THE CORN. 



Causes. — Distortion and undue pressure on the sen- 

 sible sole occasions that irritation which brings on in- 

 flammation of its edge, where the shuttle-bone, or heel 

 bone, presses down upon it at every step, and causes 

 the utmost bending that the minute elasticity of the 

 hoofs alows of; but contraction of the heel, which ac- 

 companies hot, brittle, and elastic hoof, prevents its 

 bending duly and truly, and latteral pressure upon the 

 quartets follows. The sole being thus unduly pent up, 

 the circulation is obstructed in its passage to and from 

 the cavuy of the coffin-bone, and a deposite of blood, 

 whiv^h btjon- becomes offensive matter, is the conse- 

 quence. Bad shoeing, by which the heels are pinched, 

 also when the ragged hoof is left, which may have con- 

 tained particles of sand, and cause irritation, and end 

 in corn or figg. 



Cure.---het the heel of the shoe be cut off on the 

 side that !« afflicted, or if both sides have corns, a bar 

 shoe is recommended as giving pressure to the frog. 

 The heels are then to be rasped away free from any 

 contact with the shoe ; if they are thick and hard, this 

 will give them play — if thin and tender, they will thus 

 be freed from pressure. The thick heel is most com- 

 monly jiffected, and should be softened by an extensive 

 poultice that is to cover the whole foot, after the corn 

 has been pared and treated with butter of antimony. 

 Tar is then a very desirable application, or Friar's bal- 

 sam : and if inflammation is again discovered, poultice 

 the foot once more. Fire is applied by some, but the 

 hoof is permanently injured by the actual cautery, and 

 whatever good is achieved is thus counterbalanced by 

 the evil. Vitriolic acid, mixed carefully with tar, in the 

 proportion of one tenth of the former to nine tenths of 

 the latter, will promote the absorption, upon which the 

 cure depends. 



But in some desperate bad cases, the matter has al- 

 ready formed within, most offensively, and discharges at 

 the coronet by means of that curious process of nature 

 which I described above, as affording the coronet the 

 material for forming new horn, to supply the wear and 

 tare of the hoof. Upon paring away the horny sole, 



