Veterinary Journal. DEVOTED TO THE DIFFUSION OF VETERINARY KNOWLEDGE. Edited by GEORGE H. DADD, Veterinary Surgeon. Published by S. N. THOMPSON, 97 Union Street. VOL. I. BOSTON, MASS., DECEMBER, 1855. NO. 3. DEATH OF A HORSE FROM RUPTURED STOMACH. The subject, a black gelding, nine years old, had been driven a distance of twelve miles into the city, and on arriving at the "City Hotel Stable," he first manifested signs of uneasiness, by pawing with his feet and turning his head towards the belly. He finally got down, rolled, tumbled about and passed considerable flatus, &c. His owner supposing him to be the subject of colic, administered a dose of" fire-water" in the form of gin and cayenne pepper, followed by three ounces of spirits of nitre. He urinated freely, passed considerable flatus, yet grew no better very fast. Four hours from the commencement of the attack our attention was called to him: the case then appeared hopeless, consequently, we declined prescribing. The following were the symptoms: Pulse small and thready: in number, fifty-six: Respirations, sixty: laborious: emitting occasionally a sort of grunt: indicative of pressure from a distended stomach, on the diaphragm and lungs. The eyes were amaurotic (pupils dilated and loss of vision): Sclerotica-white of the eye, slightly injected: Conjunctival membrane, within the eyelids, surcharged with blood. The bucal membrane, within the mouth, intensely inflamed: induced, probably, by the fire-water drench. The tongue was of a leaden hue, and the nasal membranes were somewhat reddened. The body, or external surface, was the seat of profuse perspiration, which ran down the limbs like rain: they as well as other parts of the body, remained comfortably warm, until within a few minutes of death. There appeared to be considerable distention in the region of the stomach, and less at the flanks, from which circumstance we concluded that the patient was laboring under tympanitis-windy distention-of the stomach; at the moment of death, the reverse was the case, which circumstance seemed to confirm this opinion: for then the stomach being ruptured the gas would diffuse itself in the abdominal cavity and increase in bulk. Aspect and motions of the body:-The head was kept within striking distance of the ground: the tail was elevated and kept in a quivering condition-involuntary. The fore extremeties were advanced, one leg frequently crossing the other: the hinder parts maintained a crouching attitude, and the penis hung pendulous. When not in this position the patient would revolve in a circle, then lie down flat on his side; turn his head towards the ribs and after a short time raise the forward parts and sit on his haunches like a dog. At last he fell over, gave two or three convulsive struggles and died: just thirty-five minutes from the time we first saw him. Next morning, in company with Dr. Wood, we proceeded to Ward's establishment, but came very near being too late; for the metamorphosis of the horse, into grease, food for swine, &c., &c., had commenced: we however had an opportunity to make a casual examination of some of the organs and found a rupture of the stomach of some six or eight inches. The contents, some of which were found in the abdominal cavity, were very imperfectlycrudely masticated. It may be proper therefore to name the disease, indigestion; its consequences: tympanitis of the stomach, the cause of death: rupture of the stomach. The loss of vision referred to, is one of the symptoms which generally attends acute indigestion. Remarks:-A person who was present during the last moments of the animal's life asked: If we were not going to give or administer something? Our reply was, that we never tortured dying horses by forcing drugs down their throats; one of our duties as a physician was, to know when to withhold medicine-when to do nothing— and another equally important one, was, to be able to discriminate between a hopeless and curable case: the one in question was beyond the aid of science and therefore in view of "clearing our skirts" of being the cause of death by administering the last dose (a charge that is often ungenerously laid at the door of medical men) we preferred to watch the dying animal, and give directions calculated to lessen the pains of death. Unfortunately for us, and our patients, many employers form an estimate of medical qualification, in proportion to the amount of medicine administered: they have an idea that the more medicine we give, the greater are our efforts to control the disease and the more willing are they to pay for the same. When in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the very reverse is the case; for many diseases to which horses and cattle are subject, have a definite type, and limited duration, and would terminate favorably, with less medicine, provided however the patient have the advantages of pure air, suitable diet, and proper management. Many medical men are compelled to swerve from the line of their own convictions merely to satisfy their employers. This should not be. If a man employs a physician, quacks are not considered, he should have unbounded confidence in the ability of the former to treat the case; if any thing occur to lessen that confidence, let the attendant be discharged immediately: the employer has no right to dictate how, or in what way his horse shall be treated, when he abandons him to scientific men. The science of medicine is never a "God-send"no man is thus favored-it is the result of diligent application and study, in and out of the dissecting room, and the legitimate student of medicine is a person entitled to the full confidence of reasonable men, for its legitimate practice. Therefore we contend, that the qualifications of a Veterinary Surgeon should never be estimated in ratio to the quantity of drugs administered, nor the length of his newly invented syringe, nor by the number of instruments contained in his pocket case, but by his works let him be judged. There is one practice prevalent among some horsemen which we very much deplore and that is, of drenching sick animals with gin, pepper and molasses; this is a universal stable panacea in certain quarters, and is often the cause of much pain and annoyance to the animal, and more frequently of an aggravated form of disease. Gin—or the fire-water, sold under that name—is not always to be procured pure: a great deal of it appears, to us, to be compos ed of spirits of turpentine, new rum, and spirits of juniper. And of course, in certain cases, excites inflammatory action. We have seen a horse's mouth in a most shocking condition: the interior surfaces almost completely denuded, after a drench of the same; consequently in cases of inflammation of the stomach or bowels. (which the stable oracles are apt to mistake for colic, or "bots," as they term it) the remedy-poison-is certainly objectionable. Because it not only operates unfavorably on the horse by aggravating the disease, and sometimes changing a simple into a grave one; but much valuable time is lost, in not sending for a competent person to treat the case. Besides; if a medical man be called on, after the animal has been improperly treated, he then has two things to contend against: A medicinal disease and the original one: and the former is sometimes more difficult to control than the latter. And this is the reason why some medical men, ourselves included, refuse to take charge of what we term a second-hand case. The above case illustrates our argument: the remedies were not adapted to the emergency: even the simple article molasses was objectionable; because it is an acid. The case required alkalies; in the form of ammonia or chloride of lime. Gin was objectionable; because, it is an excitant of the brain and nervous system: when instead of the brain, the stomach, ought to have been stimulated. Nitre, which was given, is an agent that increases urinary discharges only, and therefore was not needed. The trouble was in the stomach. To arouse its function and condense the gas which distended the same; Alkalies and tonics should have been administered, followed by such other treatment, as the nature of the case demanded. We look upon this gin and molasses treatment as decidedly unprofitable to owners of live stock, it savors too much of our grandmothers' castor oil practice, which often proves more heroic than salutary-does more harm than good-and at the present day, is decidedly unpopular. Our advice to horse-owners, therefore, is: if you have a sick animal and cannot comprehend the nature of the disease, never attempt to prescribe for him, but call in the aid of a professional man. We give this advice under the conviction that domestic animals are subject to many of the diseases that afflict our race, that the treatment should be somewhat analagous, and the tact and skill not inferior, but superior, to that of the human practitioner. THE LAW OF WARRANTY. "A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!" If we should ever be seized with a desire to prove to ourselves the fact, that human beings have no consciences, we should commence by making a tour of the various law courts at the time horse cases were being heard; and if at the end of a dozen cases we did not become perfect converts, we should forwith conclude that we were not open to conviction, and give up the attempt in despair. Hard swearing in horse matters has become proverbial. Perjury of the blackest die a commonplace affair. The most unbiassed observer in listening to a case would be puzzled to decide, when men of apparently equal respectability swear against each other with the most reckless indifference; until we are forcibly reminded of the reply of a certain celebrated barrister, who, when asked in reference to a case, "will an action lie?" answered, "Yes, if all the witnesses will lie too!" The law of warranty, as it stands at present, is supposed to guarantee the purchaser of a horse against the ignorance or duplicity of the dealer of whom he purchases. It is usual to have specified on the receipt, that "the animal is sound, and free from vice:" occasionally, certain clauses are inserted for obvious blemishes, giving security against any evil effects from them. Such warranties are "special." A popular delusion prevails, that warranties to be legal must be written. It is not so: a verbal warranty from the owner or his agent, or even an implied warranty, is perfectly legitimate; always, of course, premising that it can be proved; and a written warranty is technically more valuable on this account, and on this account only. The security obtained by possession of a warranty is, after all, exceedingly small; since, to enforce it, necessitates an appeal to law, involving much trouble and expense, and being attended with that "glorious uncertainty" "That makes us rather bear the ills we have, In the hands of the capricious, it is often used to the annoyance of the dealer, compelling him to receive back an animal which the fancy of the purchaser has been prejudiced against, or, in the event of refusal, to incur a loss of patronage, in itself of more worth than the horse in question. But the same thing would follow providing no warranty existed: plenty of horses are returned without any appeal to the warranty at all. A purchaser takes a dislike, justly it may be or otherwise; the dealer feels compelled to receive again the purchase without demur, either from a conscientious feeling of the justice of such proceeding, or from fear of losing a valuable customer. It must be apparent that the law of warranty is a dead letter in such instances as these; the question not being what may be done by a purchaser who has either just confidence in the merchant's honesty or his own influence. It is not what men may do by mutual arrangement, but what can be legally insured? It is not what may be obtained as a favor; but what may be demanded as a right. In this light alone is the subject to be considered. In commercial transactions men cease to be friends, each party has a right to attend to his own security, and to see that the terms of contract are such as to prevent any undue advantage being taken. As a legal instrument, we conceive a warranty to be totally inadequate to effect the purpose intended. Let us assume a case:A person purchases a horse with the usual warranty of soundness and freedom from vice; possibly a special warranty is added, referring to some existing defect. In the hands of the new owner the horse becomes vicious, and in addition, lame. Professional assisttance is called, the animal is pronounced unsound from the very defect for which a special warranty has been given, persons come |