SHEEP, SWINE, AND OTHER DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 435 



be found that the natural coolness of the parts has given place 

 to a degree of heat. The inflammation thenceforth increases 

 pretty rapidly. The part first attacked becomes sore. The 

 moisture — the ichorous discharge — is increased. A raw ulcer 

 of some extent is soon established. It is extended down to the 

 upper portion of the inner walls of the hoof, giving them a 

 whitened and ulcerous appearance. Those thin walls become 

 disorganized, and the ulceration penetrates between the fleshy 

 sole and the bottom of the hoof. On applying some force, or 

 on shaving away the horn, it will be found that the connection 

 between the horny and fleshy sole is severed, perhaps half way 

 from the heel to the toe, and half way from the Inner to the 

 outer wall of the hoof The hoof is thickened with great 

 rapidity at the heel by an unnatural deposition of horn. The 

 crack or cavity between it and the fleshy sole very soon exudes 

 a highly fetid matter, which begins to have a purulent appear- 

 ance. The extent of the separation increases by the disorgani- 

 zation of the surrounding structures ; the ulceration penetrates 

 throughout the entire extent of the sole ; it begins to form 

 sinuses in the body of the fleshy sole; the purulent discharge 

 becomes more profuse; the horny sole is gradually disorganized, 

 and finally the outer walls and points of the toes alone remain. 

 The fleshy sole is now a black, swollen mass of corruption, of 

 the texture of a sponge saturated with bloody pus, and every 

 cavity is filled with crawling, squirming maggots. The horny 

 toe disappears; the thin, shortened side walls merely adhere 

 at the coronet ; they yield to the disorganization ; and nothing 

 is left but a shapeless mass of spongy ulcer and maggots. At- 

 tempts to cure the disease, the state of the weather, and other 

 incidental circumstances cause some variations from the above 

 line of symptoms. When the first attack occurs in hot weather, 

 the progress of the malady is much more rapid and violent. 



