334 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



directly to the skin, or a covering of thin linen may be interposed. 

 -1 putty made with powdered chalk and the white of egg is recom- 

 mended for small animals, though a mixture of sugar of lead and 

 burnt alum with the albumen is preferred by others. Another for- 

 mula is spirits of camphor, Goulard's extract, and albumen. An- 

 other recommendation is to saturate the oakum and bandages with 

 an adhesive solution formed with gum arable, dextrin, flour paste, 

 or starch. This is advised particularly for small animals, as is also 

 the silicate of soda. Dextrin mixed while warm with burnt alum 

 and alcohol cools and solidifies into a stony consistency, and is pref- 

 erable to plaster of Paris, which is less friable and has less solidity, 

 besides being heavier and requiring constant additions as it becomes 

 older. Starch and plaster of Paris form another good compound. 



In applying the dressing the leg is usually padded with a cushion 

 of oakum thick and soft enough to equalize the irregularities of the 

 surface and to form a bedding for the protection of the skin from 

 chafing. Over this the splints are placed. The material for these is, 

 variously, pasteboard, thin wood, bark, laths, gutta-percha, strips of 

 thin metal, as tin or perhaps sheet iron. They should be of sufficient 

 length not only to cover the region of the fracture but to extend 

 sufficiently above and below to render the immobility more nearly 

 complete than in the surrounding joints. The splints, again, are 

 covered with cloth bandages — linen preferably — soaked in a glu- 

 tinous mixture. These bandages are to be carefully applied, with a 

 perfect condition of lightness. They are usually made to embrace 

 the entire length of the leg in order to avoid the possibility of inter- 

 ference with the circulation of the extremity as well as for the pre- 

 vention of chafing. They should be rolled from the lower part of 

 the leg upward and carefully secured against loosening. In some 

 instances suspensory bandages are recommended, but except for 

 small animals our experience does not justify a concurrence in the 

 recommendation. 



These permanent dressings always need careful watching with ref- 

 erence to their immediate effect upon the region they cover, especially 

 during the first days succeeding that of their application. Any mani- 

 festation of pain, or any appearance of swelling above or below, or 

 any odor suggestive of suppuration should excite suspicion, and a 

 thorough investigation should follow without delay. The removal of 

 the dressing should be performed with great care, and especially so 

 if time enough has elapsed since its application to allow of a j^roba- 

 bility of a commencement of the healing process or the existence of 

 any points of consolidation. With the original dressing properly ap- 

 plied in its entirety in the first instance, the entire extremity will 

 have lost all chance of mobility, and the repairing process may be 

 permitted to proceed without interference. There will be no neces- 



