Now, to prove the case here stated. In the south of Ireland, where poverty prevails, humanity is obliged to shelter itself in strange places, and any hole is there esteemed good lodging for a horse. In that part of the kingdom ophthalmia affects the majority of animals; it not only preys on horses, but it seizes upon mankind; for the author, a few years ago, was much struck by the quantity of blind beggars to be encountered in the streets of Cork. Here we have the conclusion of the argument; its moral exemplified and enforced. If animals are foully housed and poorly kept, they generate disorders, which at length extend to the human race; therefore he who contends for a better treatment of the horse, also indirectly pleads for the immunity of mankind from certain diseases. Man cannot hold life as a property, or abuse life without his ill deeds by the ordinances of nature recoiling on himself. =Specific ophthalmia= is a constitutional disease affecting the eyes; it has been submitted to all kinds of rude treatment; no cruelty but has been experimented with; no barbarity but has been resorted to. It has been traced to various sources; its origin has been frequently detected; but the real cause of the disease, to this day, has not been recognized. The veterinary surgeon is often sent for to just look at a horse which "has got a hay-seed in its eye." This mistake is very common, as ophthalmia generally breaks forth during the long night hours, while the stable is made secure and the confined air is foulest. The groom sees an animal with a pendant, swollen lid, and with a cheek bedewed by copious tears; he can imagine only an accident; but the medical examiner must obey the summons with an unprejudiced mind, because simple ophthalmia is a mere misfortune, specific ophthalmia is a constitutional disorder. [Illustration: THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA.] The veterinary surgeon, firstly, in the groom's convictions, makes a grievous mistake. He goes up to the horse on the opposite side to the affection; being there, he takes the pulse, remarks the breathing, observes the coat, feels the feet, examines the mouth, and looks at the nasal membrane. If simple ophthalmia be present, some of these may be altered from long-endured pain; but if specific ophthalmia exist, the general disturbance denotes a constitutional disorder. The pulse is hard, the breathing sharp, the coat staring, the feet cold, the mouth clammy, and the nasal membrane inflamed or leaden-colored. [Illustration: RAISING THE UPPER LID OF AN EYE AFFECTED WITH SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA.]