27
SUMMARY OF RESULTS OBTAINED FROM INVESTIGATIONS WITH THE INGESTA
A PERIOD OF OBSERVATION, BEFORE AND SUCCEEDING INOCULATION WITH S
Animals untreated—Horse No. LXXXIX (2nd Series).
Mule No. I.
Do. No. II.
Horse No. LXXXIX.
The following are the condensed results, obtained from the investigation into the in-
gesta and egesta of Horse No. LXXXIX, an Australian gelding which had been subjected
to Surra in 1893, and successfully treated with Arsenic and the Iodides of Arsenic and
Mercury.
After a short period of observation, viz., 14 days, this animal had a trace of soiled blood
containing very numerous hæmatazoa inserted into a scratch on the muzzle, with a view to
ascertain, whether one attack of Surra protects a horse against a second attack of the
same disease. No immunity however was conferred.
Water drunk.—The average daily quantity of water drunk during the period of health
was 27.24 litres; it increased four litres in the latent period, fell again during the first
paroxysm and intermission, and again increased to 33.56 litres in the second paroxysm, the
quantity then fell to a little below that of the health period. For the whole case the
average daily quantity was 28.84 litres or 6.3 gallons.
Water in Food.—In addition to the above a mean daily average of 4.95 litres (10.89 lbs.)
of water was taken in with the food, equal to a total of 33.79 litres or 7.4 gallons. The
ratio of the water egested to ingested was in health 1 : 1.5, while in the intermissions it fell
to 1: 1.76, the paroxysmal ratio being intermediate, 1: 1.68.
The amount of water ingested daily during health was 1/16th of the body weight,
whereas towards the end of paroxysm III it had fallen to 1/30th.
Food.—This consisted of hay, lucerne, gram and bran. The ration contained a daily
average of 0.429 lbs. of Nitrogen.
The animal weighed at the commencement of the experiment 1,056.6 lbs. and at death,
73 days later, 771.6 lbs., shewing a loss in body-weight of 285 lbs., equal to 26.97%. The
difference between the Nitrogen ingested in the food, and egested in the urine, dung, &c.,
during the same period amounted to 6.6873 lbs., equivalent, according to European inves-
tigations, to 200.619 lbs. of flesh. This loss by Nitrogen was 70.39 per cent. of the total loss
of body-weight, leaving 29.61 per cent. due to carbonic acid, moisture, &c.
Urine.—The average quantity passed daily in England by horses in health, at rest
and at work is 4,935 c.c. and 4,474 c.c. respectively (F. W. Smith). In this case in health
the animal was passing 6,257 c.c., which was increased after inoculation to 8,284 c.c. and
in the paroxysms it averaged 8,750 c.c., decreasing somewhat in the intermissions to 8,006
c.c. The average quantity passed daily throughout the whole case was 8,176 c.c., of which
34.10% was passed during the 12 hours, 6 P.M. to 6 A.M.
Urine was voided more frequently from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M., but less urine was passed
during that part of the 24 hours.
Urea.—The average daily output in health was 115.89 grammes ; it increased by 31.56
grammes daily during the latent period, and rose to a daily total of 206.42 grammes during
the paroxysms ; in the intermissions, which only lasted three and two days respectively, it
averaged 190.38 grammes. The average output for the 73 days that the case lasted, was
182.26 grammes, a quantity nearly double the normal output of similar horses in England.
Of this latter quantity 42.65 % was passed between 6 P.M. and 6 A.M., and 57.35 % during
the remaining 12 hours.
The ratio of Urea to Urine.—The average of this in Europe for horses at rest is 1: 50.1
and at work 1: 45.4. In this case the animal was having walking exercise daily, and his
average ratio in health was 1: 54.08, in latent period 1: 56.18, in paroxysms 1: 42.39, and
in intermissions 1: 42.05. While for the whole period it was 1 : 44. 86.
Hippuric Acid.—In health this animal passed 25.02 grammes daily, being in excess of
the amount stated for healthy animals in England, viz. 15.58 grammes (Smith). In the
latent period it was 16.38 grammes, but during the first and second paroxysms it fell
to 1.49 and 1.27 grammes daily respectively. During the first and second intermissions
and third paroxysm no hippuric acid was excreted.
Albumen.—There was a slight trace of albumen during paroxysm I, the fifth day of
the disease, but until the commencement of paroxysm III it was absent from the urine.
Then it appeared in large quantities, as much as 116.112 grammes being passed in 24 hours
during paroxysm III. The average daily amount of albumen during this period lasting
23 days was 38.253 grammes.
Total Solids in Urine.—The mean daily output during 73 days was 501.81 grammes.
The largest quantity 615.91 grammes was passed during the latent period of the disease,
whilst the smallest quantity, viz., 448.22 grammes, was passed during the intermissions.
This consisted chiefly of carbonate of lime in suspension in the urine, and urea, hippuric
acid, albumen, &c., in solution.
Dung.—The average quantity passed daily throughout the whole case was 34.93 lbs., of
which 51.74 % was passed between 6 P.M. and 6 A.M. Least dung was passed during the
period 6 A.M. and noon, viz., 17.57%, but in the 12 hours of day, 6. A.M. to 6 P.M., nearly
half the total quantity was evacuated.