274 HORSE, SWINE AND POULTRY DISEASES 



In practice it is preferred to give the newly shod foot a bath for 

 an hour or two in a solution of the sulphate of iron, made by adding 

 2 ounces of the powdered sulphate to a gallon of cold water. When 

 the foot is removed it is dressed with oakum balls dipped in a mix- 

 ture made of Barbados tar 1 part, oil of turpentine 8 parts, to which 

 is slowly added 2 parts of sulphuric acid, and the mixture well 

 stirred and cooled. The diseased parts being well covered with the 

 balls, a pad of oakum, sufficiently thick to cause considerable pres- 

 sure, is placed over them, and all are held in place by pieces of heavy 

 tin fitted to slip under the shoe. The whole foot is now incased in 

 a boot or folded gunny sack, and the patient turned into a loose, dry 

 box. The dressings are to be changed daily or even twice a day, at 

 first. When they are removed, all pieces of new horny matter which 

 are now firmly adherent must be rubbed off with the finger or a tent 

 of oakum. As the secretion diminishes, dry powders may prove of 

 most advantage, such as calomel, sulphates of iron, copper, etc. The 

 sulphates should not be used pure, but are to be mixed with powdered 

 animal charcoal in the proportion of one of the former to eight or 

 ten parts of the latter. When the soft tissues are all horned over, the 

 dressings should be continued for a time, weak solutions being used 

 to prevent a recurrence of the disease. If the patient is run down in 

 condition, bitter tonics, such as gentian, may be given in 2-dram 

 doses, twice a day, and a liberal diet of grain allowed. 



CORNS. 



A corn is an injury to the living horn of the foot, involving the 

 soft tissues beneath, whereby the capillary blood vessels are ruptured 

 and a small amount of blood escapes, which, by permeating the horn 

 in the immediate neighborhood, stains it a dark color. If the injury 

 is continuously repeated, the horn becomes altered in character, and 

 the soft tissues may suppurate or a horny tumor develop. Corns 

 always appear in the sole in the angle between the bar and the out- 

 side wall of the hoof. In many cases the laminae of the bar, of the 

 wall, or of both are involved at the same time. 



Three kinds of corns are commonly recognized the dry, the 

 moist, and the suppurative a division based solely on the character 

 of the conditions w y hich follow the primary injury. The fore feet 

 are almost exclusively the subjects of the "disease, for two reasons: 

 First, because they support a greater part of the body ; secondly, be- 

 cause the heel of the fore foot during progression is first placed 

 upon the ground, whereby it receives much more concussion than 

 the heel of the hind foot, in which the toe first strikes the ground. 



Treatment. As in all other troubles, the cause must be discov- 

 ered, if possible, and removed. In the great majority of cases the 

 shoeing will be at fault. While sudden changes in the method of 

 shoeing are not advisable, it may be said that all errors, either in the 

 preparation of the foot, in the construction of the shoe, or in its 

 application may very properly be corrected at any time. Circum- 

 stances may at times make it imperative that shoes shall be worn 

 which are not free from objections; as, for instance, the shoe with 

 a high calk ; but in such cases it is considered that the injuries liable 



