The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1861-06-11 00:00:00

SUCCFASFUL TREATMENT OF TRAUMATIC
TETAN US.

At the weekly council of the Royal Agricultural
Society of England, a communication was read on the
successful treatment of traumatic tetanus in the horse,
by a member of the Royal College of Veteriaary Sur.
pans, who has been up wards of twenty years in practice.
The writer data; that after be had repeatedly tried in all
ways, but with no good result, Use system of bleeding,
physieking, and blistering, which puts the animal to
much useless pain and torture, but which all the pro-
(man's, books, and magasiner of the day concurred in
advocating, he determined at all risks to alter his treat-
went; which intention he has carried out with complete
success in three cares, the only ones which have come
under his management since this resolution was
adopted.
Ho reports these cases with the names and addresses
of the owners, that any one who is disproved to do so
may satidy hiniseU of the authenticity of these cures.
The statement is as follows:

"The first horse belonged to Mr, John Inglis, who
has extensive wills, called Brunston Mills, near E iin-
burgh; this annual, when drawing • cart jumped npinto
s loa led cart, mid as he came down again.the point of •
bolt in the side of the cart tore open his leg, the wound
twing About one fo4 in length ; he was plaoed under
toy charge, and the wound soot healed satisfactorily;
hut shout tun weeks later tetanus came on, and I was
again called in. I then decided on changing my mode
of treatment, and, after giving one cl.sui of physic and
taking coins blood, I had hill' wrapped from bead to tail
in large woollen rugs wrung ont in nearly boiling water,
and plsood in a quict box, inhere no jargon was allowed
to go but the attendaot, who was ordered quietly to
pour a pail of very hot water over his covering every
four ham ; be had water to drink if be would, but no
opium, no blister, no hyoacyanius, no aconite, ne physic.,
beyond the one dune. In eight days hi, was as well as
ever, and continued so.

In' the second case the horse had belonged to Mr. A.
Douglas. an extensive corn merchant and fanner of
Mayfield, near Dalkeith. A largo tumour grew oil the
olecranon of this animal, which was probably occasioned
by pressure when lying down. (N.B.—The streets of
Edinburgh are steep, and high heels are used on the
horses' shoes.) The horoe underwent medical treatment
but without effect, and was so unsightly that its owner
&wooed of it for little or nothing to • customer of his.
Mr. Cauipbell, an extensive brewer in Edinburgh, audit
Urns cams %alder my charge.
Suspecting that the tumour was connected with the
jciut, I declined to use the knife, and attempted urr
snouessfully to destroy it with caustic ; at last the I
deformity became so great that the horse could not be
ACM Otlt to work, and I got orders to operate at all I
risks. I then directed • pair of iron slams to be made
about 12 inches long, with a screw in each end, for the
purpose of coming by pressure the opening into the
joint, if any such existed ; theme were applied and
tightened daily ; in five days the weight of the tumour
was pressing the weight of the under screw into tho
muscles of the aria. I had then to remove the tumour,
weighing nearly 11b. ; the glues were soon remoeed,
and the healing of the wound wee advancing favourably
until about two weeks later, when I received word that
the horse was not looking so well, aud found that he
had tetanus. I then put him under the treatment
already described, when he soon got well, and has
worked ever since, the part operated upon bearing
scarcely any mark or war.
Thirdly. Mr. Sheila, of Miles, near franent, employed
Die to perform an operation on a blood horse, toe
horse was irritable, lout the wounds healed well. When
he was supposed to be perfectly safe, I called one day
in passing, and discovered, to may great mortification
that my patient had tetanus; the same treatment
which I had before adopted woe pursued for • week,
when he recovered perfectly, and was taken in May
last (1850) to a farm belonging to fillin Sheila, in the
neighbourhood of Newcastle, where he was quite well
the last time I heard of him.—lbid.