TREATMENT OF FRACTURES. 85 



cation by the swelling so produced. Another method of 

 bandaging is by the careful application of tarred cord to the 

 \^'hole limb over the leather, the cord commonly used for thatch- 

 ing stacks answering every purpose. The animal, if a horse, is 

 to be kept in a state of quietude in the slings for a period vary- 

 ing from two to three months. In foals and young unbroken 

 horses, the slings must be dispensed with, and it is wonderful to 

 see how carefully an animal, — gay and spirited, perhaps, before the 

 accident, — will nurse the broken limb ; for such, in addition to 

 sphnts, bandages, &c., a comfortable loose place, bedded with saw- 

 dust, chaff, or short straw, is all that is necessary. Wlien the bones 

 of horned cattle are fractured, they must be treated exactly in the 

 same manner as those of the young horse, shngs being as a rule 

 inadmissible. The limbs of dogs when broken require nothing but 

 the starch bandage, and in the course of a very few weeks they 

 will be found completely recovered. Such, then, are the general 

 principles whereby fractures are to be treated. I have had expe- 

 rience in the use of the plaster of Paris (sulphate of lime) treat- 

 ment, and can recommend it. It is also recommended by Mr. 

 Broad of Bath, and Mr. E. Spooner Hart of Calcutta, who state 

 that, if properly adjusted, it forms the best material for retaining 

 fractured bones in proper position. It is applied as follows : — 

 Cut thin calico into narrow slips, mix the gypsum with cold water 

 to a consistence thicker than cream ; the bandage is then to be 

 soaked in it, rolled up quickly, and bound round the leg, but not 

 too tightly, the animal to be kept still for a few minutes to enable 

 the plaster to set firmly. To prevent dogs from biting it off, Mr. 

 Broad recommends that the bandage be sprinkled, before it 

 sets, with cayenne pepper. Splints made of block-tin form a 

 very convenient apparatus for retaining fractured bones in their 

 proper position. They are easily made to the shape and form of 

 any part of the limb, are light, easily applied, and retained in 

 position by bandages. They should be rounded at their edges, 

 and all spaces between them and the u-regularities of the limb 

 padded with tow. Mr. Eobinson, V.S., Greenock, was the first 

 to suggest the idea to me. He finds them useful in broken knees, 

 and other injuries where suppression of motion is desirable. 



An animal may be lame for some weeks or months after 

 a fracture has united; but if no articulation is involved 



