712 PA THOL OG Y OF PA R TURITION^ 



Lotions of belladonna, opium, tincture of camphor, poppy heads, etc., 

 are convenient applications, and if warm do good ; but to prove effica- 

 cious, they must be applied frequently, and at the commencement of the 

 disease. A sponge, or rubbing in with the hand, are the best means of 

 applying them. Ftirstenberg recommends continuous tepid alkaline lo- 

 tions applied by the hand for twenty-four to thirty-six hours ; and 

 Schaack, quoted by Saint-Cyr, asserts that, employed at the commence- 

 ment, they have a remarkable effect — often arresting the inflammation in 

 that interval, the swelling disappearing in one or two days. 



_ Rychner states that nothing can equal the success resulting from the 

 employment of alkaline lotions. The owners of cattle in Switzerland 

 are well aware of this, and as soon as they observe the slightest alteration 

 in the milk of a Cow, they take a handful of wood-ashes, which they 

 moisten with milk, and making a lotion of the mixture, they rub it on the 

 udder. Rychner is of opinion that the potash in the ashes prevents the 

 coagulation of the milk in the udder^this coagulation being, according 

 to him, the point of departure or initial phenomenon of mastitis. For 

 this reason he gives the following recipe, which has obtained more suc- 

 cess than any other, when applied before the inflammation had attained 

 its greatest intensity : 



Potass - - - - - I part. 

 Water - - - - - • - 2 parts. . 

 Olive-oil 5 " 



These are to be well mixed, and then four or five parts more water are 

 to be added. Often, after five or six hours, during which nothing could 

 ike drawn from the teat except a small quantity of thin curdled milk, 

 there is obtained a whitish-yellow fluid, more like pus than milk, which 

 is a very favorable sign. 



Ointments and embrocations of various kinds are also employed — as 

 those of belladonna, henbane, morphia, camphor, laurel, etc. In Eng- 

 land, the extract of belladonna is much used as an application to the in- 

 flamed gland. Rychner recommends an ointment made with soft soap 

 and this extract ; Hertwig gives his testimony in favor of camphorated 

 pomade ; while some prefer simple lard. Strong mercurial ointment has 

 been greatly extolled as an anodyne and relaxer of the tissues, and justly 

 so. Its constitutional effects should be watched, and care must be taken 

 that the progeny is not allowed to suck the teat. 



Stimulating applications should not be employed, unless the disease is 

 in a chronic form, and then their effect must be noted. 



When suppuration appears to be inevitable, this process should be ex- 

 pedited by every means, so as to concentrate the pus at one point, if 

 possible. The warm poultice or fomentations should be continued, and 

 it may even be advantageous to apply mercurial ointment, ammoniacal 

 liniments, and such other "maturatives " as blisters. The abscess is to 

 be treated according to general principles : it should be opened as soon 

 as fluctuation can be detected, and for thi^i purpose the bistoury or lan- 

 cet may be employed ; though some practitioners prefer the actual cau- 

 tery, which, they believe, does not entail so much risk of haemorrhage, 

 favors the exit of indurated parts, affords a better means for the escape 

 of pus, and the resulting wound heals up more readily. When opened, 

 the wound demands only ordinary treatment — cleanliness, detersive or 

 stimulant dressings, carbolic oil or lotion, etc. To prevent the opening 



