68 General Principles of Veterinary Ifedicine. 



If througli irregularity of the teeth some become more 

 prominent than others, they must be filed down ; and as 

 always when a tooth in one jaw is lost, its fellow in the 

 other jaw tends to grow too long, the rasp is required to file 

 it back from time to time. 



Extraction of the teeth is required in case of decay. This 

 change is confined to the grinders or molar teeth. The first, 

 second, and third molars may be withdrawn by the forceps ; 

 but the fourth, fifth, and sixth have to be removed by 

 " punching '^ after trephining the gum. The operation is as 

 follows, and can easily be learned by a little practice on the 

 dead animal : 



Cast the horse and trephine the gam so as to make the 

 opening to correspond to the fang of the diseased tooth, 

 allowing sufficient space above or below the diseased fang — 

 ahovey if the operation be in the upper, below, if it be on the 

 bottom jaw — for the introduction of the punch. The punch 

 should be at least an inch in circumference at its point, that 

 it may not cut or split the tooth. 



Two or three smart but not heavy blows with the hammer 

 will be sufficient to loosen the tooth ; and it may then be re- 

 moved with the forceps or the hand. The cavity should be 

 washed out with a solution of alum, or some carbolic acid 

 water. The cavity will in a few weeks close over. 



BLISTERING, 



The application of a blister is a part of the routine treat- 

 ment of the common veterinarian whenever he suspects in- 

 ternal inflammation. It is a pernicious and discreditable prac- 

 tice. Blisters usually do no good whatever in deep seated 

 inflammations, and they not only leave a blemish slow to dis- 

 appear, but they cause the animal a great deal of severe pain 

 and have often brought on strangling and irritation of the 

 bladder. 



