DISEASES OF CATTLE 453 



carbolic or creolin solution and apply a mixture of equal parts of 

 blue vitriol and alum in dry powder. 



FISSURE OP THE WALL (SPLIT HOOF). 



This is rarely seen among cattle. It may occur in weak walls, 

 in heavy-bodied cattle, by stepping on an uneven surface, especially 

 when the point of the toe is grown out long. One may find the point 

 of the toe broken and the wall split almost up to the hair. 



Treatment. The divided sections may be brought into approx- 

 imation and held in place by drilling a small hole from one side 

 into and through the other, commencing half an inch back of the 

 fissure on each side; then drive a light horseshoe nail through the 

 hole and clinch it. Pare the injured claw as short as it will bear. 



INTERDIGITAL FIBROMA. 



Hard, nodular, fibrous tumors sometimes grow in the cleft of 

 the foot, and cause inconvenience, lameness, absorption, or ulcera- 

 tion of the contiguous parts. 



Treatment. They should be dissected out, and the wound 

 dressed with carbolic-acid lotion and pine tar once a day until heal- 

 ing is completed. 



DEFORMITIES. 



Deformities in the feet of cattle usually consist in overgrowth 

 of horn, generally due to want of wear in animals which are stabled. 

 The hoof may turn inward, outward, or upward, and may give rise 

 to lameness, inability to walk, foul foot, etc. Bulls which are con- 

 tinually stabled and dairy cows very frequently have misshapen feet 

 for want of an occasional trimming, and this deformity may eventu- 

 ally lead to permanent injury. 



Treatment. Cut the superabundant growth of horn down with 

 saw, knife, or rasp, until the foot assumes its natural form. 



PRICKS AND WOUNDS. 



If an animal suffers with a penetrating wound from prick of 

 fork or nail, the orifice of the wound should be enlarged to perimt a 

 free discharge of pus; then soak the foot in a creolin solution (3 per 

 cent) in a tub, or apply a flaxseed poultice, changing it three times 

 a day until the fever has abated. The foot should be kept band- 

 aged and dressed with pine tar and oakum, and the animal must be 

 kept on a clean floor until the wound is closed and all or nearly all 

 lameness has disappeared. 



If an animal is cut in the foot with barbed wire, piece of glass, 

 or any other substance, dress the wound, after proper cleansing, with 

 carbolic-acid solution, 1 ounce to 20 of water. If any uneven edges 

 of horn or skin or lacerated flesh project, trim them off, and in all 

 cases when it can be done a tarred bandage should be applied. This 

 will serve to sustain the cut surfaces in their place, exclude dirt, and 

 protect against flies, maggots, etc. 



When the wound has extended into a joint, surgical treatment 

 may become necessary, which will require the services of an edu- 

 cated veterinarian. Occasionally an animal becomes fastened by the 

 foot in some crevice and sustains severe bruising, wrenching, or frac- 

 ture of some part of the foot. In such cases cold-water packs to the 



