274 



A DICTIONARY. 



tallow, or melted suet, over the heels, and 

 within the hollow at the back of "the small 

 pastern. This wiU often prevent some 

 troublesome sores forming, from the blister- 

 ing ointment falling on these sensitive parts. 

 While a blister is acting, the litter should 

 be removed from under the feet, or it will 

 tickle the legs, and imtate ; but, above all, 

 the head ought to be most carefully secured, 

 for two days and nights, to oppose lying 

 down, more especially to prevent the horse 

 biting the blistered part. On the third 

 evening he may be permitted to repose ; 

 but a prevention should even then be con- 

 tinued, by means of what is called a cradle. 

 This apparatus may be bought at every 

 turning shop ; or may be made of eight or 

 ten pieces of round wood, an inch and a 

 half in diameter, and two feet long : these 

 are strung at each end on a rope, and fas- 

 tened around the neck. When it is in- 

 tended to blister repeatedly, the eflects of 

 the first should have subsided before the 

 second is applied : the scm-f and scabs also 

 be cleared away, and the part well washed 

 with soap and water. In aU cases, the third 

 or fourth day after the application the part 

 should be thoroughly painted over by 

 means of a long haired brush (such as are 

 in use with pastry-cooks to glaze their 

 crusts) with lead liniment, which should be 

 repeated every day ; and when it is proposed 

 to turn a horse out, it should never be done 

 until the whole blistered sm-face be quite 

 healed ; otherwise dirt, flies, etc., may prove 

 hurtful. It remains to observe, that, instead 

 of repeated active blistering, it is in some 

 cases preferable to keep up a continual 

 slight irritation on the original blister by 

 means of stimulants, as iodine ointment, 

 mild blistering applications, etc. ; caution is 

 however necessary to avoid forming an 

 eschar, and thereby a permanent blemish ; 

 but when a blemish is not of consequence 

 this plan will be found often more effica- 

 cious than firing, as in splints, spavins, etc. 

 Some practitioners blister mildly one day, 

 and on the next wash off the blistermg 

 matter, thereby saving loss of hair. But 

 there is more of apparent than real good in 



this plan. If a blister be necessary, it re- 

 quires all its activity. 



'■'■ Ammoniacal blister. — Spanish flies are 

 only efficacious when the animal can afford 

 to wait their action, which is rather slow. 

 In most of the acute diseases, the horse 

 would perish before the blister began to 

 rise, wherefore resort has been had to boil- 

 ing water and red-hot iron. The action of 

 these last coarse and brutal measures was 

 alone controlled by the violence of the in- 

 ternal inflammation ; and, if the practitioner 

 was mistaken in his estimate of the imme- 

 diate danger, extensive and lasting blemish 

 was the consequence. We have in the 

 liquor ammonia an agent quite as formida- 

 ble as boiling water or heated iron, but it is 

 rather longer in displaying its force ; where- 

 fore, it allows time for watching its action, 

 and of checking it the instant it has suffi- 

 ciently blistered the skin. It is true the 

 liquor ammonia upon the skin cannot be 

 removed, neither need it be counteracted. 

 Ammonia is like steam, only powerful 

 when confined. The ordinary soap lini- 

 ment, if covered over, would, because of the 

 ammonia it contains, produce a lasting 

 blemish; but every veterinary surgeon knows 

 how very harmless a preparation that is 

 when simply rubbed upon the surface. So, 

 when we desire the active effects of liquor 

 ammonia, we double a blanket or rug four 

 or five times and hold it over the liquid. 

 It takes from ten to twenty minutes to raise 

 a blister, and it consequently can from time 

 to time be observed ; and, when its action 

 has reached the wished-for point, all we 

 have to do, effectually to stop it, is to take 

 away the rug or blanket. That removed, 

 the free surface and the heat of the body 

 occasions the ammoniacal vapor to be dis- 

 persed, and the animal is safe. 



" RoivelUng: — Rowels act as foreign sub- 

 stances within the body ; they cause irrita- 

 tion and suppuration, whereby more deep- 

 seated inflammations are ' supposed to be 

 removed ; they are, however, often very 

 convenient, because they stand as sign- 

 boards to sliow the proprietor that some- 

 thing has been done. The common mode 



