic animals. The treatment of poisoning by stramonium is the same as for opium. Tosacco—The leaves of Nicotiana Tabacum.—Tobacco con- tains an organic volatile alkali—nicotia ; and a concrete volatile oil—nicotianin. Nicotia is the active principle, though nicoti- anin occasions giddiness and nausea when swallowed. It is said that it is probably developed in the drying of the leaves, and that it ig the odorous principle of the drug. ‘“ Tobacco yields, by destructive distillation, an empyreumatic oil, which may be obtained colourless by rectification, but becomes brown by time ; and, as usually found in the shops, is dark-brown, or almost Digitized by Microsoft® 264 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. black, and of a thickish consistence. It has an acrid taste, and precisely the odour of old tobacco-pipes. Two drops of it killed a dog. It is therefore very poisonous; but, according to the experiwents of Brodie, it acts in a manner quite different from tobacco, and must, consequently, contain an energetic principle not pre-existing in the plant. It is said to contain nicotia.” Horses and Oxen appeared unaffected by feeding on the fresh leaves; but, according to Hertwig, 6 pounds of dried tobacco caused death in a cow. A horse dropped, and suffered from nausea and convulsions, from an injection into the vein of 2 ounces of decoction, made with half-an-ounce of the dried leaves in 6 ounces of water. In the dog, tobacco acts as an activeemetic. Ifthe esophagus be tied, a drachm will prove fatal. The same quantity injected in an enema will kill—(Hertwig.) I have known goats to eat considerable portions of cigars, ap- pearing fond of them, and suffering no inconvenience. Symptoms.—A state of agitation, indicated by movements of the head and tremors of the extremities; excessive nausea and vomiting in carnivorous and omnivorous animals; in herbivorous quadrupeds violent purgaticn ensues, and the excretions has a very offensive odour; there is tympanitis and abdominal pain. Pulse weak, small, irregular, sometimes slow, and at others fre- quent; staring coat, with coldness of ears and extremities, and cold sweats over the body; torpor supervenes, with much pro- stration; the animal falls to the ground, foams at the mouth, is affected with paralysis, dilatation of pupils, convulsions, and death. The whole of these symptoms are clearly due to ab- sorption of the active principles of the tobacco; and Sir B. Brodie’s experiments upon dogs prove that the primary general operation is upon the nervous centres. ‘An infusion of tobacco thrown into the rectum caused death in an hour, by paralysing the heart. But if the animal were decapitated, and respiration sustained artificially, the poison produced no effect upon the cir- culation, though it must have equally entered the system. That death results from a cessation of the action of the heart, and not of respiration, as in the case of cerebral stimulants, is shown by Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 265 the fact, noticed by Brodie, that after apparent death, that organ was found perfectly quiescent. The empyreumatic oil seems to act differently; for, upon the same authority, the heart, after apparent death from that poison, was, on opening the body, ob- served to be beating with regularity and vigour."* There is a strong analogy between the effects of tobacco and digitalis; only the first lowers the frequency of the pulse less than digitalis, and the latter produces less nausea and vomiting than the tobacco. Post-Mortem Appearances.—More or less redness of mucous membrane of alimentary canal; it is sometimes gangrenous; there is congestion of blood in the nervous centres. The lungs and heart have been found livid, filled with blood, and eavered with ecchymosis. Treatment.—Evacuants in the shape of emetics or purgatives. Mechanical removal of contents of rumen in the ox. If ad- ministered by the rectum, purgative enemata are to be used; opiates, demulcent drinks, alcoholic and ammoniacal stimulants, and coffee. Woorars.—This is a poison known under several names, and which was first imported into Europe from Guiana by Sir Wal- ter Raleigh, in 1595. Sir Walter brought arrows charged with the deadly substance. It is peculiar as not affecting animals if introduced in the alimentary canal, but only when directly en- tering the blood in a penetrating wound. Woorara kills by in- ducing a paralysis of the periphnal extremities of the motor nerves of the body. Under its influence animals become almost. completely paralyzed. When irritated or hurt they le motion- less, although, as can be satisfactorily demonstrated, feeling is not abolished ; the poison seems to exert no marked action upon the nerves of the heart, and providing artificial respiration be employed, the heart goes on beating, although the animal ap- pears to be dead. The immediate cause of death, in poisoning by woorara, is the arrest of respiration dependent upon paralysis of the motor nerves of respiration. * Woo, op. edt. vol. ii. p. 129. Digitized by Microsoft® 266 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. Yew—Tarus Baccata.—The experiments of Viborg have placed it beyond doubt that the yew-tree is poisonous. The noxious properties may not be so marked if the substance be eaten with other food; perhaps the age of the tree, the soil on which it grows, and other circumstances, affect its action. There are several cases recorded of poisoning in the horse and ox by the leaves of the Taxus baccata; and amongst others, we may mention particularly those to be seen in the Veterinarian for 1854, at page 386, and in the J'ransactions of the Veterinary Medical Association for 1844, page 270. The symptoms and post-mortem appearances in cases of poison- ing by this substance are those common to narcotico-acrid agents. There appears a tendency to apoplexy when a quantity of yew enters the stomach. It is found m the latter, the mucous mem- brane being inflamed, and the epithelium easily peeled off. The vessels of the brain are congested, but other parts of the body appear healthy. Musurooms— Fungi.—The domestic animals seem to avoid mushrooms. Weiss mentions a fact relating to some geese in a forest, which presented symptoms of giddiness and rolling about, a peculiar appearance as if mad, whereupon death followed. Out of 600 affected, there were 180 deaths. After death, por- tions of mushroom of various sizes (of Agaricus muscarius, necator bulbos. alb. et citr., Pyrogalus) were met with in the cesophagus and proventriculum, where the mucous membrane was reddened and covered with dark spots. In the geese that survived a day, no bits of mushroom were found, but ash-grey, yellowish, and strongly odorous ingesta; the mucous membrane of a dark brown colour, and the intestine inflamed. No other lesions in the system. The young animals died soonest. As antidotes, liquor ammoniz, vinegar, oil, etc., were employed. MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 267 POISONOUS GASES. Physiologists have divided gases into two classes, according to their apparent mode of action in the animaleconomy. The first class includes such gases as nitrogen and hydrogen, which only destroy life by preventing the access of air; not by exerting any specific poisonous action of theirown. The second class includes gases such as carbonic oxide or sulphuretted hydrogen, which are absolutely poisonous, _ The addition of a small quantity of any of these truly poison- ous gases to air will render it unfit for respiration, although the amonnt of oxygen present in it will be amply sufficient for all respiratory purposes. Some of the poisonous gases appear to exert a specific action primarily in the central organs of the ner- vous system, whilst others kill by arresting, in the first place, the respiratory functions:of the blood. The blood-colouring matter, haemoglobin, is ared crystalline body, which possesses the property of seizing a certain quantity of oxygen, and holding it in a loose state of chemical combination, afterwards to give it up to other bodies having an attraction for oxygen. As the blood circulates through the lungs, the haemoglobin, which had, during its course through the vessels of the body, lost much of -its loose oxygen, absorbs a fresh quantity of the gas. This as- suredly constitutes one of the chief functions of respiration. Many of the poisonous gases exert a chemical action upon the haemoglobin of blood, which renders it unable to perform its function as an oxygen-carrier. Thus carbonic oxide actually thrusts out the loose respiratory oxygen (as it may appropriately be termed) from the colouring matter, and forms a stable com- pound, which is unable to absorb oxygen. Again, sulphuretted hydrogen, arsenuretted hydrogen, nitric oxide, etc., actually de- compose the blood-colouring matter, and render it for ever unfit to fulfil its important functions. In cases where death has been induced by poisonous gases, there can rarely be much difficulty in ascertaining the precise 268 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. agent which has been in operation. If we exclude carbonic acid and the gases evolved during the combustion of charcoal and coal, we find that gases are not met with in sufficient quanti- ties in nature to produce accidental death; and circumstantial evidence will sufficiently account for the manner in which an animal has lost its life should a poisonous gas have been em- ployed to effect the object. Of the poisonous gases we may mention :— Ammonia.—A highly irritant gas, with a strong pungent odour. It may cause inflammation of the bronchi and lungs if inhaled in sufficient quantities ; and it produces a remarkable action on the cerebro-spinal system, giving rise to disordered movements, vertigo, convulsions in dogs, coma in the herbivora, insensibility, paraplegia, and death. Acetic acid and acidulated water may be successfully employed as antidotes. Carponic Actp.—This gas is heavy, greedily absorbed by water, and it is the product of respiration, combustion, and fer- mentation ; it is met with abundantly in coal mines, in wells, cellars, and excavations. Damp sawdust and straw slowly absorb oxygen and set carbonic acid free. In the process of slaking lime and from brick kilns carbonic acid is given off, which may render the surrounding air irrespir- able. Confined air in which the animals breathe becomes irrespirable, from the oxygen being partially consumed and carbonic acid accumulating. The blood carried to the lungs by the pulmonary arteries is highly charged with carbonic acid ; and Bernard says that, as it is proved that in the process of respiration the carbonic acid is only discharged as the oxygen penetrates, an interchange occurring which is only possible between two gases of different natures from each other, so if the external air be highly charged with carbonic acid, the latter being more soluble, interferes with the passage of the oxygen through the moist membrane of the respiratory organs, and an obstacle therefore exists to the arterialization of blood. Symptoms.—At first, over-excitement ; full, sharp, and accele- OEE MEMORANDA TOXICOLOGICA. 269 rated pulse. Afterwards stupor, paralysis, and the venous blood acquires a black colour. The visible mucous membranes have a bluish-livid hue, and animals die without uttering a cry or being convulsed, Post-Mortem A ppearances.—Those of apoplexy. Treatment.—Fresh air ; cold and hot ablutions alternately to head and neck ; artificial respiration ; allow fluids to flow from the mouth ; irritate the nostrils by snuff, hartshorn, ete ; rub all the limbs upwards, making firm pressure energetically ; induce the inhalation of oxygen or of dilute pure ammonia, etc. Dr Marshall Hall’s method of treating apnea, or, in other words, poisoning by carbonic acid, has been justly stated the most simple, philosophical, and beautiful that could be devised ; but we cannot apply postural respiration in quadrupeds ; nevertheless, I think the gradual and deliberate compression and relaxation of the chest, aided by alternate abduction and adduc- tion of the fore extremities, will answer our purpose. With reference to the inhalation of oxygen and ammonia, Dr Mar- shall Hall has said, “I cannot regard the inhalation of oxygen as a very promising measure. Its value requires to be sub- mitted to much further trial and investigation. “The inhalation of dilute pure ammonia appears to me to ‘have more in it of promise. The bleod is overcharged with carbonic acid ; the inhalation of ammonia would neutralize this carbonic acid and form the carbonate of ammonia; the carbonic acid is the blood poison ; the carbonate of ammonia is free from any deleterious quality. “Tt cannot be repeated too often or too earnestly, that all these remedies of the second class, if I may so designate them, must be regarded as entirely subsidiary to the constant persist- ence of respiration.” * The gases evolved during the combustion of charcoal consist of carbonic acid, carbonic oxide, and carburetted hydrogen. Ber- nard has proved that many deaths from inhalation of gases given off from burning charcoal are due to the action of carbonic * Prone and Postural Respiration in Drowning. By Marshall Hall, M_D., F.B.S., &c., &e. London, 1857. Digitized by Microsoft® 270 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. oxide, an extremely poisonoys gas, which, when inspired in a pure state, almost immediately induces coma. It is easily kindled, and burns with a pale blue flame like that of sulphur. After the death of animals poisoned by carbonic oxide, the blood is found coagulated, and as florid as in animals made to breathe pure oxygen. Spectrum analysis, and the use of chemical agents, prove, however, that such blood has had its loose oxygen replaced by carbonic oxide. During the combustion of) coal, besides carbonic acid, poisonous sulphuretted and carburetted hydrogen gases are given off. The sulphurous acid gas, met with also under these circumstances, is a highly irritant gas. SuLPHURETTED HyprocEN.—This intensely poisonous gas has a very offensive odour, and is met with in drains and sewers, commonly mixed with hydrosulphuret of ammonia, carbonic acid, etc. In a concentrated state it may cause immediate death, acting apparently on the blood and nervous system. We need not here mention many other noxious substances in the aeriform state—such as chlorine, hydrochloric, acid gas, nitrous acid, cyanogen, the vapours of iodine and bromine. Treatment.—Place the animals suffering under the influence of an irrespirable or noxious gas where an abundant supply of fresh air can be insured, and keep up artificial respiration. It is important to employ this method of reviving animals as early as possible ; and, in order to bring about reaction, friction and cold or stimulating applications to the skin are to be recom- mended. In a chamber, stable, or other locality where sulphuretted hydrogen: accumulates, a stream of chlorine gas evolved from bleaching powder by the addition of some sulphuric acid will prove effectual as a disinfectant. If sulphuretted hydrogen be given off from decomposing organic matter, its evolution may be checked by sprinkling on the heap MacDougall’s Patent Disinfecting Powder, or Sir William Burnett’s Disinfecting Fluid. These disinfectants are equally efficacious against other noxious gases, Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA THERAPEUTICA. 271 IV. MEMORANDA THERAPEUTICA. ABDOMEN, Injuries to. See Hernia.—In penetrating wounds, surgical interference according to circumstances. In broad abdo- minal wounds in large quadrupeds, use the quilled and metallic sutures; in small animals the glover’s suture. After-treatment consists in stimulants, to guard against collapse; and, secondly, low diet, narcotics, or sedatives, 135, 136.* AxspominaL Dropsy. See Ascites—Dropsy. Axortion.—Evacuate rectum by clysters. Facilitate expul- sion of fetus by emmenagogues, 102. Induce opening of os uteri, if preternaturally contracted, by mechanical means, and sedative applications, 319; ext. belladonne. Attend to expul- sion of membranes. If fetus or feetal appendages putrefy, use disinfectants; chlorinated lime; purgatives, 45, 66, 113, 116, 120, 122, 124. Hmorrkage frequently supervenes — see Flooding. Agscess, AcutE, cr Hot.—Linseed-meal poultice. Evacua- tion of matter by incision. If epening ulcerates, use nitrate of silver, 290. In cold or chronic abscess use blisters, setons, astringent injections. Axscrss oF Bons.—Trephine, evacuate the pus, and remove diseased bone. ADENITIS ScRopHULA Equorum. See Strangles.—(Scrofulous inflammation of absorbent glands, or External Scrofula.) Good and easily digested food, fresh air and natural exercise. Locally, poultices. Tincture and ointment of iodine. - Blisters, page 50. If ulcers ave indisposed to heal, use dilute nitric acid, resin * The numbers in this Part refer to the Prescriptions, commencing at page 57 of this volume. = Digitized by Microsoft® 272 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. cerate, or ointment of iodide of lead. Tonics—arsenic, 47; copper, 48; sesquioxide of iron. Apynamia NeRvosa GENERALIS. See Parturient Fever.— In the early stage bleed and apply cold to the head. If the animal be comatose, use stomach-pump for the exhibition of mixtures. Stimulants, 209; turpentine in large doses; arnica, 208; nux vomica or strychnia, 205, 206; ergot of rye, 207; purgatives, 41, 66, 121, 127; mustard poultices or blisters on spine; nitrate of silver internally; strychnine applied by the endermic method. Naphtha may be injected in the veins. Arrer Parns—Heaving Pains in Ewes.—Camphor, ether, belladonna. The latter may be smeared over the walls of the vagina and on the os uteri. Acaractia—Suppressed Secretion of Milk.—If obviously symptomatic, the mamma generally regains its activity when the animal is restored to health. If the secretion be suddenly suppressed, without apparent morbid cause, give antimony, 61, 138; stimulating liniment to the udder, 287. ‘AtBuGo — Leucoma.—In inflammatory stage, purgatives, scarify inner sides of eyelids; poultices, or cooling lotions; seda- tive collyrium, 304, 306; sulphate of zinc, 302; nitrate of silver, 299; corrosive sublimate, 301. ArpuMInuRIA — Albuminous Nephrites. — lstly, Acwte— Bleeding; purgatives; tincture of aconite, 135; hyoscyamus, 147; mustard and ammonia to the loins. 2ndly, Chronic— Digitalis; colchicum, 189; oil of turpentine. When Albumi- nuria is associated with debility, administer iron, nitric and nitro-muriatic acid, tannin. Amavrosis—Gutta Serena—Glaucoma,—Setons on the poll and sides of the neck, or between the jaws; active blisters over the parotideal region; drastic purgatives, 41; veratria; strych- nine internally, and applied by the endermic method. Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA THERAPEUTICA. 273 Amentia—Coma—Immobility of the French authors— Sleepy Staggers.—Purgatives, 41; setons in upper part of neck or intermaxillary space; camphor, 157; oil of turpentine, 118; aromatics, 17, 18. “When torpor is excessive, absorption in the system is very tardy; hence medicines may be injected into the -circulation, such as tincture of white hellebore, dilute solution of ammonia, oil of turpentine; issues on the spine may be used; strychnine by the endermic method. Awaura.—Nutritious and easily digested food; fresh air and moderate exercise; transfusion of blood from a healthy animal. Internally, vegetable bitters, such as rhubarb, 18. Mineral tonics—arsenic, 47; copper, 48; iron, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54; manganese, 199; sulphate or oxide of zinc. ANAPHRODISIA—Absence of Sexual Desire.—If the animal be too fat, it must be reduced to a natural standard ; if too poor, good food and tonics are enjoined. In females, especially cows, sexual desire is excited by linseed, hempseed, savin, cantharides. In bitches, metallic copper is recommended. AwnasarcaA—See Dropsy.—Scarifications ; friction; purga- tives; diuretics, 35, 40; colchicum; digitalis, 38. Tonics, mi- _ nerals—iron, 49, 50; copper, 48; mineral acids; vegetable, 53, 55. ANeEvRisM of Heart and Arteries—Incurable.—In dilatation of the heart, palliative means, such as rest, occasional purga- tives, etc., may prove useful. Ancziotzucitis—Lymphangeitis—Inflammation of the Ab- sorbents—Inflammatory Cidema—Weed.—Bleeding generally and locally. Purgatives—aloes, calomel, castor oil. Diapho- retics—the animals warmly clothed; a vapour bath may be used by directing a jet of vapour in various parts of the body. , Diuretics—resin ; nitre, 35, 40; oil of turpentine. If swelling be great, tincture of iodine should be locally applied. In cases with much debility, tonics and stimulants should be had recourse T Digitized by Microsoft® 274 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. to, In the chronic form, iodine in form of ointment, blisters, setons. Friction methodically applied. Aneiwa—Laryngo-Pharyngitis—Inflammation of the Fauces —Sore Throat.—Low diet ; clysters ; electuary—sedative, 219, 227, 229; astringent, 230; nitre in water. Counter-irritation with mustard poultice, tincture or oil of cantharides. Irrita- tion of the throat may depend on constipation and indigestion, and then a purgative must be prescribed. Aworex1a—Loss of Appetite—Generally symptomatic. If dependent on mere nervous derangement, various medicines may be prescribed, such as assafoetida; ammonia; burnt coffee ; vegetable tonics and aromatics ; rhubarb, 18; gentian ; ginger ; angustura bark, The mouth should always be carefully examined to determine the condition of the teeth, etc. AnrHrax, Simple.—Poultices—yeast poultices ; incisions ; astringent lotions ; caustics, 106... Internally—iodine ; bromine —iodide and bromide of potassium. ANTHRAX, Malignant—Anthrax Fever.—Fresh air; cleanli- ness ; abundance of pure water; light and easily digested food ; cold ablutions ; saline and aloetic purgatives, 42, 43, 120, 122, 127 ; clysters. In pig and dog emetics, 65, 67. When prostra- tion supervenes, stimulants, 144, 194 ; camphor, 150 ; brandy ; turpentine, 186; mineral acids, especially the nitro-muriatic, 195; locally, cold water, or a cooling lotion, 297, 298. Inci- sions—the cut surfaces burned with nitric acid or the hot iron. Pustules must be cauterized actively. AnTurax Hamorrnorparis. — Acidulated clysters; cold water over the loins; saline purgatives; nitro-muriatic acid, 195. Anus, Prolapsus of the-—Return the protruded intestine. If prolapsed parts be painful and tumefied, use warm fomenta- Digitized by Microsoft® MEMORANDA THERAPEUTICA. 275 tions ; scarify, and then return them ; after which use cold water and astringents, to excite the action of the sphincter ani. In obstinate cases surgical interference, and even incision, is called for. ApatHs£ Epizootica—LEczema Epizootica—Foot and Mouth Disease.—Inoculation, to communicate the diseases to all the stock on a farm at once, and the ill effects of it are thus dimin- ished. The treatment consists in mild purgatives and diuretics. The mouth should be washed out with water containing honey and vinegar, or a little sulphuric acid. Use an astringent powder, 104; or electuary, 343. As a lotion to the exposed sores, use the solution of diacetate of lead ; of sulphate of zinc, 294; of alum, 292; of sulphate of copper ; of nitrate of silver, 290. The animals should be supported by nourishing diet, and if they cannot masticate they should have gruel and linseed tea. APHTHE Sporapic#.—For occasional aphthous eruptions in the mouth use mild astringents and laxatives. ApHTH# GenitatiuM—Aphthous Eruption of the Genitals. —NMild purgatives, and sulphate of zinc or alum lotion. Apnaa—Suppressed Respiration.—Clear mouth and fauces mechanically. Apply cold and hot water alternately to the surface of the body. Inmitate respiration by compressing the walls of the chest at regular intervals, and as often in a minute as it is natural for an animal to draw breath. If the latter fails, and the heart continues to beat, the trachea may be opened, and air forced into the chest by a pair of bellows, or elastic bag, or applying the mouth to the opening. Still-born foals or calves and other animals must be treated, as usual, by exciting respiration ; this is most effectually done by plunging them into a cold (not a warm bath) and a hot bath alternately. The just temperatures ‘of these baths, according to Marshall Hall, are from 50° to 60° Fahr. for the cold, and from 98° to 102 Fahr Digitized by Microsoft® 276 VETERINARIAN’S VADE MECUM. for the hot bath. The immersion should be momentary, the alternations quick. If this means fails—if irritation of the nos- trils, the face, and the general surface, has been tried in vain —not a moment is to be lost, but respiration must be imitated. APporpLexy.—Abstraction of blood from both jugular veins or temporal artéries, and scarifications of mucous membrane of the palate; cold applications to the head; revulsion to the trunk and extremities by mustard and turpentine; active purgatives, 41, 45, 65, 122, 127; croton oil on tongue. APoPLEXIA Manrirrima.*—Ship Staggers. — Blood-letting, clysters, and revulsion by means of mustard or hot blankets. ARAcHNITIS. See Meningitis. AREOLAR TissvkE, Inflammation of. See Phlegmon. ARTERITIS. —Salivation by calomel and opium; blisters. Arruritis.—Abstraction of blood locally or generally, or both combined ; purgatives, diuretics, sedatives ; emolient poul- tices ; placing the joint, if possible, in a fixed position by starch bandage or other mechanical contrivance ; discutient lotions, 297 ; arnica lotion, 277 ; stimulating liniments, 276, 278; blis- ters, 310, 313 ; actual cautery. ArTHRocaceE AcNorumM—