FRACTURES OF THE BOXES 331 



tiire, provided thci'c arc no wounds. Where there are wounds or swellings 

 we must wait until the swelling is absorbed. 



\\'c apply a permanent dressing, or a temporary dressing may be 

 put on in the following manner: Cover it thoroughly with cotton wadding 

 and apply the ordinary bandage, taking care not to make it too tight. 

 In plaster-of-Paris dressings, the ordinary gauze, crinoline, or cheese- 

 cloth may be used, and the plaster, in powder form, rubbed into the 

 bandage while it is being rolled. Then rub a small amount of oil (swdet) 

 into the skin about the point of fracture to prevent the bandage 

 sticking. At the same time place the plaster bandage in water for a 

 few minutes and then wrap it carefully around the splint, following the 

 methods adopted in ordinary bandage rolling, being careful not to place 

 it too tightly. Smoothe the water out of the part, making the bandage 

 as level as possible. In some cases where you want a very stiff ban- 

 dage, it is advisable to put a certain amount of plaster between the 

 folds of the bandage and finally give a good coating over the 

 entire bandage. After the dressing has been applied, the animal 

 must be kept perfectly quiet for at least ten to twenty minutes 

 to allow the dressing to become hard. A plaster dressing will dry 

 and harden a little more quickly by the addition of a small quantity of 

 alum or common salt; a little glycerine added to plaster makes it much 

 harder. A pair of curved scissors are the most practical for the removal 

 of the dressing. Tripolith dressing (a mixture of plaster-of-Paris and 

 soot) can be applied in the same manner as the plaster. Its composition 

 is said to be much lighter and it dries much more rapidly. Silicate of 

 sodium dressing has the advantage of lightness, durability, and of being 

 removed easily, but it has one disadvantage, and that is it dries slowly, 

 sometimes taking a couple of hours. The writer likes this form of 

 dressing best, and to overcome the drawback of slow hardening has 

 placed thin layers of wire gauze between the dressings. Flannel may be 

 used as an under layer. Another dressing is a mixture of benzoate of 

 sodium and silicate of sodium. In fractures situated in the upper 

 sections of the leg where the extremity is cone shaped, it is necessary to 

 build up the bandage in numerous layers to give it body so as to hold to 

 the position of the leg, in other cases the bandage should be carried around 

 the bod}^ so as to make the bandage firmer (Fig. 105). 



The starch bandage (common boiled starch) is very useful, easily 

 made and can be used in the. smaller dogs, the bandage being put on first 

 in one layer, this carefully covered with the starch, this covered with a 

 layer of muslin, then starch over this and finally the third layer covered 

 with starch and allowed to dry. This bandage takes longer to di-y than 

 the plaster. 



Pitch plaster bandages are put on those parts of the body where an 



