620 



THE DISEASES AND DISOEDEES OP THE OX. 



surfaces are brought into close contiguity from end to end. This 

 method is not, as a rule, a good or safe method, and should only 

 be employed when a small and unimportant wound must be 

 hurriedly closed. 



When sewn together, wounds may be dressed with suitable 

 antiseptic lotions. Perfect rest may be requisite, particularly 

 when the wounds are situated in movable and important parts, 

 and in some cases it may be necessary to place the animal in 

 slings, in order to prevent the recumbent posture being assumed. 



In the case of large wounds, and especially when they are 

 lacerated, the many tailed bandage may often be serviceable. It 



Fig. 81. — Unintebkupted Suture. 



consists of two stout pieces of canvas or other suitable strong 

 material, each piece being glued on to the skin, from which the 

 hair has been clipped off, at one extremity, and been slit up 

 into tails at the other. When the glued end is firmly fixed, the 

 tails of the two sides are tied together, and thus the edges of 

 the wound may with care be brought into close apposition. 



Quiet and light food must be enjoined in all cases of wounds, 

 and suitable applications of an antiseptic character, such as the 

 well-known and most valuable preparation called black-oil may 

 sometimes be required in order to avert gangrene. Black-oil, as 

 properly made, probably owes most of its wonderful utility to 

 the disengagement of a little free dioxide of sulphur. It is 

 exceedingly valuable in veterinary practice as an external appli- 

 cation in certain cases, for instance, in sloughing and unhealthy- 

 looking wounds, and also as an adjunct to that most valuable 

 precaution against black-leg and other disorders, known as 



