158 A HUNTING CATECHISM 



a wet bandage must be put on. The intense cold 

 produced will often check the further formation 

 of the splint. Iodine lotion and Rhus Toxico- 

 dendron lotion may also induce the absorbents 

 to remove the bone already formed. 



After a day's hunting it is very necessary to 

 search the legs carefully for thorns, especially 

 the knees, and the surest way to detect them is 

 to well wet the hair, and then run the finger up 

 against the way it lies. The smallest thorn can 

 then be felt, if not absolutely imbedded overhead 

 in the skin. It is safer when found to use a 

 pair of pincers to extract it than to endeavour 

 to work it out with the nail, for fear of breaking 

 it. As soon as it has been got out the point 

 should be carefully examined to see if it has 

 been broken ofif, and if this should be the case a 

 poultice must be applied. 



Poultices should not be made, if possible, of 

 bread, or even bran, for when they get dry they 

 get hard, and irritate a wound. Linseed meal, 

 boiled turnips, or carrots mashed up, all make 

 good poultices. The old-fashioned cold-water 

 dressing is as useful as anything for extracting 

 thorns, just a wet linen bandage with oilskin 

 outside ; and this can be applied to parts where 

 the weight of a poultice makes it difficult to keep 

 one in its place. A cabbage leaf makes an ex- 

 cellent substitute for oilskin, and is almost 

 always at hand. 



Q. What should be done in the case of a strain 

 of the sinews, or breakdown ? 



A. If, as is unfortunately seldom the case, 

 it is possible to attend to the sprain immediately 

 it occurs, before swelling has begun, some applica- 



