DISEASES. 69 



quickness. A simple fracture of the leg above the ankle, 

 which often occurs in parrots, merely requires rest in order to 

 heal perfectly, so that the foot will not be in the least 

 crooked. It is better, of course, to get both ends of the bone 

 into the right position by carefully drawing and pulling them ; 

 then to put on them two little smooth pieces of wood (splints), 

 to bind these pretty firmly with a thick, soft, woollen thread, and 

 to smear thickly and evenly over it plaster of Paris, or thick, 

 warm, but on no account hot (joiner's) glue. Hold the bird 

 fast till the glue is hardened, and then put it in a small 

 cage. In about four weeks the bandage may be carefully 

 removed by means of softening with water. If the fracture 

 is in the wing, the feathers must of course be cut away first, 

 not pulled, to avoid pain and irritation. Ziirn advises that 

 the place be bound with a woollen bandage, and above this a 

 linen bandage dipped in a solution of water glass or soluble 

 glass, and then sprinkled with common lime. This bandage 

 is said to have the advantage of keeping firm and being easily 

 €ut off. For splints, Ziirn recommends strips of pasteboard, or, 

 better still, thin Norwegian pine splints. 



Abscesses, besides being due to internal diseases, as already 

 mentioned, frequently form from external causes in parrots, 

 as well as in all large birds. First of all it is necessary to 

 examine whether the swelling is hard, inflamed, and hot, or 

 already yellow and soft, and then treat accordingly. Hard 

 swellings should be softened by warm poultices containing some 

 fat ; very inflamed swellings should be cooled with Goulard's 

 water (11), and then softened with warm, often-renewed, 

 poultices. A ripe abscess can usually be emptied without 

 danger, with one cutting, and, after being pressed out, it should 

 be covered with a so-called Hamburgh plaster (2G); or bound 

 up with bandages dipped in carbolic acid oil (11). The worst 

 disorder for a parrot is an encysted tumour, which forms most 

 frequently in the head, near the beak or eye. It is neither hard 

 nor soft ; it is filled with a membranous matter, and becomes 

 very large or works deeper, in any case causing the bird discom- 

 fort and pain. As long as it is small or lies loose in the skin, 

 it may be taken off by burning with caustic ; a better way 

 is to tie it round tightly with a thin but very firm thread. 

 Encysted tumours, however, are mostly produced by internal 

 disorders of the juices of the body, and local operations^ 



