ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 343 



HORSE, Blisters, or Veticanti.— Blis- 

 ters are applications which inflame the 

 skin, and produce a secretion of serum 

 between the cutis and cuticle, by which 

 the latter is raised in the form of small 

 bladders ; but in consequence of the pres- 

 ence of the hair, these are very imperfect- 

 ly seen in the horse. They consist of two 

 kinds— one used for the sake of counter- 

 irritation, by which the original disease is 

 lessened, in consequence of the establish- 

 ! ment of this irritation at a short distance 

 from it; the other, commonly called 

 •"sweating" in veterinary surgery, by 

 which a discharge is obtained from the 

 vessels of the part itself, which are in that 

 way relieved and unloaded ; there is also 

 a subsequent process of absorption in 

 consequence of the peculiar stimulus ap- 

 plied. 



1. Mild Blister Ointment (Counter-irri- 

 tant)— 



Hog's Lard 4 ounces. 



Venice Turpentine I " 



Powdered Cantharides 6 drachms. 



Mix and spread. 



2. Stronger Blister Ointment (Counter-ir- 



ritant. ) 



Spirit of Turpentine I ounce. 



Sulphuric Acid, by measure 2 drachms. 



Mix carefully in an open place, and add — 



Hog's Lard . .. . 4ounces. 



Powdered Cantharides I " 



Mix and spread. 



3. Very Strong Blister Ointment, (Coun- 

 ter-Irritant,) — 



Strong Mercurial Ointment 4 ounces. 



Oil of Origanum j£ " 



Finely-powdered Euphorbium.. .3 drachms. 



Powdered Cantharides % ounce. 



Mix and spread. 



4. Rapidly Acting Blister Ointment (Coun- 

 ter-irritant) — 



Best Flour of Mustard 8 ounces. 



Made into a paste with water. Add— 



Oil of Turpentine .... ....2 ounces. 



Strong Liquor of Ammonia I " 



This is to be well rubbed into the chest, belly 

 or back, in cases of acute inflammation. 



5. Sweating Blister — 



Strong Mercurial Ointment 2 ounces. 



Oil ofOriganum 2 drachms. 



Corrosive Sublimate ...2 " 



Cantharides, powdered .--.3 " 



Mix, and rub in with the hand. 

 •6. Strong Sweating Blister, for Splints, 

 Ring-Bones, Spavins, etc. — 



Binoidide of Mercury 1 to \% drachm. 



Lard I ounce. 



To be well rubbed into the legs after cutting the 

 hair short ; and followed by the daily use of Ar- 

 nica, in the shape of a wash, as follows, which is 

 to be painted on with a brush: 



Tincture of Arnica .....I ounce. 



Water 12 to 15 ounces. 



Mix. 



7. Liquid Sweating Busters — 



Cantharides 1 ounce. 



Spirit of Turpentine 2 " 



Methylated Spirit of Wine I pint. 



Mix and digest for a fortnight Then strain. 

 Another — 



Powdered Cantharides I ounce. 



Commercial Pyroligneous Acid 1 pint. 



Mix and digest for a fortnight. Then strain. 



HORSE, Caustics or Cauteries. — Caus- 

 tics are substances which burn away tbe 

 living tissues of the body, by the decom- 

 position of their elements. They are of 

 two kinds — first, the actual cautery, con- 

 sisting in the application of the burning 

 iron, and called firing ; and secondly, the 

 potential cautery, by means of the pow- 

 ers of mineral caustics, such as potassa 

 fusa, lunar-caustic, corrosive sublimate, 

 etc. 



Firing is described in the chapter on 

 operations. 



The following are the ordinary chem- 

 ical applications used as potential cau- 

 teries : 



1. Fused Potass, difficult to manage, because it 

 runs about in all directions, and little used in 

 veterinary medicine. 



2. Lunar Caustic, or Nitrate of Silver, very 

 valuable to the veterinary surgeon, and con- 

 stantly used to apply to profuse granulations. 



3. Sulphate of Copper, almost equally useful, 

 but not so strong as Lunar Caustic ; it may be 

 well rubbed in to all high granulations, as in 

 broken knees, and similar growths. 



4. Corrosive Sublimate in powder, which acts 

 most energetically upon warty growths, but 

 should be used with great care and discretion. 

 It may safely be applied to small surfaces, but 

 not • vithout a regular practitioner, to large ones. 

 It should be washed off after remaining on a 

 few minutes. For the mode of applying it in 

 castration, see Horse, Castration. 



5. Yellow Orpiment is not so strong as Cor- 

 rosive Sublimate, and may be used with more 

 freedom. It will generally remove warty 

 growths, by picking off their heads and rub- 

 bing it in. 



6. Muriate of Antimony, called Butter of An- 

 timony; a strong but rather unmanageable 

 caustic, and used either by itself or mixed with 

 more or less water. 



7. Chloride of Zinc is a most powerful caus- 

 tic It may be used in old sinuses in solution, 

 7 drachms in a pint of water. 



Milder Caustics — 



8. Verdigris, either in powder or mixed with 

 Lard as an ointment, in the proportion of 1 

 to 3. 



9. Red Precipitate, ditto, ditto. 



10. Burnt Alum, used dry. 



11. Powdered White Sugar. 

 Mild Liquid Caustics — 



12. Solution of Nitrate of Silver, 5 to 15 grains 

 to the ounce of distilled water. 



