300 HORSE, SWINE AND POULTRY DISEASES 



remove these with tepid water and Castile soap ; then apply an oint- 

 ment of sulphur or iodide of sulphur day by day. If this seems to 

 be losing its effect after a week, change for mercurial ointment or 

 a solution of sulphid of potassium, or of hyposulphite of soda, 3 

 drams to the quart of water. In these cases the animal may take a 

 course of sulphur (1 ounce daily), bisulphite of soda (one-half 

 ounce daily), or of arsenic (5 grains daily) mixed with 1 dram 

 bicarbonate of soda. 



INFLAMMATION WITH PUSTULES. 



In this affection the individual elevations on the inflamed skin 

 show in the center a small sac of white, creamy pus in place of the 

 clear liquid of a blister. They vary in size from a millet seed to a 

 hazelnut. The pustules of glanders are to be distinguished by the 

 watery contents and cordlike swelling, extending from the pustules 

 along the line of the veins, and those of boils by the inflammation 

 and sloughing out of a core of the true skin. The hair on the 

 pustule stands erect, and is often shed with the scab which results. 

 When itching is severe the parts become excoriated by rubbing, and, 

 as in the other forms of skin disease, the character of the eruption 

 may become indistinct. Old horses suffer mainly at the root of the 

 mane and tail and about the heels, and suckling foals around the 

 mouth, on the face, inside the thighs, and under the tail. 



Pustules like eczema are especially liable to result from un- 

 wholesome food and indigestion, from a sudden change of food 

 above all from dry to green food. In foals it may result from over- 

 heating of the mare and allowing the first milk after she returns, 

 or by milk rendered unwholesome by faulty feeding of the dam. 

 If a foal is brought up by hand the souring and other decomposi- 

 tions in the milk derange the digestion and cause such eruption. 

 Vetches and other plants affected with honeydew and buck-wheat 

 have been the cause of these eruptions on white portions of the 

 skin. Disorders of the kidneys or liver are common causes of this 

 affection. 



Treatment. Apply soothing ointments, such as benzonated 

 oxide of zinc, or vaseline with 1 dram oxide of zinc in each ounce. 

 Or a wash of 1 dram sugar of lead or 2 drams hyposulphite of soda 

 in a quart of water may be freely applied. If the skin is already 

 abraded and scabby, smear thickly with vaseline for some hours, 

 then wash with soapsuds and apply the above dressings. When 

 the excoriations are indolent they may be painted with a solution 

 of lunar caustic, 2 grains to 1 ounce of distilled water. Internally 

 counteract costiveness and remove intestinal irritants by the same 

 means as in eczema, and follow this with one-half ounce doses daily 

 of hyposulphite of soda, and one-half ounce doses of gentian. > In- 

 veterate cases may often be benefited by a course of sulphur, bisul- 

 phite of soda, or arsenic. In all, the greatest care must be taken with 

 regard to food, feeding, watering, cleanliness, and work. __ In wet and 

 cold seasons predisposed animals should, so far as possible, be pro- 

 tected from wet, mud, snow, and melted snow above all, from that 

 which has been melted by salt. 



