482 HANDY-BOOK OF HUSBANDRY. 



*' ness. It is a little moist, a little red, and the skin has a slightly 

 " chafed or eroded appearance — sometimes being a very little 

 " corrugated, as if the parts had been subjected to the action of 

 " moisture. And, on placing the fingers over the heels, it will 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 disorgan- 

 " ized, 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 this 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. 



