Gangrene of the Coronary R egion 275

them in addition to th e complet e removal of th e horn over and around

the crack.
Treatment for a t least two month s is required to effect a cure in
these cases of infected sandcrack, which a re th e most difficult of all,
a nd will certainly prove fatal if there is th e least neglect.
It is well t o prolong th e treatment by hot fom entation for a longer
p eriod th a n would appear necessary, because oth erwise th e reap-
p earan ce of severe pain is a common occurrence du e in part, no doubt,
to a rrest in the process of phagocytosis, and a consequ ent recrudescence
of bacterial activity. Th e drying and consequ ent ha rdening of th e
horn m ay be a contributory cause.
When it is certain th a t infection is overcome, simple wound treat-
ment may be practised, but it is advisable, wh a tev er else is don e, to
keep th e hoof in proximity to the wound soft by m eans of ointments
or a mixture of ointm ent a nd Stockh olm ta r. This is advisable
because, as already suggested , th e pr olonged h ot fomentation tends,
on its cessation, to b e the cause of a subsequ ent abnormal hardness
of the horn .
There may b e b etter forms of treatm ent than those which have
been m entioned, but so long as satisfac tory results are obtained one
is reluctant to ma ke experim ents in th ese dangerously acute infections.

SOLANIN P OISON ING.

Bv WALTER GARD~ER, ;\LR.C.V .S.,
Maybole .
O NE afternoon, about 3 p.m., I was call ed to a pedigree t wo-year-
old Clydesdale fill y. F ound her reeling a nd staggering with stiffened
gait on the roadside leading from the paddock to th e farmyard , in
a s tat e of profuse perspiration, with stertorous breathing , protrusion
of the membra na ni ctita ns an::l trismus complete. Filly dying, and
succumbed in thirty minutes , only three hours ince observed th a t
anything was a miss with her.
Previous History.---N ever was lame sin ce a foal a t weaning timf
When taken ill she was one of seven Clydesdales grazing on rape,
topped dressed with farm yard man ure after early potato crop.
Nothing was seen a miss with the others whose ages ra nged from
eight months to rising four-year-olds, when examined after death of
this subject .
I returned home, having formed the opinion, reservedly, that I
had had a case of acute t etanus without th e presence of a wound,
for though a diligent search was made not the slightest indication of
a wound could b e detected.
27() The Veterinary Journal

The following morning, about 8 a. m., my attenda nce was urgently

requested a t the same farm to the effect " that a yearling filly is
down this morning shmving same symptoms a the case yesterday ."
I left immediately, a nd on arrival I learned the subj ect was discovered
in the paddock in a recumbent position- owner had her removed
indoors to a loose box upon a rick-lifter. I found her showing all
the identical symptoms evidenced in the case of the previous night.
Trismus not so complete, but hind limb stiffened, muscles of hind
quarters hardened and rigid, tail carri ed stra ight out, ma rked increased
reflex irritability, and spasms of the muscles. Also of membrana
nictitans a t the slightes t movement in the loose box.
In prosecuting further inquiries for the causation, I was informed
the seven horses a t grazing were getting small rations of bruised corn
daily for many weeks past. But t he subj ects of t his case were two
of three that had broken over the fence th e day before into the
adjoining field and had helped t hemselves to a liberal supply of pota-
toes, which had been discarded as d iseased by the workers a t the
potato-pits. Th ese pota toes would be badly frosted with the recent
wea ther.
The mystery surrounding the cause of th e ailment now seemed
solved, and t he third filly that broke into th e potato fie ld was given
a moderate dose of lin seed oil a nd all removed to a place of safety,
and there ha been no further developments.
In the case of the second fi lly- though prognosis was un-
favourable-she was given a la rge dose of linseed oil. I visited her
again a t 6 p.m . same night a nd found her much worse, sweating
more profusely a nd struggling violently. Fi lly d ied in thirteen hou rs
from onse t of showing evidence of a ilment.
Post-mortem appearances revealed noth ing noteworthy.
The phenomena ob erved in these subj ec ts are unique, in my
exp erience, as I am not aware that sola nin produces clonic spasm of
muscle. I know potatoes in exce s to horses and pigs are very fatal
and cause grea t disturbance of digestive tract and muscular twitch-
ings, etc., but perhap vvhen frosted th ey produce other symptoms.

A SUMMARY OF SIXTY CASES OF MILK FEVE R.

BY W. E. ARMSTRONG, B.V .Sc., i\'LR.C.V.S., D.V.H.,
Wigton, Cumberland.

THE following is a summary of sixty case of milk fever treated

up to the last of Dece mber 1923.