A dog must not be immediately condemned because he has this open mouth and fixed jaw. Bones constitute a frequent and a considerable portion of the food of dogs. In the eagerness with which these bones are crushed, spicula or large pieces of them become wedged between the molar teeth, and form an inseparable obstacle to the closing of the teeth. The tongue partially protrudes. There is a constant discharge of saliva from the mouth, far greater than when the true paralysis exists. The dog is continually fighting at the corners of his mouth, and the countenance is expressive of intense anxiety, although not of the same irritable character as in rabies.

I was once requested to meet a medical gentleman in consultation respecting a supposed case of rabies. There was protrusion and discoloration of the tongue, and fighting at the corners of the mouth, and intense anxiety of countenance. He had been in this state for four-and-twenty hours. This was a case in which I should possibly have been deceived had it been the first dog that I had seen with dumb madness. After having tested a little the ferocity or manageableness of the animal, I passed my hand along the outside of the jaws, and felt a bone wedged between two of the grinders. The forceps soon set all right with him.

It is time to inquire more strictly into the post-mortem appearances of rabies in the dog.

In dumb madness the unfailing accompaniment is, to a greater or less degree, paralysis of the muscles of the lower jaw, and the tongue is discoloured and swollen, and hanging from the mouth; more blood than usual also is deposited in the anterior and inferior portion of it. Its colour varies from a dark red to a dingy purple, or almost black. In ferocious madness it is usually torn and bruised, or it is discoloured by the dirt and filth with which it has been brought into contact, and, not unfrequently, its anterior portion is coated with some disgusting matter. The papillae, or small projections on the back of the tongue, are elongated and widened, and their mucous covering evidently reddened. The orifices of the glands of the tongue are frequently enlarged, particularly as they run their course along the froenum of the tongue.

The fauces, situated at the posterior part of the mouth, generally exhibit traces of inflammation. They appear in the majority of cases of ferocious madness, and they are never deficient after dumb madness. They are usually most intense either towards the palatine arch or the larynx. Sometimes an inflammatory character is diffused through its whole extent, but occasionally it is more or less intense towards one or both of the terminations of the fauces, while the intermediate portion retains nearly its healthy hue.

There is one circumstance of not unfrequent occurrence, which will at once decide the case—the presence of indigestible matter, probably small in quantity, in the back part of the mouth. This speaks volumes as to the depraved appetite of the patient, and the loss of power in the muscles of the pharynx.

Little will depend on the tonsils of the throat. They occasionally enlarge to more than double their usual size; but this is more in quiet than in ferocious madness. The insatiable thirst of the rabid dog is perhaps connected with this condition of them.

The epiglottis should be very carefully observed. It is more or less injected in every case of rabies. Numerous vessels increase in size and multiply round its edge, and there is considerable injection and thickening.

Inflammation of the edges of the glottis, and particularly of the membrane which covers its margin, is often seen, and accounts for the harsh guttural breathing which frequently accompanies dumb madness. The inflammatory blush of the larynx, though often existing in a very slight degree, deserves considerable attention.

The appearances in the trachea are very uncertain. There is occasionally the greatest intensity of inflammation through the whole of it; at other times there is not the slightest appearance of it. There is the same uncertainty with regard to the bronchial tubes and the lungs; but there is no characteristic symptom or lesion in the lungs.

Great stress has been laid on the appearance of the heart; but, generally speaking, in nine cases out of ten, the heart of the rabid dog will exhibit no other symptoms of disease than an increased yet variable deepness of colour in the lining membrane of the ventricles. No dependence can be placed on any of the appearances of the oesophagus; and, when they are at the worst, the inflammation occupies only a portion of that tube.

With regard to the interior of the stomach, if the dog has been dead only a few hours the true inflammatory blush will remain. If four-and-twenty hours have elapsed, the bright red colour will have changed to a darker red, or a violet or a brownish hue. In a few hours after this, a process of corrosion will generally commence, and the mucous membrane will be softened and rendered thinner, and, to a certain extent, eaten through. The examiner, however, must not attribute that to disease which is the natural process of the cession of life.

Much attention should be paid to the appearance of the stomach and its contents. If it contains a strange mingled mass of hair, and hay, and straw, and horse-dung, and earth, or portions of the bed on which the dog had lain, we should seldom err if we affirmed that he died rabid; for it is only under the influence of the depraved appetite of rabies that such substances are devoured. It is not the presence of every kind of extraneous substance that will be satisfactory: pieces of coal, or wood, or even the filthiest matter, will not justify us in pronouncing the animal to be rabid; it is that peculiarly mingled mass of straw, and hair, and filth of various kinds, that must indicate the existence of rabies.

When there are no solid indigesta, but a fluid composed principally of vitiated bile or extravasated blood, there will be a strong indication of the presence of rabies. When, also, there are in the duodenum and jejunum small portions of indigesta, the detection of the least quantity will be decisive. The remainder has been ejected by vomit; and inquiry should be made of the nature of the matter that has been discharged.

The inflammation of rabies is of a peculiar character in the stomach. It is generally confined to the summits of the folds of the stomach, or it is most intense there. On the summits of the rugae there are effusions of bloody matter, or spots of ecchymosis, presenting an appearance almost like crushed black currants. There may be only a few of them; but they are indications of the evil that has been effected.

From appearances that present themselves in the intestines, the bladder, the blood-vessels, or the brain, no conclusion can be drawn; they are simply indications of inflammation.

We now rapidly, and for a little while, retrace our steps. What is the cause of this fatal disease, that has so long occupied our attention? It is the saliva of a rabid animal received into a wound, or on an abraded surface. In horses, cattle, sheep, swine, and the human being, it is caused by inoculation alone; but, according to some persons, it is produced spontaneously in other animals.

I will suppose that a wound by a rabid dog is inflicted. The virus is deposited on or near its surface, and there it remains for a certain indefinite period of time. The wound generally heals up kindly; in fact, it differs in no respect from a similar wound inflicted by the teeth of an animal in perfect health. Weeks and months, in some cases, pass on, and there is nothing to indicate danger, until a degree of itching in the cicatrix of the wound is felt. From its long-continued presence as a foreign body, it may have rendered the tissue, or nervous fibre connected with it, irritable and susceptible of impression, or it may have attracted and assimilated to itself certain elements, and rabies is produced.

The virus does not appear to have the same effect on every animal. Of four dogs bitten by, or inoculated from, one that is rabid, three, perhaps, would display every symptom of the disease. Of four human beings, not more than one would become rabid. John Hunter used to say not more than one in twenty; but that is probably erroneous. Cattle appear to have a greater chance of escape, and sheep a still greater chance.

The time of incubation is different in different animals. With regard to the human being, there are various strange and contradictory stories. Some have asserted that it has appeared on the very day on which the bite was inflicted, or within two or three days of that time. Dr. Bardsley, on the other hand, relates a case in which twelve years elapsed between the bite and the disease. If the virus may lurk so long as this in the constitution, it is a most lamentable affair. According to one account, more than thirty years intervened. The usual time extends from three weeks to six or seven months.

In the dog I have never seen a case in which plain and palpable rabies occurred in less than fourteen days after the bite. The average time I should calculate at five or six weeks. In three months I should consider the animal as tolerably safe. I am, however, relating my own experience, and have known but two instances in which the period much exceeded three months. In one of these five months elapsed, and the other did not become affected until after the expiration of the seventh month.

The quality and the quantity of the virus may have something to do with this, and so may the predisposition in the bitten animal to be affected by the poison. If it is connected with oestrum, the bitch will probably become a disgusting, as well as dangerous animal; if with parturition, there is a strange perversion of maternal affection—she is incessantly and violently licking her young, continually shifting them from place to place; and, in less than four-and-twenty hours, they will be destroyed by the reckless manner in which they are treated. In both cases the development of the disease seems to wait on the completion of her time of pregnancy. It appears in the space of two months after the bite, if her parturition is near at hand, or it is delayed for double that time, if the period of labour is so far distant.

The duration of the disease is different in different animals. In man it has run its course in twenty-four hours, and rarely exceeds seventy-two. In the horse from three to four days; in the sheep and ox from five to seven; and in the dog from four to six.

Of the real nature of the rabid virus, we know but little. It has never been analysed, and it would be a difficult process to analyse it. It is not diffused by the air, nor communicated by the breath, nor even by actual contact, if the skin is sound. It must be received into a wound. It must come in contact with some tissue or nervous fibre, and lie dormant there for a considerable, but uncertain period. The absorbents remove everything around; whatever else is useless, or would he injurious, is taken away, but this strange substance is unchanged. It does not enter into the circulation, for there it would undergo some modification and change, or would be rejected. It lies for a time absolutely dormant, and far longer than any other known poison; but, at length, the tissue on which it has lain begins to render it somewhat sensible, and assimilates to itself certain elements. The cicatrix begins to be painful, and inflammation spreads around. The absorbents are called into more powerful action; they begin to attack the virus itself, and a portion of it is taken up, and carried into the circulation, and acquires the property of assimilating other secretions to its own nature, or it is determined to one of the secretions only; it alters the character of that secretion, envenoms it, and gives it the power of propagating the disease.

Something like this is the history of many animal poisons. In variola and the vaccine disease the poison is determined to the skin, in glanders to the Schneiderian membrane, and in farcy to the superficial absorbents. Each in its turn becomes the depot of the poison. So it is with the salivary glands of the rabid animal; in them it is formed, or to them it is determined, and from them, and them alone, it is communicated to other animals.

Professor Dick, in his valuable Manual of Veterinary Science, states some peculiar views, and those highly interesting, respecting the disease of rabies. He holds it to be essentially an inflammatory affection, attacking peculiarly the mucous membrane of the nose, and extending thence through the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bones to the interior part of the brain, and so giving rise to a derangement of the nervous system as a necessary consequence. This train of symptoms constitutes mainly, if not wholly, the essence of an occasional epidemic not unlike some forms of influenza or epizootic disease, and the bite of a rabid animal is not always, to an animal so bitten, the exciting cause of the disease, but merely an accidental concomitant in the prevailing disorder. Also the disease hydrophobia, produced in man, is not always the result of any poison introduced into his system, but merely the melancholy, and often fatal result of panic fear, and of the disordered slate of the imagination. Those who are acquainted with the effects of sympathy, and imitation, and panic, in the production of nervous disorders, will readily apprehend the meaning of the Professor.

Some of these diseases speedily run their course and exhaust themselves. Cowpox and farcy, in many instances, have this character. Perhaps, to a certain degree, this may be affirmed of all of them. I have seen cases, which I could not mistake, in which the symptoms of rabies were one after another developed. The dog was plainly and undeniably rabid, and I had given him up as lost; but, after a certain period, the symptoms began to be less distinct; they gradually disappeared, and the animal returned to perfect health. This may have formed one ground of belief in the power of certain medicines, and most assuredly it gives encouragement to perseverance in the use of remedial measures.

It has then been proved, and I hope demonstratively, that rabies is propagated by inoculation. It has also been established that although every animal labouring under this disease is capable of communicating it, yet, with very few exceptions, it can be traced to the bite of the dog. It has still further been shown that the malady, generally appears at some period between the third and seventh month from the time of inoculation. At the expiration of the eighth month, the animal may be considered to be safe; for there is only one acknowledged case on record, in which the disease appeared in the dog after the seventh month from the bite had passed.

Then it would appear that if a species of quarantine could be established, and every dog confined separately for eight months, the disease would be annihilated in our country, or could only reappear in consequence of the importation of some infected animal. Such a course of proceeding, however, could never be enforced either in the sporting world or among the peasantry. Other measures, however, might be resorted to in order to lessen the devastations of this malady; and that which first presents itself to the mind as a powerful cause of rabies is the number of useless and dangerous dogs that are kept in the country for the most nefarious and, in the neighbourhood of considerable towns, the most brutal purposes; without the slightest hesitation, I will affirm that rabies is propagated, nineteen times out of twenty, by the cur and the lurcher in the country, and the fighting-dog in towns.

A tax should be laid on every useless dog, and doubly or trebly heavier than on the sporting-dog. No dog except the shepherd's should be exempt from this tax, unless, perhaps, it is the truck-dog, and his owner should be compelled to take out a license; to have his name in large letters on his cart; and he should be heavily fined if the animal is found loose in the streets, or if he is used for fighting.

The disease is rarely propagated by petted and house-dogs They are little exposed to the danger of inoculation; yet, we pity, or almost detest, the folly of those by whom their favourites are indulged, and spoiled even more than their children.

We will now suppose that a person has had the misfortune to be bitten by a rabid dog: what course is he to pursue? What preventive means are to be adopted? Some persons, and of no mean standing in the medical world, have recommended a ligature. The reply would be, that this ligature must be worn during a very inconvenient and dangerous period of time. The virus lies in the wound inert during many successive weeks and months.

Dr. Haygarth first suggested that a long-continued stream of warm water should be poured upon the wound from the mouth of a kettle. He says that the poison exists in a fluid form, and therefore we should suppose that water would be its natural solvent. Dr. Massey adds to this, that if the wound is small, it should be dilated, in order that the stream may descend on the part on which the poison is deposited. We are far, however, from being certain that this falling of water on the part, may not by possibility force a portion of the virus farther into the texture, or cause it to be entangled with other parts of the wound. [2]

There is a similar or stronger objection to the cupping-glass of Dr. Barry. The virus, forced from the texture with which it lies in contact by the rush of blood from the substance beneath, is too likely to inoculate, or become entangled with, other parts of the wound.

There is great objection to suction of the wound; for, in addition to this possible entanglement, the lips, or the mouth, may have been abraded, and thus the danger considerably aggravated. There also remains the undecided question as to the absorption of the virus through the medium of a mucous surface.

Excision of the part is the mode of prevention usually adopted by the human surgeon, and to a certain extent it is a judicious practice. If the virus is not received into the circulation, but lies dormant in the wound for a considerable time, the disease cannot supervene if the inoculated part is destroyed.

This operation, however, demands greater skill and tact than is generally supposed. It requires a determination fully to accomplish the desired object; for every portion of the wound with which the tooth could possibly have come into contact, must be removed. This is often exceedingly difficult to accomplish, on account of the situation and direction of the wound. The knife must not enter the wound, or it will be likely to be itself empoisoned, and then the mischief and the danger will be increased instead of removed. Dr. Massey was convinced of the impropriety of this when he advised that,

"should the knife by chance enter the wound that had been made by the dog's tooth, the operation should be recommenced with a clean knife, otherwise the sound parts will become inoculated."

If the incision is made freely and properly round the wound, and does not penetrate into it, yet the blood will follow the knife, and a portion of it will enter into the wound caused by the dog, and will come in contact with the virus, and will probably be contaminated, and will then overflow the original wound, and will be received into the new incision, and will carry with it the seeds of disease and death: therefore it is, that scarcely a year passes without some lamentable instances of the failure of incisions. It has occurred in the practice of the most eminent surgeons, and seems scarcely or not all to impeach the skill of the operator.

Aware of this, there are very few human practitioners who do not use the caustic after the knife. Every portion of the new wound is submitted to its influence. They do not consider the patient to be safe without this second operation. But has the question never occurred to them, that if the caustic is necessary to give security to the operation by incision, the knife might have been spared, and the caustic alone used?

The veterinary surgeon, when operating on the horse, or cattle, or the dog, frequently has recourse to the actual cautery. I could, perhaps, excuse this practice, although I would not adopt it, in superficial wounds; but I do not know the instrument that could be safely used in deeper ones. If it were sufficiently small to adapt itself to the tortuous course of little wounds, it would be cooled and inert before it could have destroyed the lower portions of them. If it were of sufficient substance long to retain the heat, it would make a large and fearful chasm, and probably interfere with the future usefulness of the animal. The result of the cases in which the cautery has been used proves that in too many instances it is an inefficient protection. The rabid dog in Park Lane has already been mentioned. He bit several horses before he could be destroyed. Caustic was applied to one of them, and the hot iron to the others. The first was saved, almost all the others were lost. A similar case occurred last spring; the caustic was an efficacious preventive; the cautery was perfectly useless. What caustic then should be applied? Certainly not that to which the surgeon usually has recourse—a liquid one. Certainly not one that speedily deliquesces; for they are both unmanageable, and, what is a more important consideration, they may hold in solution, and not decompose the poison, and thus inoculate the whole of the wound. The application which promises to be successful, is that of the 'lunar caustic'. It is perfectly manageable, and, being sharpened to a point, may be applied with certainty to every recess and sinuosity of the wound.

Potash and nitric acid form a caustic which will destroy the substances with which they come in contact, but the combination of this caustic and the animal fibre will be a soft or semi-fluid mass. In this the virus is suspended, and with this it lies or may be precipitated upon the living fibre beneath. Then there is danger of re-inoculation; and it would seem that this fatal process is often accomplished. The eschar formed by the lunar caustic is dry, hard, and insoluble. If the whole of the wound has been fairly exposed to its action, an insoluble compound of animal fibre and the metallic salt is produced, in which the virus is wrapped up, and from which it cannot be separated. In a short time the dead matter sloughs away, and the virus is thrown off with it.

Previous to applying the caustic it will sometimes be necessary to enlarge the wound, in order that every part may be fairly got at; and the eschar having sloughed off, it will always be prudent to apply the caustic a second time, but more slightly, in order to destroy any part that may not have received the full influence of the first operation, or that, by possibility, might have been inoculated during the operation.

Mr. Smerdon, in the Medical and Physical Journal, March 1820, thus reasons:

"All the morbid poisons that require to lie dormant a certain time before their effects are manifested, pass into the system through the medium of the absorbents," (we somewhat differ from Mr. Smerdon here, but his reasoning is equally applicable to the nervous system,) "and if the absorbents are excited, their action is increased. I am satisfied that even in a venereal sore the application of a caustic, instead of destroying the disease, causes its rapid extension. Then," asks he, "if the virus on a small venereal sore is rendered more active by the caustic, is it not highly probable that the same law holds good with respect to the poison of rabies?"

The sooner the caustic is applied the better; but I should not hesitate to have recourse to it even after the constitution has become affected. It is related in the Medico-Chirurgical Annals of Altenburg (Sept. 1821), that two men were bitten by a rabid dog. One became hydrophobous and died; the other had evident symptoms of hydrophobia a few days afterwards. A surgeon excised the bitten part, and the disease disappeared. After a period of six days the symptoms returned. The wound was examined; considerable fungus was found sprouting from its bottom. This was extirpated. The hydrophobia symptoms were again removed, and the man did well. This is a most instructive case.

In the Journal Pratique de Medecine Veterinaire, M. Damalix gives an interesting account of the effect of a bite of a rabid dog on a horse. On the 8th of July, 1828, a fowl-merchant, proceeding to the market of Colmar, was attacked by a dog, who, after some fruitless efforts to get into the cart, bit the horse on the left side of the face, and fled precipitately. A veterinary surgeon was sent for, who applied the cautery to the horse, gave him some populeum ointment, and bled him. Everything appeared to go on well, and on the 16th the wounds were healed.

On the 25th a great alteration took place. The horse was careless and slow; he sometimes refused to go at all, and would not attend in the least to the whip, which had never occurred before. In the evening the wounds opened spontaneously, an ichorous and infectious pus run from them; there was salivation and utter loss of appetite: strange fancies seemed to possess him; he showed a desire to bite his master. The veterinary surgeon might approach him with safety; but the moment his owner or the children appeared, he darted at them, and would have torn them in pieces. The disease now took on the appearance of acute glanders; livid and fungous wounds broke out; the stable was saturated with an infectious smell, the horse refused his food, or was unable to eat. The mayor at last interfered, and the animal was destroyed. In the Treatises on The Horse, Cattle, and Sheep, in former volumes, accounts are fully given of this dreadful malady in these animals. It may not be uninteresting to give a hasty sketch of it in some of the inferior classes.

'Rabies in the Rabbit.'—I very much regret that I never instituted a course of experiments on the production and treatment of rabies in this animal. It would have been attended with little expense or danger, and some important discoveries might have been made. Mr. Earle, in a case in which he was much interested, inoculated two rabbits with the saliva of a dog that had died rabid. They were punctured at the root of the ears. One of the rabbits speedily became inflamed about the ears, and the ears were paralysed in both rabbits. The head swelled very much, and extensive inflammation took place around the part where the virus was inserted. One of them died without exhibiting any of the usual symptoms of the disease; the other, after a long convalescence, survived, and eventually recovered the use of his ears. Mr. Earle very properly doubted whether this was a case of rabies.

Dr. Capello describes, but in not so satisfactory a manner as could be wished, a case of supposed rabies in one of these animals. A rabbit and a dog lived together in a family. They were strange associates; but such friendships are not unfrequent among animals. The dog became rabid, and died. A man bitten by that dog became hydrophobous, and died. No one dreamed of the rabbit being in danger, and he ran about the house as usual; but, one day, he found his way to the chamber of the mistress of the house, with a great deal of viscid saliva running from his mouth, furiously attacked her, and left the marks of his violence on her leg. He then ran into a neighbouring stable, and bit the hind-legs of a horse several times. Finally, he retreated to a corner of the stable, and was there found dead. Neither the lady nor the horse eventually suffered.

'Rabies in the Guinea-pig'.—A man suspected of being hydrophobous was taken to the Middlesex Hospital. He was examined before several of the medical students; one of whom, in order to make more sure of the affair, inoculated a guinea-pig with the saliva taken from the man's mouth. The guinea-pig had been usually very playful, and fond of being noticed; but, on the eleventh day after this inoculation, he began to be dull and sullen, retiring into his house, and hiding himself as much as he could in a corner. On the following day he became out of temper, and even ferocious in his way; he bit at everything that was presented to him, gnawed his cage, and made the most determined efforts to escape. Once or twice his violence induced convulsions of his whole frame; and they might be produced at pleasure by dashing a little water at him. In the course of the night following he died.

'Rabies in the Cat'.—Fortunately for us, this does not often occur; for a mad cat is a truly ferocious animal. I have seen two cases, one of them to my cost; yet, I am unable to give any satisfactory account of the progress of the disease. The first stage seems to be one of sullenness, and which would probably last to death; but from that sullenness it is dangerous to rouse the animal. It probably would not, except in the paroxysm of rage, attack any one; but during that paroxysm it knows no fear, nor has its ferocity any bounds.

A cat, that had been the inhabitant of a nursery, and the playmate of the children, had all at once become sullen and ill-tempered. It had taken refuge in an upper room, and could not be coaxed from the corner in which it had crouched. It was nearly dark when I went. I saw the horrible glare of her eyes, but I could not see so much of her as I wished, and I said that I would call again in the morning.

I found the patient, on the following day, precisely in the same situation and the same attitude, crouched up in a corner, and ready to spring. I was very much interested in the case; and as I wanted to study the countenance of this demon, for she looked like one, I was foolishly, inexcusably imprudent. I went on my hands and knees, and brought my face nearly on a level with hers, and gazed on those glaring eyes, and that horrible countenance, until I seemed to feel the deathly influence of a spell stealing over me. I was not afraid, but every mental and bodily power was in a manner suspended. My countenance, perhaps, alarmed her, for she sprang on me, fastened herself on my face, and bit through both my lips. She then darted down stairs, and, I believe, was never seen again. I always have nitrate of silver in my pocket, even now I am never without it; I washed myself, and applied the caustic with some severity to the wound; and my medical adviser and valued friend, Mr. Millington, punished me still more after I got home. My object was attained, although at somewhat too much cost, for the expression of that brute's countenance will never be forgotten.

The later symptoms of rabies in this animal, no one, perhaps, has had the opportunity of observing: we witness only the sullenness and the ferocity.

'Rabies in the Fowl'.—Dr. Ashburner and Mr. King inoculated a hen with the saliva from a rabid cow. They made two incisions through the integument, under the wings, and then well rubbed into these cuts the foam taken from the cow's mouth. She was after this let loose among other fowls in the poultry-yard. The incisions soon healed, and their places could with difficulty be discovered. Ten weeks passed over, when she was observed to refuse her food, and to run at the other fowls. She had a strange wild appearance, and her eyes were blood-shot. Early on the following morning her legs became contracted, so that she very soon lost the power of standing upright. She remained sitting a long time, with the legs rigid, refusing food and water, and appearing very irritable when touched. She died in the evening, immediately after drinking a large quantity of water which had been offered to her.

'Rabies in the Badger'.—Hufeland, in his valuable Journal of Practical Medicine, relates a case of a rabid female badger attacking two boys. She bit them both, but she fastened on the thigh of one of them, and was destroyed in the act of sucking his blood. The poor fellow died hydrophobous, but the other escaped. This fact, certainly, gives us no idea of the general character of the disease in this animal; but it speaks volumes as to its ferocity.

'Rabies in the Wolf'.—Rabies is ushered in by nearly the same symptoms, and pursues the same course in the wolf us in the dog, with this difference, which would be readily expected, that his ferocity and the mischief which he accomplishes are much greater. The dog hunts out his own species, and his fury is principally directed against them; although, if he meets with a flock of sheep, or a herd of cattle, he readily attacks them, and, perhaps, bites the greater part of them. The dog, however, frequently turns out of his way to avoid the human being, and seldom attacks him without provocation. The wolf, on the contrary, although he commits fearful ravages among the sheep and cattle, searches out the human being as his favorite prey. He conceals himself near the entrance to the village, and steals upon and wounds every passenger that he can get at. There are several accounts of more than twenty persons having been bitten by one wolf; and there is a fearful history of sixteen persons perishing from the bite of one of these animals. This is in perfect agreement with the account which I have given of the connexion between the previous temper and habits of the rabid dog, and the mischief that he effects under the influence of this malady. The wolf, as he wanders in the forest, regards the human being as his persecutor and foe; and, in the paroxysm of rabid fury, he is most eager to avenge himself on his natural enemy. Strange stories are told of the arts to which he has recourse in order to accomplish his purpose. In the great majority of cases he steals unawares upon his victim, and the mischief is effected before the wood-cutter or the villager is conscious of his danger.

The following observations and experiments respecting rabies, by Dr. Hertwich, Professor at the Veterinary School at Berlin, are well worthy of attention.

1. Out of fifty dogs that had been inoculated with virus taken from a rabid animal of the same species, fourteen only were infected.

2. In the cases where inoculation had been practised without effect, no reason could be assigned why the disease should not have taken place. This consequently proves that the malady is similar to others of a contagious nature, and that there must exist a predisposition in the individual to receive the disease before it can occur. In one experiment, a mastiff dog, aged four years, was inoculated without exhibiting any symptoms of the malady, while seven others, who had been inoculated at the same time and place, soon became rabid. Several of these animals had been inoculated several times before any symptoms showed themselves, while in others, on the contrary, once was sufficient.

3. It appears that in a state of doubtful rabies, one or two accidental or artificial inoculations are not sufficient to create a negative proof of its existence.

4. This disease has never ben communicated to an individual from one infected by means of the perspirable matter; this, therefore, is a proof that the contagious part of the disease is not of a volatile nature.

5. It does not only exist in the saliva and the mucus of the mouth, but likewise in the blood and the parenchyma of the salivary glands; but not in the pulpy substance of the nerves.

6. The power of communicating infection is found to exist in all stages of the confirmed disease, even twenty-four hours after the decease of the rabid animal.

7. The morbid virus, when administered internally, appears to be incapable of communicating this disease; inasmuch as of twenty dogs to whom was given a certain quantity, not one exhibited the least symptom of rabies.

8. The application of the saliva upon recent wounds appears to have been as often succeeded by confirmed rabies as when the dog had been bitten by a rabid animal.

9. It cannot now be doubled that the disease is produced by the wound itself, as was supposed by M. Girard of Lyons, not by the fright of the individual, according to the opinion of others, but only from the absorption of the morbid virus from its surface.

10. Several experiments have proved to me the little reliance there is to be placed on the opinions of Baden and Capello, who believe that, in those dogs who become rabid after the bite of an animal previously attacked with this disease, the contagious properties of the saliva is not continued, but only exists in those primarily bitten.

11. During the period of incubation of the virus there are no morbid, local, or general alterations of structure or function to be seen in the infected animal; neither are there any vesicles to be perceived on the inferior surface of the tongue, nor any previous symptoms which are found in other contagious diseases.

12. This disease is generally at its height at the end of fifty days after either artificial or accidental inoculation; and the author has never known it to manifest itself at a later period.

13. It is quite an erroneous idea to suppose that dogs in a state of health are enabled to distinguish, at first sight, a rabid animal, inasmuch as they never refuse their food when mixed with the secretions of those infected. [3]

The following singular trial respecting the death of a child by hydrophobia is worth quoting:

'Jones v. Parry.'—The plaintiff is a labourer, who gets only fourteen shillings a week to support himself and his family. The defendant is his neighbour, and keeps a public-house. This was an action brought by the plaintiff to recover damages against the defendant for the loss of his son, who was bitten by the defendant's dog, and afterwards became affected with rabies, of which disease he died.

It appeared in the evidence that the defendant's dog had, some time ago, been bitten by another dog; in consequence of which this dog was tied in the cellar, but the length of the rope which was allowed him enabled him to go to a considerable distance. The plaintiff's child knew the dog, having often played with him when he was at large. Some time ago the child crossed the street, near to the place where the dog was fastened, who rushed out of the place in which he was confined to where the child stood, sprung upon him, and bit him sadly in the face, and afterwards violently shook him. The child being thus wounded, a surgeon was sent for, who, after having dressed him, and attended him for a certain time, gave directions that he should be taken to the sea-side, and bathed in the salt water.

This having been continued for some time, the child was brought home, and, at the expiration of a month from the day on which he was bitten, became evidently and strangely ill. The surgeon proved beyond all shadow of doubt thai the child laboured under rabies; that he had the never-failing symptoms of that dreadful affliction; and that a little while before he expired, he even barked like a dog. The surgeon's charge to the father for his attendance was'L1. 6s. 6d.', which, together with the charge of the undertaker for the funeral of the child, amounted to between six and seven pounds. Application was made to the defendant to defray this expense, which at first he expressed a willingness to comply with, but afterwards refused; upon which this action was brought.

After some time the defendant offered to pay the plaintiff the sum of 'L6. 3s. 6d.', and the expense of the funeral and the surgeon, provided the plaintiff would bear the expenses of the lawsuit, which he was not in a condition to do, as probably it would amount to more than that money. On this account, therefore, the action was now brought into court. There was no proof that the defendant knew or suspected his dog to be mad, previously to his attacking the boy; but an animal known to have been bitten by a mad dog, ought either to have been at once destroyed, or so secured that it was impossible for him to do mischief.

Lord Kenyon observed to the jury, that this was one of those causes which came home to the feelings of all, yet must not be carried farther than justice demanded. A cause like this never, perhaps, before occurred in a court of justice; but there had been many resembling it in point of principle. If a dog, known to be ill-tempered and vicious, did any person an injury without provocation, there could be no question that the owner of the dog was answerable, in a court of justice, for the injury inflicted. Here was a worse case. The dog by whom the child was bitten had been attacked by another that was undeniably rabid. His master was aware of this, and placed him in a state of partial confinement—a confinement so lax, and so inefficient, that this poor child had broken through it, and was bitten and died. What other people would have done in such a situation he could not tell; but, if he were asked what he would do, he answered, he certainly would kill the dog, however much of a favourite he had been, because no atonement was within the reach of his fortune to make to the injured party for such a dreadful visitation of Providence as this. It was not enough for the owner of such a dog to say, he took precaution to prevent mischief: he ought to have made it impossible that mischief could happen; and, therefore, as soon as there was any reasonable suspicion that the dog was rabid, he ought to have destroyed him.

But, if the owner wished to save the animal, until he was satisfied of the actual state of the case, he ought to have secured him, so that every individual might be safe. Whether the defendant thought he had done all that was necessary, his lordship did not know; but this he knew, that the dog was not perfectly secured, otherwise this misfortune could not have happened.

The care which the defendant took in this case was not enough, and, therefore, he had no doubt that this action was maintainable. The jury would judge what damages they ought to give. He would refer this to their feelings. They could not avoid commiserating the distress of the family of this poor man. He should, however, observe to the jury, that they must not give vindictive damages; but still he did not think that damages merely to the amount of 'L6'. or 'L7'., which was stated to be the expense of the funeral, &c., would at all meet the justice of the case. He was inclined to advise them to go beyond that, although he did not plead vindictive damages. There would be costs to be defrayed by the plaintiff, well known in the profession under the head of "extra costs," even although he had a verdict. If the verdict had been at his disposal, he would have taken care that these costs should have been borne by the party that had been the cause of the injury. That appeared to him to be the justice of the case.

He trusted that none who heard him would doubt his sincerity, when he said, he lamented the misfortune which had given birth to this action; and, with that qualification of the case, he must say that he was not sorry that this action had been brought. He thanked the plaintiff for bringing it; for it might be of public benefit. It would teach a lesson that would not soon be forgotten, "That a person, who knowingly keeps a vicious, dangerous animal, should be considered to be answerable for all the acts of that animal." There were instances in which very large damages had been given to repair such injuries. He did not say that the present case called for large damages; but, if other cases of the same kind should be brought into court after this had been made public, he hoped the jury would go beyond the ordinary limits, and give verdicts which might operate 'in terrorem' on the offending parties.

Verdict for the plaintiff—damages L36. [4]

A child was bitten by a rabid dog at York, and became hydrophobous. All possibility of relief having vanished, the parents, desirous of putting an end to the agony of their child, or fearful of its doing mischief, smothered it between two pillows. They were tried for murder, and found guilty. They were afterwards pardoned; but the intention of the prosecutor was that of deterring others from a similar practice, in a like unfortunate situation [5].

In 1821, a physician, at Poissy, was sentenced to pay 8000 francs (L320) to a poor widow whose husband died of hydrophobia, in consequence of a bite from the physician's dog, he knowing that the dog had been bitten, yet not confining him.

[Our author having written so extensively upon the subject of rabies, it would seem superfluous in us to attempt to add anything more upon a subject so ably and practically handled by one having so great opportunities to make personal observations. However, to allay the feelings of many of our dogkilling citizens, we will not hesitate to assert that we do not place as much credence in the frequency of rabies as is generally done; but, on the other hand, are strongly led to believe that the accounts of this much-dreaded malady are greatly exaggerated both in this country and in England.

That there may be a few cases of rabies in our country in the course of a year, we do not doubt; but, at the same time, we are satisfied that the affection in its genuine form is quite rare, and that the great hue and cry made every season about mad dogs, is more the result of ignorance and fright than of reality.

Our limits in this publication would not allow us sufficient space to enlarge upon the many pathological questions naturally arising from a minute examination of this subject, more particularly as our views are somewhat at variance with the generally received opinion, and which, of course, we would be forced to express with considerable diffidence, owing to the impossibility of collecting such evidence as might seem necessary to substantiate any peculiar doctrine.

That tetanus, hysteria, and other spasmodic affections have often been mistaken for rabies, there is no doubt, and we can easily imagine the mental effect produced upon an individual of a highly nervous temperament, by the knowledge of his being bitten by an animal known to be hydrophobic; and we can, without difficulty, reconcile with our best judgment the belief 'that the workings of such an individual's imagination, occasioned by the never-ceasing dread of the horrid malady to which he is now exposed, might be sufficient to produce a train of symptoms somewhat resembling the actual state of rabies.'

For the benefit of these nervous unfortunates, we might say to them, that the statistics of this affection show a very considerable ratio in favour of escape from inoculation when bitten, or of entire recovery even after the development of the disease, and that there are many other ills in the catalogue of medicine that they should take equal pains to provide against as lyssa canina. We doubt not that the minds of many will be relieved, when informed that John Hunter mentions an instance, in which, out of twenty persons bitten by a rabid dog, only one suffered from the malady; and that of fifty-nine dogs inoculated by Professor Hertwick at the veterinary school of Berlin, only fourteen were affected; and of eleven patients entrusted to the care of M. Blaise of Cluny, seven recovered after exhibiting greater or less degrees of spasmodic symptoms.

It may prove interesting to our readers, to insert in these pages an account of the first two cases of rabies known in Philadelphia, and as related to us by a venerable and much-esteemed citizen, who is well known in the scientific world as a gentleman of deep research, and we agree with him in opinion, that this much-dreaded disease is most frequently the result of like causes, or rather that like symptoms often induce the belief of the presence of this malady, when, in fact, no such disease does exist.

Towards the close of the last century, there lived a tailor in Front street, near Market, in the midst of the most respectable people of that period; among the number was our esteemed friend Mr. Hembel, as also Judge Tilghman. This tailor possessed an ill-tempered little spaniel, who, lounging about the street-door, attacked every one that passed by, snapping and snarling in the most worrisome manner, more particularly at every little urchin that invaded his "right of pavement," and not unfrequently biting them or tearing their clothes from their back. The owner of the dog was appealed to on many occasions by the neighbours, begging that the quarrelsome brute should either be disposed of or kept within doors. To all these solicitations and warnings the little tailor paid no heed, but continued stitching his breeches and cribbing his customers' goods, while the ugly little spaniel, without interruption, amused himself by snapping at and biting the heels of the passers-by.

The nuisance at last became insufferable, and Judge Tilghman applied to Mr. Hembel to assist him in getting rid of this troublesome brute; the latter gentleman advised the administration of a small quantity of strychnia, concealed in a portion of meat, which proposition was agreed upon and immediately carried into execution. A short time after the administering of this dose the spaniel sickened, and retired from his post to the kitchen, which was in the basement, and where an Irish domestic was engaged in washing; the dog appeared uneasy for a time, and suddenly, being taken with the involuntary muscular convulsions that so frequently follow the administration of this powerful drug, ran around the kitchen yelping and howling at a most terrible rate, and ultimately, to the no small discomfiture and amazement of the maid, sprang up into the wash-tub, at which unceremonious caper, on the part of the dog, the woman became greatly alarmed and ran out into the street, followed by the whole household, crying mad dog, which soon produced an uproar in the neighbourhood, no one daring to satisfy himself as to the correctness of the report, and all, perhaps, too ignorant of the subject to discern the real cause of the animal's singular behaviour. The tailor, still bearing a strong attachment to his unfortunate favourite, and being somewhat more daring than his neighbours, ventured, at length, to peep into the kitchen to see the state of affairs, and seeing the dog still convulsed and foaming at the mouth, was more than ever confirmed in the belief of hydrophobia, and knowing full well the biting propensities of the animal, independent of rabies, concluded, much to the relief of every one, to shoot him. The next step in the programme was the dragging out and consigning of the patient to a watery grave, which was accomplished by placing, with a pair of tongs, a noose over the head of the animal, and thus hauling him out of the basement window amid the cheers of the assembled populace who soon cast him into the Delaware.

The second case of rabies as related to us by Mr. Hembel was as follows:—In 1793 the barbers of the city were in the habit of going around to the various boarding-houses for the purpose of shaving the visitors in their apartments, instead of accommodating them, as at the present time, in their own establishments.

One of these knights of the razor, living also in Front street, when going to and from a fashionable boarding-house in the vicinity, was not unfrequently assailed by a small cur who often took him by the heels when hurrying along.

To get rid of this annoying little animal as speedily and secretly as possible, he had recourse to the powers of strychnia, which produced in a very short time similar effects upon the poor victim, and the result was another great hue and cry about mad dogs.

These authentic and remarkable cases of hydrophobia were heralded in all the papers of the day, which, from that time forward, were filled with notes of caution to all dog-owners.

Of the 'treatment' of rabies we will make but a few remarks, as of the immense number of specifics proposed for this disease, amounting in all to several hundred, few or none can be relied on to the exclusion of the others; but those medicines, perhaps, known as opiates or anti-spasmodics, claim a larger share of attention than any others in combating the disease after its development. In looking over the very original works of Jacques Du Fouilloux, a worthy cynegetical writer of the sixteenth century, we find a prescription that was supposed by many to be an infallible specific for this disease, and as it appears to us quite as certain in its effects on the animal economy as many others of the inert substances that have been lauded to the skies both in our country and in other parts of the world as antidotes, we take the liberty of transcribing it, as also of adding a translation of his quaint French.

'Autre recepte par mots preservants la rage.'

'Ay appris vne recepte d'vn Gentil-homme, en Bretaigne, lequel faisoit de petits escriteaux, ou n'y auoit seulement que deux lignes, lesquels il mettoit en vne omellette d'oeufs, puis les faisoit aualer aux chiens qui auorient este mords de chiens enragez, et auoit dedans l'escriteau, 'Y Ran Quiran Cafram Cafratrem, Cafratrosque'. Lesquels mots disoit estre singuliers pour empescher les chiens de la rage, mais quant a moi ie n'y adiouste pas foy.

I have learned a recipe from a nobleman of Brittany, which is composed of a written charm, in which there are only two lines; these he put in an omelet of eggs, he then made the dogs that had been bitten by a rabid animal swallow them. There was on the paper "'Y Ran Quiran Cafram Cafratrem, Cafratrosque'". These words were said to be singularly efficacious in preventing madness in dogs, but for my part I do not credit it.

Although our quaint author considered the above charm even too marvellous for his belief, we give below his own prescription in which he placed implicit confidence, but, no doubt, on trial it would prove '"as singularly efficacious" as the other'.

Baing pour lauer, les chiens, quand ils ont este mords des chiens enragez, de peur qu'ils enragent.

Quand les chiens sont mords ou desbrayez de chiens enragez, il faut incontinent emplir vne pippe d'eau, puis prendre quatre boisseaux de sel et les ietter dedans, en meslaut fort le sel auec vn baston pour le faire fondre soudainement: et quand il sera fondu, faut mettre le chien dedans, et le plonger tout, sans qu'il paroisse rien, par neuf fois: puis quand il sera bien laue, faut le laisser aller, cela l'empeschera d'enrager.

When a dog has been bitten or scratched by another affected with madness, we must immediately take a tub of water and throw into it four bushels of salt, stirring it briskly with a stick to make it dissolve quickly. When the salt shall be dissolved, put the dog into the bath, and plunge him well nine times, so that the bath shall cover him each time; now that he is well washed you may let him go, as this will prevent his becoming rabid.

Having given publicity to the two preceding valuable receipts, we must be pardoned for adding our own views upon this point, as a caution to those who may not feel sufficient faith in the remedies above mentioned.

The wound should be thoroughly washed and cleansed as soon as possible after the bite is inflicted: no sucking of the parts, as is advised by many, for the purpose of extracting the poison, as the presence of a small abrasion of the lips or interior of the mouth would most assuredly subject the parts to inoculation. If the wound be ragged, the edges may be taken off with a pair of sharp scissors; the wound must then be thoroughly cauterized with nitrate of silver (lunar caustic), being sure to introduce the caustic into the very depths of the wound, so that it will reach every particle of poison that may have insinuated itself into the flesh. If the wound is too small to admit of the stick of caustic, it may be enlarged by the knife, taking care, however, not to carry the poison into the fresh cut, which can be avoided by wiping the knife at each incision. Should the wound be made on any of the limbs, a bandage may be placed around it during the application of these remedies, the more effectually to prevent the absorption of the virus. Nitrate of silver is a most powerful neutralizer of specific poisons, and the affected parts will soon come away with the slough, no dressings being necessary, except perhaps olive oil, if there should be much inflammation of the parts. If the above plan be pursued, the patient need be under no apprehension as to the result, but make his mind perfectly easy on the point. This is the course generally pursued by the veterinary surgeons of Europe, and there are but few of them who have not, some time in their practice, been bitten and often severely lacerated by rabid animals; nevertheless, we never hear of their having suffered any bad effects from such accidents. If caustic be not at hand, the wound may be seared over with red-hot iron, which will answer as good a purpose, although much more painful in its operation. Mr. Blaine, in closing his able and scientific article on this subject, very justly remarks,

"Would I could instil into such minds the 'uncertainty' of the disease appearing at all; that is, even when no means have been used; and the 'perfect security' they may feel who have submitted to the preventive treatment detailed. I have been bitten several times, Mr. Youatt several also; yet in neither of us was any dread occasioned: our experience taught us the 'absolute certainty' of the 'preventive' means; and such I take on me to pronounce they always prove, when performed with dexterity and judgment." We acknowledge ourselves a convert to this gentleman's doctrine; and feel satisfied that if the above course be adopted, there need be no fear whatever of the development of this frightful affection.—L.]



[Footnote 1: 'La Folie des Animaux', by M. Perquin.]

[Footnote 2: The physician Apollonius, having been bitten by a rabid dog, induced another dog to lick the wound,

"ut idem medicus esset qui vulneris auctor fuit."]

[Footnote 3: 'Journal Pratique de Med. Vet.']

[Footnote 4: 'Sporting Magazine', vol. xviii. p. 186.]

[Footnote 5: Daniel's 'Rural Sports', vol. i. p. 220.]



* * * * *



CHAPTER VIII.

THE EYE AND ITS DISEASES.

The diseases that attack the same organ are essentially different, in different animals, in their symptoms, intensity, progress, and mode of treatment. In periodic ophthalmia—that pest of the equine race and opprobrium of the veterinary profession—the cornea becomes suddenly opaque, the iris pale, the aqueous humour turbid, the capsule of the lens cloudy, and blindness is the result. After a time, however, the cornea clears up, and becomes as bright as ever; but the lens continues impervious to light, and vision is lost.

Ophthalmia in the dog presents us with symptoms altogether different. The conjunctiva is red; that portion of it which spreads over the sclerotica is highly injected, and the cornea is opaque. As the disease proceeds, and even at a very early period of its progress, an ulcer appears on the centre; at first superficial, but enlarging and deepening until it has penetrated the cornea, and the aqueous humour has escaped. Granulations then spring from the edges of the ulcer, rapidly enlarge, and protrude through the lids. Under proper treatment, however, or by a process of nature, these granulations cease to sprout; they begin to disappear; the ulcer diminishes; it heals; scarcely a trace of it can be seen; the cornea recovers its perfect transparency, and vision is not in the slightest degree impaired.

There is a state of the orbit which requires some consideration. It is connected with the muscles employed in mastication. Generally speaking, the food of the dog requires no extraordinary degree of mastication, nor is there usually any great time employed in this operation. That muscle which is most employed in the comminution of the food, namely, the temporal muscle, has its action very much limited by the position of the bony socket of the eye; yet sufficient room is left for all the force that can be required. In some dogs, either for purposes of offence or defence, or the more effectual grasping of the prey, a sudden violent exertion of muscular power, and a consequent contraction of the temporal muscle, are requisite, but for which the imperfect socket of the orbit does not seem to afford sufficient scope and room. There is an admirable provision for this in the removal of a certain portion of the orbital process of the frontal bone on the outer and upper part of the external ridge, and the substitution of an elastic cartilage. This cartilage momentarily yields to the swelling of the muscles; and then, by its inherent elasticity, the external ridge of the orbit resumes its pristine form. The orbit of the dog, the pig, and the cat, exhibits this singular mechanism.

The horse is, to a certain extent, also an illustration of this. He requires an extended field of vision to warn him of the approach of his enemies in his wild state, and a direction of the orbits somewhat forward to enable him to pursue with safety the headlong course to which we sometimes urge him; and for this purpose his eyes are placed more forward than those of cattle, sheep, or swine. That which Mr. Percivall states of the horse is true of our other domesticated animals:

"The eyeball is placed within the anterior or more capacious part of the orbit, nearer to the frontal than to the temporal side, with a degree of prominence peculiar to the individual, and, within certain limits, variable at his will."

In many of the carnivorous animals the orbit encroaches on the bones of the face. A singular effect is also produced on the countenance, both when the animal is growling over his prey and when he is devouring it. The temporal muscle is violently acted upon; it presses upon the cartilage that forms part of the external ridge; that again forces itself upon and protrudes the eye, and hence the peculiar ferocity of expression which is observed at that time. The victims of these carnivorous animals are also somewhat provided against danger by the acuteness of sight with which they are gifted. Adipose matter also exists in a considerable quantity in the orbit of the eye, which enables it to revolve by the slightest contraction of the muscles.

We should scarcely expect to meet with cases of fracture of the orbital arch in the dog, because, in that animal, cartilage, or a cartilago-ligamentous substance, occupies a very considerable part of that arch; but I have again and again, among the cruelties that are practised on the inferior creation, seen the cartilage partly, or even entirely, torn asunder. I have never been able satisfactorily to ascertain the existence of this during life; but I have found it on those whom I have recommended to be destroyed on account of the brutal usage which they had experienced. Blows somewhat higher, or on the thick temporal muscle of this animal, will very rarely produce a fracture.

A few cases of disease in the eye may be interesting and useful.

'Case' I.—The eyes of a favourite spaniel were found inflamed and impatient of light. Nothing wrong had been perceived on the preceding day. No ulceration could be observed on the cornea, and there was but a slight mucous discharge. An infusion of digitalis, with twenty times the quantity of tepid water, was employed as a collyrium, and an aloetic ball administered. On the following day the eyes were more inflamed, The collyrium and the aloes were employed as before, and a seton inserted in the poll.

Three or four days afterwards the redness was much diminished, the discharge from the eye considerably lessened, and the dog was sent home. The seton, however, was continued, with an aloetic ball on every third or fourth day.

Two or three days after this the eyes were perfectly cured and the seton removed.

'Case' II.—The eye is much inflamed and the brow considerably protruded.

This was supposed to be caused by a bite. I vainly endeavoured to bring the lid over the swelling. I scarified the lid freely, and ordered the bleeding to be encouraged by the constant application of warm water, and physic-ball to be given.

On the following day the brow was found to be scarcely or at all reduced, and the eye could not be closed. I drew out the haw with a crooked needle, and cut it off closely with sharp scissors. The excised portion was as large as a small-kidney-bean. The fomentation was continued five days afterwards, and the patient then dismissed cured.

'Case' III.—A pointer was brought in a sad state of mange. Redness, scurf, and eruptions were on almost every part. Apply the mange ointment and the alterative and physic balls. On the following day there was an ulcer on the centre of the cornea, with much appearance of pain and impatience of light. Apply an infusion of digitalis, with the liquor plumbi diacetatis. He was taken away on the twelfth day, the mange apparently cured, and the inflammation of the eye considerably lessened. A fortnight afterwards this also appeared to be cured.

'Case' IV.—A spaniel had been bitten by a large dog. There was no wound of the lids, but the eye was protruded from the socket. I first tried whether it could be reduced by gentle pressure, but I could not accomplish it. I then introduced the blunt end of a curved needle between the eye and the lid; and thus drawing up the lid with the right hand, while I pressed gently on the eye with the left hand, I accomplished my object. I then subtracted three ounces of blood and gave a physic-ball. On the following day the eye was hot and red, with some tumefaction. The pupil was moderately contracted, but was scarcely affected by any change of light. The dog was sent home, with some extract of goulard, and a fortnight afterwards was quite well.

'Case' V.—A dog received a violent blow on the right eye. Immediate blindness occurred, or the dog could apparently just discern the difference between light and darkness, but could not distinguish particular objects. The pupil was expanded and immovable. A pink-coloured hue could be perceived on looking earnestly into the eye. A seton was introduced into the poll, kept there nearly a month, and often stimulated rather sharply. General remedies of almost every kind were tried: depletion was carried to its full extent, the electric fluid was had recourse to; but at the expiration of nine weeks the case was abandoned and the dog destroyed. Permission to examine him was refused.

I have, in two or three instances, witnessed decided cases of dropsy of the eye, accumulation of fluid taking place in both the anterior and posterior chambers of the eye; there was also effusion of blood in the chambers, but in one case only was there the slightest benefit produced by the treatment adopted, and in that there was gradual absorption of the effused fluid.

About the same time there was another similar case. A pointer had suddenly considerable opacity of one eye, without any known cause: the other eye was not in the least degree affected. The dog had not been out of the garden for more than a week. The eye was ordered to be fomented with warm water.

On the following day the inflammation had increased, and the adipose matter was protruded at both the inner and outer canthus. The eye was bathed frequently with a goulard lotion. On the fourth day the eyeball was still more inflamed, and the projections at both canthi were increased. A curved needle was passed through both eyes, and there was considerable bleeding. On the following day the inflammation began to subside. At the expiration of a week scarcely any disease remained, and the eye became as transparent as ever.

A curious ease of congenital blindness was brought to my infirmary. A female pointer puppy, eight weeks old, had both her eyes of their natural size and formation, but the inner edge of the iris was strangely diseased. The pupil was curiously four-cornered, and very small. There hung out of the pupil a grayish-white fibrous matter, which appeared to be the remainder of the pupillary membrane.

Six months afterwards we examined her again, and found that the pupil was considerably enlarged, and properly shaped, and the white skin had vanished. In the back-ground of the eye there was a faint yellow-green light, and the dog not only showed sensibility to light, but some perception of external objects. At this period we lost sight of her.

A very considerable improvement has taken place with regard to the treatment of the enlarged or protruded ball of the eye. A dog may get into a skirmish, and have his eye forced from the socket. If there is little or no bleeding, the case will probably be easily and successfully treated.

The eye must, first, be thoroughly washed, and not a particle of grit must be left. A little oil, a crooked needle, and a small piece of soft rag should be procured. The blunt end of the needle should he dipped into the oil, and run round the inside of the lid, first above and then below. The operator will next—his fingers being oiled—press upon the protruded eye gently, yet somewhat firmly, changing the pressure from one part of the eye to the other, in order to force it back into the socket.

If, after a couple of minutes' trial, he does not succeed, let him again oil the eye on the inside and the out, and once more introduce the blunt end of the needle, attempting to carry it upwards under the lid with two or three fingers pressing on the eye, and the points of pressure being frequently changed. In by far the greater number of cases, the eye will be saved.

If it is impracticable to cause the eye to retract, a needle with a thread attached must be passed through it, the eye being then drawn as forward as possible and cut off close to the lids. The bleeding will soon cease and the lids perfectly close.

'Ophthalmia' is a disease to which the dog is often liable. It is the result of exposure either to heat or to cold, or violent exertion; it is remedied by bleeding, purging, and the application of sedative medicine, as the acetate of lead or the tincture of opium. When the eye is considerably inflamed, in addition to the application of tepid or cold water, either the inside of the lids or the white of the eye may be lightly touched with the lancet. From exposure to cold, or accident or violence, inflammation often spreads on the eye to a considerable degree, the pupil is clouded, and small streaks of blood spread over the opaque cornea. The mode of treatment just described must be pursued.

The crystalline lens occasionally becomes opaque. There is cataract. It may be the result of external injury or of internal predisposition. Old dogs are particularly subject to cataract. That which arises from accident, or occasionally disease, may, although seldom, be reinstated, especially in the young dog, and both eyes may become sound; but, in the old, the slow-growing opacity will, almost to a certainty, terminate in cataract.

There is occasionally an enlargement of the eye, or rather an accumulation of fluid within the eye, to a very considerable extent. No external application seems to have the slightest effect in reducing the bulk of the eye. If it is punctured, much inflammation ensues, and the eye gradually wastes away.

In 'amaurosis', the eye is beautifully clear, and, for a little while, this clearness imposes upon the casual observer; but there is a peculiar pellucid appearance about the eye—a preternatural and unchanging brightness. In the horse, the sight occasionally returns, but I have never seen this in the dog.

The occasional glittering of the eyes of the dog has been often observed. The cat, the wolf, some carnivora, and also sheep, cows, and horses, occasionally exhibit the same glittering. Pallas imagined that the light of these animals emanated from the nervous membrane of the eye, and considered it to be an electrical phenomenon. It is found, however, in every animal that possesses a 'tapetum lucidum'. The shining, however, never takes place in complete darkness. It is neither produced voluntarily, nor in consequence of any moral emotion, but solely from the reflection that falls on the eye.

[The eye and its diseases being so concisely treated by Mr. Youatt, we are emboldened to add a more full and particular treatise on this interesting subject, couched in language the most simple, and we trust sufficiently plain to be understood by the most unscientific patron of the canine race.



THE EYE AND ITS DISEASES.

THE NICTITATING MEMBRANE.

It is somewhat astonishing that an organ, so delicate and so much exposed as the eye of the hunting dog necessarily is, should not more frequently be attacked with disease, or suffer from the thorns, poisonous briars, and bushes that so constantly oppose their progress while in search of game. Nature, ever wise in her undertakings, while endowing this organ with extreme sensibility, also furnished it with the means of protecting itself in some measure against the many evils that so constantly threaten its destruction.

The plica semilunaris, haw or nictitating membrane, though not as largely developed in the dog as in some other animals, is, nevertheless, of sufficient size to afford considerable protection to the ball of the eye, and assists materially in preventing the accumulation of seeds and other minute particles within the conjunctiva. This delicate membrane is found at the inner canthus of the eye, and can be drawn at pleasure over a portion of the globe, so as to free its surface from any foreign substances that might be upon it. Although the eye of the dog is attacked by many diseases, almost as numerous as those of the human being, still they are much less frequent and far more tractable.

OPTHAMALIA—SIMPLE INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE.

In its mild form this disease is frequently met with, and easily yields to the administration of the proper remedies, but when it appears as an epidemic, in a kennel, it proves more stubborn. The discharge in epidemic ophthalmia, when carried from one dog to the eyes of another, no doubt is contagious, and, therefore, it is necessary to separate dogs as much from each other as possible during any prevalent epidemic of this nature.

The disease announces itself by slight redness of the conjunctiva, tenderness to light, and increased flow of the secretions.

The eyeball appears retracted in its socket, and more moist and transparent than usual. The infected vessels of the conjunctiva form a species of net-work, and can be moved about with this membrane, showing that the inflammation is entirely superficial, and not penetrating the other coverings of the eye. Extravasation of blood within the conjunctiva, (bloodshot,) is also not an uncommon appearance, but is frequently the first symptom that draws our attention to the malady.

As the disease progresses, the conjunctiva becomes more vascular, the photophobia intolerable, the cornea itself becomes opaque, and sometimes exhibits a vascular appearance. There is considerable itching of the ball, as evinced by the disposition of the dog to close the eye. If the disease progresses in its course, unchecked by any remediate means, the cornea may lose its vitality, ulceration commence, and the sight be for ever destroyed by the bursting and discharge of the contents of the eye.

'Causes.'—Simple canine opthalmia proceeds from many causes, distinct in their character, but all requiring pretty much the same treatment. Bad feeding, bad lodging, want of exercise, extremes of heat, and cold, are the most active agents in producing this affection.

'Treatment.'—The disease in its mild form is very tractable, and requires but little attention; soothing applications, in connexion with confinement to an obscure apartment and low diet, will generally correct the affection in its forming stage.

In all inflammations of the eye, tepid applications we consider preferable to cold, the latter producing a temporary reaction, but no permanent good, while the former exerts a soothing and relaxing influence over the tissues and parts to which they are applied.

Weak vinegar and water, with a small proportion of laudanum, we have frequently seen used with advantage as a wash in this complaint.

When there is fever, it will be necessary to bleed, and purge. Scarifying the conjunctiva with the point of a lancet, has been resorted to by some veterinary surgeons with success.

CHRONIC OPHTHALMIA.

When the disease assumes this form, the discharge from the eyes is lessened, and becomes more thick, the conjunctiva is not of such a bright arterial red, but more of a brick-dust colour, and the inner side of the lids when exposed will present small prominences and ulcerations.

'Treatment.'—More stimulating collyria will now be necessary, as solutions of sulphate of zinc, copper, acetate of lead, &c. See No. 1, 2, 3, of the Collyria. The direct application of sulphate of copper, or nitrate of silver, will often be of great benefit in changing the action of the parts.

The lids should be turned down and brushed over two or three times with the above articles in substance, and the dog restrained for a few moments to prevent him from scratching during the temporary pain inflicted upon him by the application.

Laudanum dropped in the eye will also prove very beneficial, allaying the itching and pain, at the same time stimulating the organs to renewed action. If the disease does not succumb under this treatment, a seton placed in the pole will generally conquer it.

TRAUMATIC OPHTHALMIA

is produced by wounds of poisoned briars, stings of insects, bites of other dogs, the scratching of cats, or the actual presence of foreign bodies in the eye itself, which latter cause frequently occurs, and is often overlooked by the sportsman.

'Treatment'.—This species of ophthalmia is best subdued by the application of emollient poultices, depletion, purgation and cooling washes. If a seed, small briar, or other substance has got in under the lids, or inserted itself in the globe of the eye, the dog keeps the eye closed, it waters freely, and in a short time becomes red and inflamed. The removal of the article alone, will generally produce a cure; sometimes it is necessary to use a cooling wash and administer a purge or two. Great care should he had for the extraction of extraneous substances from the eyes of dogs, as their presence often causes great suffering to the animal even while diligently employed in the field. The writer has seen dogs more than once rendered useless while hunting, by grass, cloverseeds, or other small particles burying themselves under the lids.

'Ophthalmia of Distemper'.—This species of inflammation will be spoken of when treating of this latter affection.

SYMPATHETIC OPHTHALMIA

arises from the presence of some other disease located in another portion of the body, as derangement of the stomach, mange, surfeit, &c. The presence of one of these affections will indicate the cause of the other.

'Treatment'.—Soothing applications to the organ itself, and remedies for the removal of the primary affection.

HYDROPHTHALMIA

though not a common affection in the canine race, is occasionally met with; several cases have come under the observation of the writer, and no doubt there are but few dog-fanciers who have not seen the eyeballs of some dog suffering with this malady, ready to start from their sockets.

This affection depends upon a superabundance of the humours of the eye, occasioned by over-secretion, or a want of power in the absorbent vessels to carry off the natural secretions of the parts.

Old dogs are more apt to suffer from this disease than young dogs: nevertheless, the latter are not by any means exempt; we once saw a pup, a few days old, with the globe of the eye greatly extended by this affection.

As the disease progresses, the eye becomes more hard and tender, the sight is greatly impaired, and ultimately, if not arrested, the eye bursts, discharges its contents, and total blindness ensues, greatly to the relief of the poor animal.

'Treatment'.—This disease is very intractable, and is to be combated by saline purges, bleeding, and stimulating application to the organ itself. Mercurial ointment, rubbed over the eyebrow, will assist in stimulating the absorbents.

When the disease has progressed for a long time, and the pain, as is often the case, seems intense, it will save the animal great suffering, by opening the ball and allowing the humours to escape. This may be done by puncturing the cornea or the sclerotic coat with a needle. Setons introduced along the spine would have a good effect.

CONGENITAL BLINDNESS

occasionally occurs throughout a whole litter, no doubt being entailed upon the progeny of those dogs who have defective vision, or who are old and infirm at the time of copulation. The best and only remedy is speedy drowning.

CATARACT

consists in the partial or complete opacity of the crystalline lens; it results from numerous causes, and is more frequent in the old than the young subject. In old dogs both eyes are usually attacked, producing absolute blindness, while in young animals one eye alone is generally attacked.

'Causes.'—Old age, hard work, and bad feeding, are the agents most active in the production of this affection; it generally comes on slowly, but sometimes very quickly.

When the disease occurs in young dogs, it is generally the result of wounds or blows over the head, convulsions and falls.

'Treatment.'—Little can be accomplished towards curing this disease either in the old or young dog, as the disease, in spite of all our efforts, will run its course, and terminate in total opacity of the lens. Mild purging, blistering on the neck, introduction of the seton, and blowing slightly stimulating powders into the eye, will sometimes arrest the progress of the disease in the young dog.

ULCERATIONS ON THE CORNEA

are sometimes very troublesome, and if not put a stop to, will often cause opacity and blindness, if not total destruction of the eye.

Slightly stimulating washes and purges are useful; the careful application of nitrate of silver will often induce the ulcer to heal; it must be put on very nicely and gently.

SPOTS ON THE CORNEA

are the result of ulcers and inflammation. If they do not materially interfere with vision, they had better be left alone.