278 THE DISEASES AND DISOEDERS OF THE OX. 



great progress, and has already invaded extensive areas of the 

 tongue and mouth ; but in most instances treatment should be 

 adopted, unless the animal be already fattened for the butcher. 



Where there are but one, two, or three, tumours, not of large 

 size in the tongue, it is our custom, after having had the animal 

 secured, to incise the growths with an ordinary scalpel, and paint 

 the cut surface with a mixture of carbolic acid and iodine (iodised 

 pheDol). This operation, in the general way, does not require to 

 be repeated ; but the tongue may be washed over on alternate 

 days in the succeeding week with a diluted solution of carbolic 

 acid and iodine in water. When the growths are already 

 ulcerated, they should be similarly treated. After the operation, 

 the animal should be kept up, being fed on mashes and other 

 soft food. When the incisions are healed, he may be turned out 

 to graze, unless there should be any fresh manifestations of 

 mischief. 



In very severe cases it will be essential to have the animal 

 cast before operating ; but in milder ones this is not found 

 necessary, the beast being secured by the nose-pincers of the 

 kind here delineated. 



Fig. 36. — Nose-pincees. 



As a rule, it will not be found that the diagnosis of actinomy- 

 cosis presents any great difficulty, and the above operation is 

 not generally one likely to set up any constitutional mischief. 

 In almost all instances we have found it successful when per- 

 formed at an early date. When first introduced to the notice of 

 the profession (vide Veterinary Journal), the disease was held 

 to be incurable. It is, therefore, fortunate to be able, after a 

 considerable number of cases treated, to report very favourable 

 issues in almost every instance. In those cases where the 



