174 HORSE, SWINE AND POULTRY DISEASES 



constant fomentation with hot water for from two to four hours. The 

 water should be allowed about this time to gradually become cool and 

 then cold. Cold fomentation must then be kept up for another hour 

 or two. Dry the parts thoroughly and quickly and bathe them freely 

 with camphor 1 ounce, sweet oil 8 ounces, or with equal parts of lead 

 water and laudanum. A dry, light bandage should then be applied, 

 the horse allowed to rest, and if necessary the treatment may be re- 

 peated each day for two or three days. If, however, the wound is so 

 severe that sloughing must ensue, we should encourage this by poul- 

 tices made of linseed meal, wheat bran, turnips, onions, bread and 

 milk, or hops. Charcoal is to be sprinkled over the surface of the 

 poultice when the wound is bad smelling. After the slough has 

 fallen off the wound is to be dressed with warm antiseptic washes 

 of carbolic acid, chloride of zinc, permanganate of potash, etc. If 

 granulating (filling up) too fast, use burnt alum or air-slaked lime. 

 Besides this local treatment, n\ r e find that the constitutional symp- 

 toms of fever and inflammation call for measures to prevent or con- 

 trol them. This is best done by placing the injured animal on soft 

 or green food. A physic of Barbados aloes, 1 ounce, should be given 

 as soon as possible after the accident. Sedatives, such as tincture of 

 aconite root, 15 drops, three times a day, or ounce doses of saltpeter 

 every four hours, may also be administered. When the symptoms 

 of fever are abated, and if the discharges from the wound are abun- 

 dant, the strength of the patient must be supported by good food 

 and tonics. One of the best tonics is as follows : Powdered sulphate 

 of iron, powdered gentian, and powdered ginger, of each 4 ounces. 

 Mix thoroughly and give a heaping tablespoonful twice a day, on the 

 feed or as a drench. 



PUNCTURED WOUNDS. 



Punctured wounds are produced by the penetration of a sharp 

 or blunt pointed substance, such as a thorn, fork, nail, etc., and the 

 orifice of these wounds is always small in proportion to their depth. 

 In veterinary practice punctured wounds are much more common 

 than the otheis. They involve the feet most frequently, next the 

 legs, and often the head and face from nails protruding through the 

 stalis and trough. They are not only the most frequent, but they 

 are also the most serious, owing to the difficulty of obtaining thorough 

 disinfection. Another circumstance rendering them so is the lack of 

 attention that they at first receive. The external wound is so small 

 that but little or no importance is attached to it, yet in a short time 

 swelling, pain, and acute inflammation, often of a serious character, 

 are manifested. 



Considering the most common of the punctured wounds, we 

 must give precedence to those of the feet. Horses worked in cities, 

 about iron works, around building places, etc., are most likely to 

 receive nails in the feet. The animal treads upon nails, pieces of 

 iron or screws, and forces them into the soles of the feet. If the nail, 

 or whatever it is that has punctured the foot, is fast in some large or 

 heavy body, and is withdrawn as the horse lifts his foot, lameness 

 may last for only a few steps; but unless properly attended to at 



