The diaphragm is also disintegrated; the fibers of its tendinous portion are separated. The stomach is distended and thin; the bowels are enlarged and blown out with gas; the muscle of the anus is flaccid; the visible mucous membranes are of an unhealthy tint; the lining of the windpipe and the bronchial tubes is greatly thickened; the muscles are soft and deficient in color; and, where fat should have been, is only found a gelatinous fluid. [Illustration: HOW TO HEAR THE SOUND MADE WITHIN THE HORSE'S WINDPIPE.] Having related the living and the morbid changes which characterize the malady, it remains now to inform the reader how so terrible a scourge may be avoided. The horse is so valuable a helpmate that it merits, for its own sake, man's greatest care. Never, for any reason, therefore, drive the animal from the shelter of the stable to the exposure of the field; never turn the steed which has thriven upon prepared food to the starvation of a "run at grass," or rankness of the "straw-yard." Never, for cheapness, buy damaged provender; never load a famishing stomach; be generous in all provision for those creatures which devote their lives to your service. Never, where such a thing is possible, permit the groom to ride or exercise the nag out of your sight. Be very attentive that the times of watering are rigidly observed. Never suffer an animal to quit the stable soon after it has drank or eaten. Be very attentive to all coughs; accustom yourself to the sound of the healthy horse's windpipe, that when the slightest change of noise indicates the smallest change of structure, you may be prepared to recognize and to meet the enemy before disease has had time to fix upon the membrane. Having laid down the above rules, it may, to the ignorant, appear that every possible movement of the proprietor has been interfered with; that, in fact, the horse owner has been left no freedom of action. To the informed, however, it will seem that nothing more than every gentleman should observe has been proposed; and the horseman will smile when he learns that by such trivial matters can so heavy an affliction as broken wind be avoided. MELANOSIS. A quantity of black deposit, accumulated in large quantities upon certain parts of the frame, and contained within an increased amount of cellular tissue, constitutes this disease. At an early period swellings may be detected externally; they may be as small as a millet-seed, or as large round as a plate. These may remain dormant for years, or, if cut into before they start into activity, are almost white, and very glistening in parts, much resembling cartilage. [Illustration: A MELANOTIC TUMOR DIVIDED, SHOWING THE INTERIOR IN THE MIDDLE STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT. ] [Illustration: THE SPLEEN OF A HORSE LOADED WITH MELANOTIC TUMORS. THE BLACK SPOT TOWARD THE RIGHT HAND REPRESENTS ONE OF THE GROWTHS DIVIDED.]