CLEAN CUT^ 



153 



where the wound has any tendency to gape, as too great 

 a straiiv upon the stitches cannot but lead to delay in 

 tlie healing process. In bandaging a limb or part of a 

 limb, commence a /m?«^5 a^ the foot, and proceed up- 

 wards ; in other parts of the body begin where you 

 find it most convenient. Before applying a bandage 

 to an injured surface, a couple of pieces of old linen of 

 cotton rag should be folded into pads or compresses, 

 and laid one on each side of the cut, and over these 

 the bandage should be rolled, evenly and with moder- 

 ate and uniform firmness. By this plan the separated 

 surfaces are supported and preserved in close juxta- 

 position, especially at the bottom of the wound, a thing 

 of some importance where the cavity is deep. Trans- 

 verse cuts of the limbs of sheep require more careful 

 and more complicated treatment than cuts in other 

 parts, as there is a constant tendency of the edges to 

 retract. This retraction of the edges may be in some 

 degree obviated by the application of a splint, which 

 may be made of a slip of stiff leather (such as is used 

 for saddle flaps) well wetted, so as to be easily adapted 

 to the form of the limb. It is intended to impede the 

 motion of the leg, which occasions the gaping of the 

 wound, and must therefore be made to pass over one 

 or more joints as circumstances may require. Tow 

 must be laid along the surface (a sound one if possible) 

 on which the leather is to be placed, and a bandage 

 then rolled over it so as to make all secure. 



(110.) Clean cuts, as every one knows, heal readily 

 in a healthy animal, seldom demanding above three 

 dressings ; lacerations, on the other hand, require a 

 K>nger period for their reparation, inasmuch as the 



