172 The Care of Animals 



irritation, such as repeated hitting of a part. Tumors 

 sometimes follow surgical operations or wounds. Horses 

 often have tumors in their noses. 



The only satisfactory treatment for tumors is to 

 remove them. There are several methods of doing 

 this ; the best one, for most tumors, and the only one 

 for some, is to cut them out with a knife. Care should 

 be taken to guard against hemorrhage, as the blood 

 supply to some tumors is large. Another method 

 that can be used to advantage when the growth has 

 a small base is to tie a strong string — a waxed- 

 end, fish line, or a rubber band wound several times 

 — tightl}' around this stem, thus shutting off the 

 blood supply. In a few days the tumor will slough 

 off, and the resulting sore should be treated as a 

 simple wound. Another method is to slough them off 

 by using caustics. Arsenic or corrosive sublimate are 

 commonly used, either singly or combined. A pellet of 

 the caustic about the size of a small pea, wrapped 

 in tissue-paper or muslin, is pushed into a small inci- 

 sion made in the base of the tumor. Sometimes two 

 or three pellets are placed in a large one. In a few 

 days the tumor will begin to separate, and will finally 

 slough off. The difficulty in using caustics is to confine 

 their action to the diseased tissue. 



Shoe -boil — Capped Elhoiv 



A disease that partakes of the nature both of an 

 abscess and a tumor is a capped elbow, or shoe -boil. 

 It i'^ situated on the elbow, and first appears as a soft, 



