HYGIENE, UNSOUNDNESS, DISEASE. 263 



horse will go blind in spite of all that may be 

 done for him. 



Wounds of greater or less severity are of fre- 

 quent occurrence among farm horses. It makes 

 a good deal of difference where the wound is 

 and how it was made, but there should be no 

 great trouble in healing one up if common sense 

 is used. A wound of any magnitude should be 

 submitted to the attention of a veterinary sur- 

 geon. If it is a clean cut he will sew it up after 

 cleansing it thoroughly and it will often heal 

 without farther trouble or as they 'say by the 

 first intention. Jagged wounds, such as often 

 result from contact with barb-wire, need not be 

 sewn up, for the partially isolated fragments 

 will slough anyway. Deep or punctured wounds, 

 caused by snags and the like, are the hardest 

 to heal and almost invariably suppurate and 

 discharge pus, healing from the bottom. The 

 surgeon will probe such wounds for foreign 

 bodies, syringe out the cavity with an anti- 

 septic lotion and be governed by future devel- 

 opments as to his further treatment. 



In different localities and at different seasons 

 of the year wounds take on curious aspects. 

 Invasion of germs, development of proud flesh 

 and fungous growths cause so many vagaries 

 in their history that it is impossible to lay down 

 specific directions that will fit all cases. How- 

 ever, one thing is certain. The worst that can 

 be done to a wound of any sort is to be eternally 



