174 INJURIES. 



tion will have time ; when once established, the veterinary 

 surgeon can do little towards promoting it, beyond freeing 

 the wound from bandages and coverings of all descriptions 

 — leaving it perfectly exposed — keeping it clean, and attend- 

 ing to the general health. Should there appear any indis- 

 position in the wound to supfpurate kindly, we may employ 

 digestives, as they are called. One of the best, to my mind, 

 is the farriers' 



BLACK OIL. 



Take of Spirits of Turpentine Jij ; 

 Olive Oil, Oj. 

 Mix, and add six drachms of Sulphuric Acid ; leaving the stopper out of the 

 bottle until all the heat evolved has passed oflF. 



As soon as ^' laudable pus '^ makes its appearance, or as 

 soon as a healthy action has commenced^ the healing process 

 will go on without our assistance. 



'' As a general rule, the less a healing sore is interfered 

 with the better, and certainly when it is dressed, merely the 

 superabundant pus should be wiped away, not from the sore 

 itself, but from its vicinity/' (' British and Foreign Medical 

 Review/) 



Our forefathers were in the habit of taking great credit 

 for healing flesh wounds : the truth, however, is, nature only 

 can perform the work, and does best when none of our 

 '^ healing '' salves are in her way. In a healthy wound, we 

 can be of no assistance ; but when the granulations appear 

 over-luxuriant, looking pale and weak, by touching their 

 surfaces slightly with some escharotic application, a weak 

 solution of blue vitriol, we may check these fungoid growths. 



Bird (V.S. 8th Hussars) says, ^' One of the best dressings 

 for producing a good healthy pus from an indolent wound, 

 and disposing it to granulate, is 01. Petrolei." 



Most horse-owners^ who have dabbled in veterinary medi- 

 cine, have heard of, or are acquainted with — 



