PKUKIGO. 127 



weeks, and then a layer of cuticular cells drops from their 

 surface, and the hair begins to grow. The malady is apt to 

 recur, but calls for scarcely any treatment beyond attention 

 to diet and cleanliness. 



PKUEIGO. 



This disease, also known by the name of Pruritus, is indi- 

 cated by heat and severe irritation of the skin. Not unfre- 

 quently the skin becomes thickened and indurated, and the 

 animals affected are extremely troublesome, as well as con- 

 stitutionally unfit for work in some cases. 



Mr Percivall notices this disease under the head ' Surfeit.' 

 He says, " I employ this term (' Prurigo') to signify those hot 

 and itchy states of the skin, under which horses rub then- 

 heads or necks, manes, roots of their tails, hind quarters, 

 &c., and thus render those parts bare. This is the sim- 

 plest form of surfeit, and requires nothing beyond some 

 modification of the stable regimen: bran mashes in lieu of 

 corn; green meat, if it be in season, or additional work. 

 The itchiness may be relieved by using a lotion composed of 

 half an ounce of sulphuric acid and a quart of water : with 

 this the parts are to be wetted. 



" There is a sort of cutaneous furor to which horses 

 pampered and little worked are liable, and which appears to 

 be constitutional in its origin. The horse experiences an 

 insufferable itching, and to allay this will bite and tear 

 himself with his teeth, and inflict wounds in his skin upon 

 the places rubbed or pressed by the saddle or harness, and by 

 rendering them sore or raw, reduce himself to a state of com- 

 parative uselessness. This habit, or rather disorder, once 

 contracted, is exceedingly difficult, in some cases impossible, 

 to get rid of." 



