DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 103 



and as a general thing it does not blemish. There are other irons with a 

 number of points, which may be used, but it is likely to cause sloughing. 

 The punch is also used, and it is better to knock it in with a block of 

 wood than with a hammer. A seaton is another form of counter irrita- 

 tion. It is beneficial, and sometimes preferable to the firing iron, for the 

 firing iron will blemish if you fire severely, and if you fire only slightly, 

 you might as well blister. In inserting a seaton, you may or may not 

 have to cast the animal ; just make an incision with the scissors, and 

 insert the seaton, and keep it stimulated with a weak solution of bin- 

 iodide of mercury. Take into consideration the animal, and also the 

 owners of the animal ; if seatons have been used in that locality, use 

 seatons. It is recommended to cut the tendon of the flex or metarsi. 

 This would be successful if it was due to pressure of that tendon ; but if 

 it comes from the internal parts, it will, of course, do no good. You may 

 often feel perplexed in examining for soundness. If a horse is eight or 

 nine years old, though spavin is present, it does not interfere much with 

 his work, yet is an unsoundness ; but in a horse three or four years old, 

 it is likely to produce more or less lameness. 



WOUNDS. 



A Wound is a solution of continuity in soft parts, and wounds are 

 of various kinds — as incised, lacerated, punctured, contused, gun-shot 

 and poisoned. 



Incised. — An incised wound is where the tissues are smoothly divided 

 with a cutting instrument, and its length exceeds its depth. If it is par- 

 allel with a large muscle, it does not, in some cases, prove very serious ; 

 but if across the muscle, a great gaping wound is the result. A 



Punctured wound is produced by a sharp or blunt-pointed instrument, 

 and the depth exceeds the length ; and this is more dangerous than an 

 incised wound, for the tissues are pierced to some depth, the matter 

 which forms does not escape freely, and sometimes results seriously, and, 

 as a general thing it requires to be carefully looked after. In a lacerated 

 wound the skin is torn as well as cut, as in one horse kicking another in 

 the haunch with a sharp shoe. 



Lacerated and Contused. — In these the hemorrhage is not so great as 

 in incised wounds for the parts cause coagulatittn of the blood. Contu- 

 sion is where the parts under the skin are injared without the skin being 

 cut A horse, in traveling, strikes the limb, and affects the tissues but 

 not the skin. It is often seen in man, as a black eye There may be 

 effusion or laceration of a vessel — ecchymosis is the result. It may run 

 to effusion or serum, or to suppuration. 



G tin-shot wounds are seldom seen, except during war. 



Poisoned wounds are caused by some poisonous substance. The min- 

 eral acids act in this way, and, if freely applied, are apt to set up exten- 

 sive irritation. I saw one case where there was extensive sloughing from 

 binding a toad to a split. 



Treatment of wounds of course varies to a certain extent, but there are 

 certain general principles necessary. If the wound is extensive, and 

 hemorrhage is present, first arrest the hemorrhage, and the most surgical 

 way is to apply a ligature to the artery. But we sometimes find this 

 difficult, especially in wounds about the feet, and we are able, in many 

 cases, to arrest it by other means. Compression, in many cases, will do, 

 the result of which is coagulation of the blood. Or styptics may be used 

 — an excellent one is the tincture of the chloride of iron. Moderately 



