REVIEWS.

On the 8th of March the administration of iodide of potassium was begun in doses of 5 grammes (about 75 grains) twice daily, and after 15 days this was lowered to 6 grammes daily. At the same time some injections of tincture of iodine were made into the scrotal fistula. At the end of 12 days the intra-abdominal tumour had considerably diminished in volume, the purulent discharge had ceased, the fistula was much less deep, and the horse had become visibly fatter. After a month the tumour had diminished to the volume of a thick cord, and by the beginning of May the growth could no longer be felt by rectal exploration. At the end of May the horse was discharged perfectly cured.

The success of the treatment adopted in this case warrants the hope that iodide of potassium will prove a specific against the discomyces. In this connection it ought to be remembered that scirrhous cord is not the only troublesome lesion caused by that parasite. The no less intractable tumours that form at the point of the shoulder, and which often defy all treatment short of extirpation with the knife, are also caused by the discomyces. Many cases of fistulous withers and of poll-evil are also ascribable to the presence of the same organism, and we trust that any of our readers who have the opportunity will try the effect of the iodide of potassium treatment against one or other of these troublesome conditions, and send us an account of the result for publication in these columns.

The Points of the Horse: a Familiar Treatise on Equine Conformation. By Captain H. Hayes, F.R.C.V.S., London: W. Thacker & Co., 1893.

CAPTAIN HAYES is well known outside the profession for his contributions to popular veterinary literature and other subjects connected with horses. A work on the Points of the Horse could hardly have been entrusted to abler hands, for the author is a recognised judge of the quadruped, and his experience is undeniable.

The author takes the reader into his confidence by telling him that some years ago he wrote a work on the Points of the Horse, but that it was lost before it found its way to the printer. He considers this a subject for congratulation, for while mourning over the loss of the MS. he happened to read Marey's Animal Mechan£cs, and it suddenly dawned on him that his previous work had been entirely in the wrong groove, so he set to work and rewrote the book on new lines.

This statement prepared us to find something quite out of the ordinary as the result of the author's inspiration, but in this we are disappointed. The book contains much that is good, much that is true, a great deal that every one connected with the veterinary profession should know, but little that is new.

REVIEWS.

To the French the author is indebted for the scientific portion of his work, but no notice appears in the text of Percivall, who wrote on Form and Action forty-three years ago, and though the theory of locomotion laid down by him has not been entirely supported by instantaneous photography, yet his description of make and shape is clear, good, and truthful, while his style possesses that irresistible charm so peculiarly his own. There are other En:,;lish authors on the same subject; we have only selected the most original and most observant. Captain Hayes goes further than Percivall, and this we have a right to expect. The principles of conformation, structure of the body, mechanism of locomotion, attitudes, paces, jumping ; comparative shape of horses; description of the points, colour, and markings; action, constitution, and weight-carrying power; the special points of the various classes of horses, wild horses, asses, etc., are dealt with. Then appears to have been thrown in-as If it were an after· thought- a chapter dealing with the Evolution of the Horse, a subject which, though of considerable interest, has nothing to do with the c, Points of the Horse," and looks like what is technically known as c, padding."

The book is profusely illustrated by photographs and line drawings; the former are taken by the author, and must be accepted as accurate, but the horse does not lend himself to photography, and the picture of St. Simon can scarcely be recognised; the photographs of the limbs are very good, and Plate 42 is excellent, whilst Plates 24 to 27 are certainly not fair representa­tions of the author's skill; the line drawings are mostly reproductions.

Captain Hayes is an accomplished horseman and horsemaster, and the "Points of the Horse" is from the pen of "one who knows; " no new era in horse judging has been established, but a work on an important practical suhject has been brought up to date, and leaves little to be desired.

Pathologie generale et Anatomie pathologique generale des Animaux domes­tiques. Par C. Cadeac, Professeur de clinique; avec la collaboration de J. Bournay, Repetiteur de c1inique a l'Ecole Veterinaire de Lyon. Paris: Libraire J. B. Bailliere et Fils. 1893.

TExT-Bool;:s deallllg with the pathology of the domestic animals are unfortun­ately few, and any addition to their number is therefore deserving of a hearty welcome. The present work is the first of a very complete series of veterinary text-books to be Issued under the direction of Professor Cadeac. It is a neat volume of 472 pages, with 46 figures inserted in the text. The first half of the book is devoted to etiology, which is discussed under three sections, dealing respectively with the role of the organism, of the medium, and of parasites and microbes. The remainder of the work deals with general pathological anatomy, under the headings congestion, hremorrhage, thrombosis and embol­ism, gangrene, inflammation, hypertrophy, tumours, dropsy, atrophy, and degenerations. M. Bournay's share of the work is the chapter on tumours, all the rest of the book being from the pen of Professor Cadeac.

lYe cannot help thinking that the latter author has made a serious mistake in arranging the subdivision of hi~ subject, and in determining the proportions of each subdivision to the whole work. As already stated, one half of the book - indeed rather more than the half- is devoted to general con~iderations regarding etiology, and here we find chapters on the' influence of heredity, age, species, conformation, race, sex, temperament, constitution, vulnerahility, receptivity, etc., each containing a series of generalisations supported by a formidable array of facts which, It appears to us, could much more advan­tageously be introduced in connection with special pathology. If Professor Cadeac is right in his estimation of the proportions that ought to be assigned