[Illustration: THE FIRST STAGE OF FLATULENT COLIC.] This is peculiarly the affection of old age. Horses, though not so liable to hoven as are horned cattle, nevertheless may be blown out if permitted to gorge upon moist, green food. =Flatulent colic= in the vast majority of instances, however, is not caused by any special fodder, but springs from disordered digestion living for years upon stimulating diet, breathing a tainted atmosphere, being now weakened by a long fast, then distressed by a too abundant supply; next exhausted by a tedious journey, and subsequently cramped by days of enforced stagnation,--all of these things ultimately tell upon the strong body of our domesticated quadruped. The stomach, as the earliest evidence of general debility, loses its tonicity. It cannot digest a full meal; the provender ferments, gas is released, and flatulent colic is the consequence. A traditionary belief in the stable asserts this disorder is provoked by crib-biting, wind-sucking, etc. etc. The author is indebted to Mr. Ernes, a most successful veterinary surgeon of Dockhead, for the earliest comprehension of the impossibility that such causes should operate. Let the reader endeavor to swallow air; the mouth being deprived of all saliva, the attempt at further deglutition is fruitless; besides, to use the words of Mr. Ernes, "though the stomach or the bowels do contain a small portion of atmospheric air, flatulent colic is generated by carbonic acid or sulphureted hydrogen gas, the products of decomposition; either of which, if respired, destroys vitality." [Illustration: A HORSE DYING OF FLATULENT COLIC.] The horse which is to be oppressed by flatulent colic exhibits uneasiness after feeding; it hangs the head; breathes laboriously; fidgets; rocks the body, and rests first on one leg then on the other. These symptoms are exhibited before any enlargement of the abdomen is to be detected. With the swelling of the belly pawing commences; that action is, however, far too leisurely displayed to be for an instant confounded with the same energetic movement which characterizes spasmodic colic. W. Percivall asserts that animals roll and kick at the abdomen during flatulent colic. Every fact requires to be respectfully considered which is recorded by so estimable a writer; but the author has never witnessed such symptoms in genuine flatulent colic. The horse will stand in one spot throughout the day; even the movement of the foot, before noticed, appears to be an exertion. The eye is sleepy, the pulse heavy, wind frequently passes from the body, and in such a condition the animal remains, slowly becoming worse.