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BLAINE'S OUTLINES OF THE VETERINARY ART; OR, A TREATISE

ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, AND CURATIVE T

DISEASES OF THE HORSE,

AND, SUBOBDINATELY, OF THOSE OF

NEAT CATTLE AND SHEEP.

ILLUSTRATED BY SURGICAL AND ANATOMICAL PLATES.

e SIXTH EDITION, REVISED THROUGHOUT, AND CONSIDERABLY IMPROVED, BY THE INTRODUCTION OF MANY IMPOIITANT SUBJECTS BOTH IN THE FOREIGN AND BRITISH PRACTICE OF THE ART, * BY EDWARD MAYHEW, M.R.C.V.S. AUTHOR OF " THE HORSE'S MOUTH," &c. &c.

LONDON: LONGMAN, BROWN, AND CO. J SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO. ; HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. ; WHITTAKEB AND CO. ; HOULSTON AND CO. ; H. RENSHAW ; J- CHURCHILL ; H. G. BOHN ; R. GRIFFIN AND CO. ; AND S. HIGHLEY. EDINBURGH : MACLACHLAN AND STEWART. 1854.

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			LONDON : gilbert and rivington, printers, st. john*s square.

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					ADVERTISEMENT.
			The Proprietors of Blaine's Veterinary Art, being desirous to keep the Book even with the knowledge of the day, have entrusted it to a gentleman of professional standing for re- vision ; how much has been done to it the changed aspect of the Work fully testifies. Sheets of antiquated opinions have been removed, while several new articles have been added; the pages have been printed in a larger and a more elegant type ; new copper-plates have taken the place of the old ones; and several wood-cuts have been distributed through the text, to illustrate the anatomical division of the treatise. The whole, they now trust, assumes so im- proved a character as to render it deserving of the patronage which the time, labour, and expense, devoted to the new edition, entitles them to expect. Paternoster Row, May, 1854.
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			PREFACE.
		The Editor of the new edition of Blaine's Veterinary Art has small occasion to remind the public of his labours; the altered appearance of the Book will alone testify how much has been done to it. He, however, may with pride point to the copper-plates, brilliantly executed by H. Adlard, Esq.; while no one acquainted with the nicety and firmness of pencil requisite for anatomical delineations, but will at once recognize the artistic handling of W. Bagg, Esq., in the original drawings. Now that his labours are finished, and the Book upon the eve of publication, the Editor feels there is some reason for pride; though, at the same time, some cause for regret at the omissions and defects which, on a close inspection, he is conscious may be detected in it. For any objection that may be taken to the punctuation of the anatomy he is, of course, alone responsible; semi- colons being in this portion of the work introduced more frequently than is calculated to please the general reader. Of this he is fully aware. But having presided over an anato- mical school he studied to suit the convenience of those to whom this section especially appeals, so that they might re- peatedly look from the book to the subject before them, and still have some slight license for such frequent interruptions. 7, London Street, Norfolk Square, May, 1854.

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			INTRODUCTION.
		If the animals domesticated by man be essentially necessary to his comfort and convenience, no apology need be offered for attempting to reduce into a system the art of preserving them in health and removing their diseases; which practice must be founded on an intimate acquaintance with the structure, functions, and economy of such creatures: these acquirements, therefore, form the groundwork of what is called the Veterinary Art. The deplorable state of this art in Great Britain has, until lately, been animadverted upon by every one who has written on the subject; the principal cause of which appears to have been the total abandonment of every rule by per- sons of proverbial ignorance. The value of animals, par- ticularly of the horse, is a theme that has exercised the attention of thousands; nevertheless the preservation of their health has long been consigned to the groom, as the treatment of their diseases has devolved on the maker of their shoes. The study was regarded as beneath the station of educated men, and the practice as derogatory to the cha- racter of a gentleman. But, at length, mankind becoming wiser are disposed to receive this study among the liberal arts, and to regard the profession of it as no longer incompatible with the pre- tensions of the scholar. The establishment of a Veterinary

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		VI                                              INTRODUCTION.
			College has tended much to this change; and the benefits derived from the excellent practitioners who have emanated from that institution, have further added to the dignity and importance of the new art. There are, however, persons desirous to obtain information on the subject who cannot apply to this source ; and there also are others, who, having enjoyed those advantages, still wish for a condensed treatise, to revive in their memories the fleeting remembrances of former instruction. Among the first are such farriers as are sensible of their own defects, and anxious to repair them, but who cannot leave their homes : for these persons former publications have hardly been directing-posts. Too many of the class called farriers, however, even yet are not willing to trouble themselves with learning, nor to acknowledge that they need it; hence they obstinately maintain, that nothing is necessary but what is already known; that theirs is purely a mechanical art, learned by imitation, and that it descends in perpetuity from father to son. "We even, to our regret, find one of their body boldly combating against improvement in the following terms:— " Whatever may be written by those newfangled farriers of the advantages resulting from a minute knowledge of anatomy, nothing in their practice has proved its utility." Fortunately, however, for the horse, the well-informed now think very differently; they are fully aware that to the study of anatomy and physiology we are indebted for our improved methods of treating diseases. By dissections many important errors have been detected. We now are aware that the gangrenous state of the lungs, which the older farriers attributed to chronic disease, is the simple effect of active congestion. The different diseases of the bowels, notwithstanding their anomalous symptoms, are likewise illustrated. We have been enabled to make the

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			INTRODUCTION.		Vll
		important distinction between spasmodic and flatulent colic. It is also from the same sources, that we have been taught many bowel complaints are the effect of strangulation, introsusception, and hernial displacements. From these, likewise, we now recognize the disease called molten grease to be no mechanical melting of the animal fat, but a dysen- teric attack on the mucous surface of the intestines. To what but anatomy and physiology do we owe our present acquaintance with the diseases of the feet ? And if the services we require of the animal are such as to prevent our conquering all of them, we yet have greatly miti- gated the sufferings of the animal. We now avoid torturing the shoulder, as the seat of almost every lameness which occurs. We are also enabled to relieve the horse from the agony consequent upon navicular disease by neurotomy. To an acquaintance with the anatomy of the eye it is that we no longer attribute ophthalmia to an enlargement of the haw. This knowledge has prevented us from cruelly de- priving the horse of a necessary organ, as a remedy for an imaginary disease. Have anatomy and physiology, there- fore, taught us nothing? The subject-matter of the Veterinary Outlines have been divided into Four Natural Parts. The first of these comprises what may be termed the collateral branches of the art, as the history of the horse, &c. &c. The second division of the work is occupied by an anato- mical description of the several parts of the body. The third division of the work is allotted to the practice of the veterinary art, or to the curative treatment of each disease. The fourth division is dedicated to the Veterinary Materia Medica, or the chemical and pharmaceutical nature of drugs.

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		Viii                                       INTRODUCTION. To the whole is added a copious Index, by which means subjects otherwise disjointed may be drawn together into one point of view; and by aid of which the reader will be readily enabled to find any subject he wishes under the term that is familiar to him.

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					CONTENTS.
		SECTION I. HISTORY OP VETERINARY MEDICINE. PAGE Was first sown in Greece ; next nurtured in Rome—Languished during the dark ages—Revived in the sixteenth century—Aided by the translation of the writings of Vegetius—The succeeding age still further cultivated it—The eighteenth century marked by veterinary writings of acknow- ledged merit, and by the establishment of the first public school of the art—The subsequent march of veterinary science may be legibly traced in the works of the many eminent authors who have since written on it. 1—4 SECTION II. HISTORY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE IN GREAT BRITAIN. Our first improvements were coupled with the arts of the menage borrowed from France and Germany—The early writings on the subject were mostly translations from the French—The English school was stimulated by the works of Sollysel, towards the middle of the last century ; Great Britain also began to furnish native writers and eminent practitioners— History of the Veterinary College—A short sketch of the more promi- nent English writers on the subject......4—6 SECTION III. THE HISTORY OF THE VETEBINARY COLLEGE. St. Bel makes two attempts to found a Veterinary School—He is appointed professor—Review of his deserts—Messrs. Coleman and Moorcroft ap- pointed to succeed him—Medical Committee established—Review of Coleman's character—Succeeding professors up to the present time—Her Majesty grants a Charter to the Veterinary Profession          . .          6—11 SECTION IV. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE. Whether Job had horses, discussed—Change of breed induced by altera- tions in National customs—Comparison made between horse and dog— The external conformation of the horse—The teeth as indications of the age—Also to be depended upon in other animals—Exterior conforma- tion continued—The Colours and Markings of Horses . . . 11—50 SECTION V. THE CONDITION OF HORSES. The Conventional Term of Condition, its real meaning—Morbid Condition —System of getting a Horse into Condition—Injury of purgatives as promoters of condition          .                ......51—55

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					CONTENTS.
			X
		SECTION VI. STABLING OF HORSES. PAGE The Stable itself—Summering of Hunters—Summering at grass—Food of Horses—Grooming—Exercise ....... 55—59 SECTION VII. THE ANATOMY OF THE HORSE.--THE BONES. Description of Plate I.—The Composition of Bones—Bones of the Skull— Of the Face—The Posterior Jaw—Anatomy of the Teeth—Bones of the Trunk—The Vertebrae—Pelvic Bones—The Coccygeal Bones—Bones of the Thorax : Costae or Ribs, Sternum—Bones of the Anterior Extremities— Scapula or Shoulder-blade Bone—Humerus or Real Arm—Radius and Ulna —Carpus or Knee—Metacarpus or Cannon—Small Metacarpals or Splint Bones, Suff'raginis or Pastern, Lesser Pastern and Foot Bones—Bones of the Posterior Extremities—The Femur or true Thigh Bone—Patella or Stifle—Tibia or Leg Bone, and the Fibula—Tarsus or Hock Bones— Mechanical Structure of this latter assemblage—Metacarpal, Coronary, and Coffin Bones—The Mechanism of the Skeleton considered . 59—90 SECTION VIII. OF THE APPENDAGES TO BONE. Cartilages Articular — Non-articular, Attached and Unattached — Peri- osteum, Medulla or Marrow, Connecting and Capsular Ligaments ; Syno- via ............90—92 SECTION IX. OF MHSCLES. Description of Plate II.—Muscles, their Structure and Functions — Voluntary and Involuntary — Tendons, Aponeuroses, Fascias—Mus- cles of the Head and Neck—Of the Trunk and Abdomen—Muscles of the Anterior Extremity—Of the Posterior Extremity—Description of Plate III............92—118 SECTION X. OF BCRS/E MUCOSA. Organs of Anti-attrition, as Mucous Capsules and Mucous Sheaths to the Extensor and Flexor Tendons.......118,119 SECTION XI. OF ARTERIES AND VESSELS, Description of PUte IV.—The Vessels of the Body—Arteries, their Struc- ture and Function — Uses of Absorbents — The Pulse, and its vari- ous indications—Mean Pulsations per minute—Differences under varied circumstances—Where most conveniently felt in the Horse—Variations a guide to our judgment in Disease—Distribution of the Arteries—An- terior Aorta—Furnishes the Fore Extremity—Carotids—Supply the Head —The Posterior Aorta—Distribution to the Trunk and Hind Extremity ■—Pulmonary Arteries. Veins, Structure and Functions—The Anterior Cava—The Posterior Cava— The Vena Portse........119-149

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CONTENTS.

XI

SECTION XII. OF THE NERVES. PAGE Description of Plate V.—The Brain—The Cerebral Nerves—The Spinal Nerves—Distribution of the Spinal Nerves—Nerves of the Fore Extre- mities—Of the Hinder Extremities—Physiology of the Nervous Sys- tem ............149—166

SECTION XIII. OP GLANDULAR STRUCTURES. The Structure, Functions, and Distribution of the Glands—Their Division into Folliculose, Glomerate and Conglomerate Masses . . 166—168

SECTION XIV. OF THE VARIOUS VISCERA. Teaches the Knowledge of the Viscera of the Body and its Coverings— The Common Integuments—The Hair—-The Cuticle and Cutis—Sense of Touch—Adipose Membrane and Fat—Subcutaneous Muscles—Panni- culus Carnosus. Of the Head Structurally—Description of Plate VI.—The Outer Ear —The Inner Ear—Sense of Hearing—The Eye, Anatomy of—'Physio- logy of Vision—The Nose—Physiology of Smelling—The Cavity of the Mouth—Its Muscles, Lips, Gums, Bars, Palate, Palatine Arch, and Tongue—Physiology of Tasting—The Cavities of the Pharynx and Larynx—Functions of Mastication and Deglutition—Glands of the Head : the Parotid, Submaxillary and Sublingual, as Salivary Glands—The Neck, anatomically considered—Trachea and Oesophagus—Description of Plate VII. Anatomy of the Chest : Its Pleurae, costal, pulmonic, and mediastinal —The Diaphragm—The Heart: its Auricular and Ventricular Cavities, and Valvular Apparatus ; Physiology of its Agency in the Circulation of the Blood — The Lungs; Physiology of Respiration—Nature and Properties of the Blood ; Aeration of it in the Blood ; becomes the source of Animal Heat—Description of Plate VIII. Anatomy of the Abdomen : Abdominal Regions—The Stomach ; Phy- siology of Digestion—The Intestines—The Economy of the Intestines— in continuing the Digestive Process—The Liver—The Pancreas and Spleen, the Renal Capsules and Kidneys—Anatomy of the Pelvis—The Bladder—Physiology of the Urinary Secretion—The Male Organs of Generation—The Female Organs—Description of Plate IX. . 168—250 SECTION XV. REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. Physiology of the Work of Generation—GSstrum or Heat—Generative Act—Conception and Pregnancy, Gestatory Period of the Mare, Par- turition or Foaling—Lactation or Suckling—The Fcetal Colt and his Organization ; the Fcetal Circulation ; Descent of his Testicles and Evo- lution of his Form to the Adult Period—Anatomy and Physiology of the Foot—Structure and Economy—External Parts—Internal Parts—De- scription of Plate X.........250—266

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					CONTENTS.
			XH
		THE DISEASES OF THE HORSE, &c. &c. PAGE Of Disease generally.........269—271 CHAPTER I. OF PURE FEVER. Simple Fever in Horses—Diffused or General Inflammation in Horses— Epidemic Catarrhal Fever in the Horse—Symptomatic Fever—Pur- pura Hsemorrhagica—Fevers of Horned Cattle—Dropping after Calving —Garget or Inflammation of the Udder in Cows—Hoose, Cough or Cold in Cattle—Influenza or Epidemic Catarrh in Cattle—The Vesicular Dis- ease in Cattle, or the Epidemic of 1841-42 .... 271—299 CHAPTER II. MADNESS, OR PHRENITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN IN HORSES. Madness, Phrenitis, or Inflammation of the Brain—Mad, Sleepy, and Sto- mach Staggers—Pneumonia or Inflammation of the Lungs—Pleurisy— Pleuro-Pneumonia—Inflamed Lungs in Neat Cattle — In Sheep—Inflam- mation of the Heart—Inflammation of the Muscular Coat of the Intes- tines—Inflammation of their Mucous Surface, or Dysentery—Peritonitis, or Inflammation of the Outer Coat of the Intestines—Inflamed Bowels in Neat Cattle—Inflammation of the Liver—In Neat Cattle—Inflamma- tion of the Kidneys—Hcematuria in Cattle—Inflammation of the Bladder —Spasm of the Neck of the Bladder—Inflammation of the Womb 299—341 CHAPTER III. INFLAMMATION OF MUCOUS MEMBRANES. Simple Catarrh, or Common Cold—Sore Throat—Bronchitis—Roaring— Chronic Cough—Thick Wind—Broken Wind—Glanders—Farcy—Dy- sentery—In Cattle.........341—374 CHAPTER IV. DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVES. General Considerations of the Nervous System—Phrenitis—Apoplexy— Megrims—Paralysis, or Palsy—Spasm—Tetanus, or Locked Jaw— Stringhalt..........374—385 CHAPTER V. DISEASES OF THE ALIMENTARY CANAL. Spasmodic Colic—Colic in Horned Cattle—Chronic Indigestion—Acute Indigestion, or Stomach Staggers—Hove, or Blown in Cattle—Lampas —Worms—Parasitic Animals in Cattle—Costiveness—Diarrhoea—Ditto in Cattle—Scouring in Calves—Cribbiting—Morbid Displacements of the Intestines—Hernia—Reduction of Strangulated Hernia—Hernia Con- genital—Involutions, Strictures, and Invaginations of the Intestines 385—407

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CONTENTS.

Xlll

CHAPTER VI. DISEASES OP THE GLANDS. PAGE Jaundice—Yellows—In Cattle and Sheep—True Red Water in Cattle— Hematuria, or Bloody Urine—Profuse Staling         . . . 407—412

CHAPTER VII. DISEASED COLLECTIONS OF FLUID WITHIN CIRCUMSCRIBED CAVITIES. Hydrocephalus Internus, or Dropsy of the Head—Hydrothorax, or Dropsy of the Chest—Operation of Paracentesis Thoracis—Hydrops Pericardii, or Dropsy of the Pericardium—Ascites, or Dropsy of the Belly 412—417

CHAPTER VIII. DISEASED COLLECTIONS OF FLUID WITHIN THE CELLULAR MEMBRANE. Anasarca—Water Farcy—G3dema of the Extremities, or Swelled Legs— Ecchymosis, or Extravasation of Blood—Emphysema, or Extravasation of Gas............417—422

CHAPTER IX. CALCULUS, OR STONY CONCRETIONS. Calculus Concretions—Intestinal Calculi, or Stones in the Intestines—Uri- nary, or Stone in the Kidneys—Vesicular, or Stone in the Bladder 422—425

CHAPTER X. ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL POISONS. Rabies or Madness—The Bites of Venomous Reptiles—Vegetable Poisons —Mineral Poisons. Principles and Doctrine of Local Inflammation—Characters of Local Inflammation—Adhesive Process—Suppurative Process—Gangrene 425—436 CHAPTER XI. WOUNDS. Surgical Treatment of Wounds generally—Particular Wounds—Of the Head—Of the Neck—Of the Chest—Rupture of the Diaphragm— Wounds of the Abdomen—Wounds of Articular and Bursal Cavities, or Wounds of the Joints generally—-Wound into the Knee Joint particu- larly—Knees Broken without penetrating the Joint—Wounds of the Arteries—Of the Veins—Inflammation of the Veins         . . 436—454

CHAPTER XII, OF ABSCESS. Acute Abscess—Strangles— Warbles            . » . . . 455—459

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		XIV                                                CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. OP CHRONIC ABSCESS AND ULCERATION. PAGE Ulcerative Process—Individual Ulcerations : Poll Evil—Fistulous Withers —Salivary Fistulse—Of the Parotid Gland .... 459—466 CHAPTER XIV. SPRAINS, OR STRAINS. Membranous and Ligamentary Injuries called Strains or Sprains, considered generally—Shoulder Strain—Strain of the Flexor Tendons, or their liga- mentous Connexions—Overreach-—Rupture of the Suspensory Ligaments —Rupture of the Back Sinew—Strain of the Fetlock Joint—Sprain of the Ligaments of the Femur—Of the Patellee or Stifle—Bruises—Rheu- matism Acute and Chronic—In Cattle—Sitfast—Indurated Elbow- Point ...........466—478 CHAPTER XV. OP ENCYSTED SWELLINGS. Varix, or Blood Spavin—Windgalls — Distended Bursas, called Bog Spavin—Thorough-Pin—Capped Hock.....478—481 CHAPTER XVI. FRACTURES AND DISLOCATIONS. Considerations of these Injuries generally—Particular Fractures: of the Skull—Of the Face—Of the Jaw-Bone—Of the Ribs—Of the Pelvis— Of the Vertebra?—Fractured Bones of the Extremities—Of the Scapula —Of the Humerus—Of the Radius—Of the Femur—Of the Tibia—Of the Olecranon—Of the Cannon before and behind—Of the Pastern Bones—Of the Navicular Bone—Of the Patella—Dislocations—Patella or Stifle Bone..........481—488 CHAPTER XVII. DISEASES OP THE BONES. Caries of Bones, commences by Inflammation—Exostosis—Particular Exos- toses : Splint—Spavin—Curb—Ringbone—Exostosis of the Coffin Bone —Anchylosis..........488—497 CHAPTER XVIII. DISEASES OP THE EYE. Simple or Common Ophthalmia, or Inflammation of the Eye—Specific or Periodical Ophthalmia—Cataract—Amaurosis, or Gutta Serena—Ex- crescences, &c. on the Eyes.......497—507 CHAPTER XIX. DISEASES OF THE SKIN. Grease—Small-pox among Sheep—Swelled Legs—Mallenders and Sallen- ders—Warts—Mange —Hidebound......507—522

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			CONTENTS,
					XV
		CHAPTER XX. DISEASES OF THE FEET PAGE Founder or Inflammation of the Feet—Acute Founder—Chronic Founder —Shoeing of Horses—The Pumiced Foot—Navicularthritis—Corns— Thrush—Sandcrack—Foot pricked by a nail—Tread or Overreach— Quittor—Canker—False Quarter ...... 522—560 OF SURGICAL OPERATIONS. The necessary Restraints employed on such occasions—The Trevis— Casting—Slinging—Veterinary Obstetrics, or the necessary assistance rendered in difficult Foaling—Embryotomy—Castration—By Cauteriza- tion—The French method—By Ligature, &c.—Lithotomy—Tracheo- tomy— Esophagotomy—Neurotomy—Periosteotomy—Division of the Flexor Tendons—Amputations : Of the Penis—Docking—Firing—Blis- tering—Rowelling—Setons—Blood-letting—By the Arteries—By the Veins, or Phlebotomy—The Physicking of Horses—The Use and Abuse of Purgatives—Diuretics........561—607 THE VETERINARY MATERIA MEDICA . . . 609—660

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				DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER.
					to face page 60 Frontispiece 117 119 149 175 209 224 250 265
		Plate I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X.

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				OUTLINES OF THE VETERINARY ART.
		SECTION I. HISTORY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE. Man, who is ever ready to change surrounding objects to his advantage, would not, probably, be long without subjecting to his use such animals as his reason led him to suppose would prove most useful, or his experience had noted were the most tractable. This is said, supposing the horse ever existed in a state of perfect freedom—of which fact there is no decided testimony. The herds of so- called wild horses existing in Asia and America are tame animals that have either broken loose, or are private pro- perty turned out to breed and graze where pasturage is plentiful and stabling expensive. It would appear probable that the ass was first perfectly broken to the use of man ; nor was it until, as we learn from Genesis, chap, xlvii., that, with the herds of asses, horses also were sent to Pharaoh, which Sir Isaac Newton computes to have been 1034 years before Christ, about which time the renowned Erictheusa appears to have been employed in taming and breaking the horse to the use of man. But animals, when forced to obey the desires of an exacting master, could not long continue in perfect health ; hence their owners were soon led to search for such remedies as their small stock of information pointed out: thus veterinary medicine must, in some degree, have been coeval with the possession of the animals in question. The early practice of it was, how- ever, without doubt, mingled with the general manage-
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		2                        HISTORY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE.
			ment, and what little was then known probably existed among those professing the art of human physic. When the early Egyptians had trained the horse to the purposes of war, his health may be supposed to have become an object of solicitude. From the Egyptians the Grecians received the knowledge of the management of the horse ; and with them we know it flourished. Chiron, surnamed the Cen- taur, pursued both human and brute medicine. Homer, who flourished 900 years before Christ, celebrates the training of the horse in the Greek courses ; and Xeno- phon, the renowned warrior, poet, and philosopher, wrote a treatise on equitation, which contains ample evidence how much the study of this valuable animal was in repute among the most distinguished characters of his day. Hip- pocrates, also, the most celebrated physician of early times, wrote a treatise on the curative treatment of horses ; nor did he disdain, in common with the eminent human prac- titioners of those times, to practise indiscriminately on the horse and his rider. When Rome had snatched from Greece her honours and her arts, the horse also was taken with the rest; and a host of Latin authors on subjects connected with the animal sprung up, the names of whom would swell our pages. As a rustic writer, Columella deserves our mention ; the rest we pass over till the age of Vegetius, who flou- rished about 300 years after the birth of Christ, and whose writings concentrated within themselves all that had been collected by former veterinary authors of the empire. A long night of darkness succeeded the irruptions of the barbarous nations. During this time, however, iron shoes, before but partially tried, became more generally used; and by an association only to be excused by the state of the times, the treatment of the diseases of the horse, became the province of the shoeing-smith ; while the medical assistance required for other beasts was gained from goatherds, shepherds, &c. The ancient and honourable name of Veterinarius (whence veterinarian) sanctioned by the classics of the Augustan age, became lost in the more humble appellative of farrier, derived solely from the metal on which he worked; and for a long period (happily now on the decline) the igno-

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		HISTORY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE.                         3 ranee of the shoer and the meanness of his title remained indissoluble. The sixteenth century, famed for the revival of learning and the encouragement of art, fostered also the subject of our present discourse : among its patrons may be noted Francis the First, who ordered the Constantine collection to be translated from the original Greek into Latin ; from which it was soon afterwards rendered into Italian, German, and French, and thence became dispersed over Europe. About the same time, the works of Vegetius were translated into the popular European languages; and from this period we may date the gradual improvement of the art. During the seventeenth century, the veterinary art con- tinued to advance, and numerous publications on the subject were contributed by various hands; among which we may notice Csesar Fiarchi's Italian treatise on horse- manship, in which is introduced the most rational mode of shoeing then practised. Neither should we omit to mention the Infermita, £f suoi remedii, del Signor Carlo Ruini, published in Venice, 1618 ; from which Snape, Gibson, as well as most of the early French authors, have copied their anatomical plates. In 1654, the Grand Marsschal Francois, a meritorious work, said to be com- posed by many hands, appeared. In the latter end of this century, the art received a very great addition from the elaborate work of Sollysel, whose attention was drawn to the subject from his situation of riding master ; and as the practices of this school were at this time in great repute, it followed that the treatment of the diseases of horses became very much confined to the professors of this art. It will not, therefore, excite our wonder that almost all the treatises on veterinary medicine of this time are found united with systematic equitation ; and although, as regards Sollysel, the cause was not injured, yet generally it may be considered, that to this union of arts, practised by persons not medically educated, may be attributed the small progress made by veterinary medicine. The eighteenth century produced numerous writers on the subject, and was destined to witness important im- provements in the art. In 1761, France set the notable example of establishing, under royal patronage, a public b 2

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		4                                          A CONCISE HISTORY veterinary seminary at Lyons, having the celebrated Bour- gelat for its professor: his medical and anatomical works were numerous, and are well known. In 1766, a second public school was opened at Alfort, near Charenton, in the neighbourhood of Paris, and others subsequently at Stras- burgh and Montpellier : establishments of the same kind have likewise since been organized in almost every European country, as Vienna, Berlin, Copenhagen, Dresden, Leipsic, Prague, Munich, London, Hanover, Naples, &c. &c. In Russia, also, a veterinary school was founded, over which Mr. Blaine was invited to preside. As a contemporary with Bourgelat lived the elder La Fosse, a name that will ever be respected in the annals of veterinary medicine. La Fosse made numerous improve- ments and discoveries, which he usually communicated in the form of memoirs to the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris. In 1754, he had collected these into one volume, which was quickly translated into other languages, and diffused over Europe. The French revolution for some time disturbed the course of veterinary improvement; but the calm which succeeded employed the talents of many eminent veteri- narians ; and the names of Chabert, Flandrin, Gilbert, Vicq-D'Azyr, and Huzard, stand conspicuous on this list. From that time to the present, the writings on the vete- rinary art have become numerous in every country, but more particularly in France, and it follows that, in the course of our labours, many of the most popular will be quoted. SECTION II. A CONCISE HISTORY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE IN GREAT BRITAIN. The healing art, as applied to a curative treatment of the diseases of our domesticated animals, was, in England, even longer buried in gross ignorance than either in France or Germany; and when, at length, emulation had excited us, our early attempts were more the effects of an imitation of our French and German neighbours, than native improve- ments of our own. It, however, worked a favourable

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		OF VETERINARY MEDICINE IN GREAT BRITAIN.             5 change among us; for although the medical treatment of horses particularly had not yet emerged from the hands of those immediately about the animals, still, as the teachers of equitation were much more enlightened than either blacksmiths or grooms, the medical practitioner necessarily became educated on better principles. The riding school gave place, towards the close of the seventeenth century, to horse-racing and hunting, which again threw the care of the health of the horse back to the currier of his hide and the shoer of his heels ; and this sera witnessed only feeble and occasional efforts to rescue the valuable art of curing his diseases from ignorance and barbarity. Blundeville, who lived in the reign of Elizabeth, appears to have been one of our earliest veterinary writers. His work, which was chiefly a compilation from ancient authors, was fettered with his attachment to the riding school. Subsequent to him appeared Mascal, Martin, Clifford, and Burdon. About this time also lived the celebrated Gervase Markham, whose Treatise on Farriery, though empirical and absurd, went through numerous editions, and became the guide of the practitioner of that time. The reign of James I. produced little original writing, but several translations from the Italian, German, and French. In the time of Charles II. appeared The Anatomical Treatise on the Horse, by Snape, farrier to his Majesty. The plates are copies from Ruini and Saunier. His descriptions are likewise taken from these authors; and where he deviated from them, he made the human body his guide and went wrong. In the reign of George I. Sollysel's celebrated work was translated by Sir William Hope from the French, which tended to combat many of the errors at that time prevalent. About the middle of the last century, the art experienced still further improvement by the labours of Gibson, who was originally surgeon to a regiment of cavalry; from which situation it is probable he was first led to turn his attention to the diseases of the horse, and by which he was, at length, enabled to present the best treatise on farriery that had appeared in the English language. As a contemporary with Gibson lived the celebrated and eccentric physician Dr. Bracken, a man of considerable erudition, a sportsman, and a wit of a peculiar cast; his

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					THE HISTORY OP
		works have been as much admired and read for the peculiar style in which they are written, as for the real information they contain. Bartlet, who was a successor to the two former, was likewise a surgeon: he formed himself on the model of Gibson and Bracken, and he gave the sum of their treat- ment in a much more compendious and practical form. He likewise benefited the art by translating La Fosse's im- provements and discoveries : but Bartlet is to be noticed principally as a copyist and compilator, for he brought forward little of his own, except a cruel and absurd altera- tion in the mode of nicking. To him succeeded Osmer, who was also initiated a human surgeon, but afterwards practised as a veterinarian in Oxford Street. His Treatise on the Lamenesses of Horses, with an improved mode of shoeing, is most deservedly esteemed, and his practice was adopted with some slight alterations, by the late Mr. Morecroft. He first commented upon La Fosse's method, and pointed out the excellence of his mode of treating the feet; at the same time showing that the short shoe was inadequate to the support and protection of the foot in the present improved and hard state of our roads. The practical part of this treatise on lamenesses is likewise excellent, and will hand his name down as one of the early contributors to the success of the art. The next luminary in the veterinary horizon was Clarke, of Edinburgh, the king's farrier for Scotland, whose excel- lent Treatise on Shoeing and the Diseases of the Feet was after- wards followed by a work on the Prevention of the Diseases of the Horse generally; these succeeded the publication of the engravings of the Muscles of the Horse, by Mr. Stubbs, the professional horse painter, who, to high excellence in his art, added a very considerable knowledge of the general anatomy of the animal. SECTION III. THE HISTORY OF THE VETERINARY COLLEGE. The period of the establishment of a National School will ever remain a memorable epoch to the veterinary

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			THE VETERINARY COLLEGE.                               7
		amateur, as being that from which the principal improve- ments in his art are to be dated. Charles Vial de St. Bel first published proposals for founding a veterinary school in the year 1788 ; but the plan meeting with no support, he returned to France. This gentleman was professionally educated at the Royal Veterinary College of Lyons, and, as we are told, afterwards became junior assistant at Alfort. In 1790, he made a second visit to England, which proved more successful; for, on again renewing his proposals, they were noticed by the Agricultural Society of Odiham, in Hampshire, the members of which, convinced of the utility of such a measure, proposed to form an institution, called The Veterinary College of London, and to appoint St. Bel to the professorship ; Mr. Blaine being engaged as his assist- ant. It was in February 1791, that the first organized meeting of the supporters of the society took place at the Blenheim Coffee House, Bond Street, at which time many new subscribers enrolled themselves. His Grace the Duke of Northumberland condescended to become the president; and such was the general opinion of the importance of the subject to the country at large, that vice-presidents and directors offered themselves from among the most dis- tinguished characters for rank and talent. A house was next taken for the purposes in view at St. Pancras. Pupils were received to board with the professor; and Mr. Blaine was also located there as translator and anatomical demon- strator. To him it was, however, a matter of surprise that the concern succeeded to the extent it did ; so totally inadequate to such an undertaking was St. Bel. That he was enterprising and ingenious no one will deny; he was also indefatigable in promoting the interest of the establish- ment, which indeed involved all his future prospects; but that by his knowledge of the anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the horse he was fitted to become the veterinary professor, no one of those who most strongly supported him can believe. His writings and his practice bear out this opinion ; his election to the chair could have alone arisen from a wish that such a school might be established ; and it could only have occurred because no other person then in the kingdom was better able to undertake its management.

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