FRACTURES. 261 



The clams used in this operation are made of solid wood, 

 and require, of course, no paste nor corrosive sublimate. A 

 common firing-iron and a fire, or tinner's furnace, is also re- 

 quired. The operation, in all of its steps, is performed just 

 as the one before described, until the clam is applied, and then, 

 instead of cutting the testicle oif outside of the clam, it is re- 

 moved b}" passing t!ie hot iron along outside of the clam. The 

 claiii is then removed, first loosening it a little to see if any 

 bleeding takes place. If it does, touch the point again with 

 the hot iron, and then remove the clam entirely. Either of the 

 above operations, skillfully performed, will be very successful, 

 but carelessly, may often prove fatal. 



FRACTURES. 



Fractures may cTccur in any of the bones, but are more fre- 

 quently met with in the long bones. They are serious in- 

 juries, but not entirely out of the reach of treatment. I have 

 treated successfully the pastern, the shank, the upper arm, 

 and the low^er thigh, bones. I shall only lay down the general 

 principles to be observed, without describing, particularly, 

 each fracture. This being done, any j^erson with some inge- 

 nuity may reduce and bandage any fracture. 



The nature and extent of the fracture are to be determined, 

 and then the proper splints prepared. These may be made of 

 wood, and hollowed out with a gouge, so as to fit the part to 

 which they are to be applied, or a number of narrow splints 

 may be used, being notched about an inch or two from one end, 

 and tied together with twine, three or four knots being tied be- 

 tween each to keep them apart. Several bandages of heavy 

 muslin are to be prepared, and rolled up. A quantity of 

 starch is to be prepared, to soak the bandages in, or, what is 

 better, a quantity of cumfrey-root, grated down into a mucilage. 

 The fractured, or broken, ends of the bone are then to be 

 brought together in their natural position. If the patient is 

 on his feet, place the mate of the fractured limb on some solid 



