426 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Cooling lotions, muriate of ammonia, or saltpeter and Vv'ater; sedative 
washes, such as tincture of opium and aconite, chloroform liniment, or 
camphrated oil, are also to be frequently applied. Should this treatment 
fail to check the progress of the trouble, the formation of pus should be 
hastened as rapidly as possible. Hot fomentations and poultices are to 
be constantly used, and as soon as the presence of pus can be detected, the 
abscess wall is to be opened at its. lowest point. In this procedure lies 
our hope of a speedy cure. As with any simple abscess, if drainage can 
be so provided that the pus will run off as fast as formed without re- 
maining within the interstices of the tissues, the healing which follows 
will be rapid and satisfactory. 
Attention is again called to the directions given above as to the neces- 
sity of probing the cavity when opened. If upon a careful examination 
with the probe we find that there are no pockets, no sinuses, but a 
simple, regular abscess wall, the indication for treatment is to make an 
opening from below so that the matter must all escape. Rarely is any- 
thing more needed than to keep the orifice open and to bathe or inject 
the parts with some simple antiseptic wash that is not irritant or 
caustic. A low opening and cleanliness constitute the essential and ra- 
tional treatment. 
If the abscess has already opened, giving vent to a quantity of purulent 
matter, and the pipes and tubes leading from the opening are found 
to be extensive and surrounded with thick fungoid membranes, there 
is considerable danger that the Internal ligaments or even some of the 
bones have become affected, in which case the condition has assumed a 
serious aspect. Or, on the other hand, if the abscess has existed for 
some time without a rupture, its contents will frequently be found to 
consist of dried purulent matter, firm and dense, and the walls surround- 
ing the mass will be found greatly thickened. In such a case we must 
generally have recourse to the application of caustics which vdll cause a 
sloughing of all of the unhealthy tissue, and will also stimulate a rapid 
increase of healthy organized material to replace that destroyed in the 
course of the development and treatment of the disease. Threads or 
cords soaked in gum-arabic solution and rolled in powdered corrosive 
sublimate may be introduced into the canal and allowed to remain. The 
skin on all parts of the shoulder and leg beneath the fistula should be 
carefully greased with lard or oil, as this will prevent the discharge that 
comes from the opening after the caustic is introduced from irritating 
or blistering the skin over which it flows. In obstinate cases a piece of 
caustic potash (fused) one to two inches in length may be introduced into 
the opening and should be covered with oakum or cotton. The horse 
should then be secured so that he can not reach the part with his teeth. 
After the caustic plug has been in place for twenty-four hours, it may 
be removed and hot fomentations applied. As soon as the discharge 
has become again established the abscess should be opened from its lowest 
extermity, and the passage thus formed may be kept open by the intro- 
duction of a seton. If the pipes become established in the deep tissues 
beneath the shoulder blade or among the spines of the vertebral column, 
it will often be found impossible to provide proper drainage for the ab- 
