238 Management and Treatment of the Hoi'se. 



when the tumour becomes soft to the touch it 

 must be opened with a lancet and afterwards 

 kept open with a seton. A needle with the cord 

 attached must penetrate the apex of the tumour, 

 and be brought out a little way below the tumour, 

 and the incision with the lancet should be large 

 to allow of free suppuration, for if the matter 

 cannot run freely away it will set up a great 

 amount of irritation. Gentle pressure must be 

 used to squeeze all the matter out of the wound, 

 after which nothing more will be required for 

 three or four days. After the seton has set up a 

 healthy reaction, which may be known by the 

 matter discharged being of a light straw colour 

 and of the thickness of thick cream, the seton 

 may be removed, and the wound dressed with 

 carbolized oil, five oil to one acid. It may be 

 necessary to divide the ligaments of the neck 

 with the lance to expose the bottom of the 

 abscess to the action of the acid, but no evil 

 effects will result from this, as both ends of the 

 ligaments will unite again in a few days. It 

 often happens that the wound will fill too rapidly 

 with new flesh when using carbolized oil, and it 

 may be necessary to touch the parts with nitrate 

 of silver or lunar caustic to consolidate the parts. 

 This is a good omen ; but should this treatment 

 not have the effect of setting up a healthy condi- 

 tion, then it will be necessary to call in the aid 

 of a practical veterinary surgeon, for in ail pro- 

 bability the bones of the neck are fractured, and 

 as these can only be successfully treated by a 

 practical man, it is useless giving my readers the 



