Foul in the Foot 309 



287. In these instances the efforts at cure will not be likely 

 to prove successful. 



Treatment. — If attended to in time, the disease is not 

 difficult to manage, except when it is owing to scrofula. All 

 loose horn should be removed, and all dirt and foreign sub- 

 stances. The wound, if much inflamed, should then be poul- 

 ticed for a day or two ; and after that dressed with one of 

 tlie astringent applications given below (Nos. 357-9). 



If the pus has burrowed much in the surrounding tissue, 

 it is best to syringe the foot thoroughly with a solution of 

 carbolic acid, one part of the acid to ten or twelve of water ; 

 and having done this, soak small pledgets of tow in the solu- 

 tion and fasten them in the wound with bandasres. The ani- 

 mal should be kept in a clean stable, or on a dry, short pas- 

 turage. 



Some neglected cases are met with, where the foul has ex- 

 tended into the foot and up as high as the fetlock ; the claws 

 are separated by the swelling, the bones are attacked and 

 rotten, the stench is overpowering and the animal " dead 

 lame." Cattle so troubled will give up the struggle for life ; 

 will refuse their food, lose flesh, lie down and die. 



But even such desperate cases may be often cured com- 

 pletely by amputation — taking off the foot through the fet- 

 lock joint; or, if this is too diseased, by sawing through the 

 canon bone above it. This is not a difficult nor dangerous 

 operation, and gives the owner a chance to feed up the ani- 

 mal for the butcher, which should be done as soon as possi- 

 ble. The animal should be cast, a sharp knife used, and 

 abundantly long flaps of sound skin and flesh be left on each 

 side of the limb, to fold over and cover the ends of the bone. 

 Bleeding should be prevented by a tourniquety and the arte- 

 ries carefully tied. Carbolized water is the best dressing for 



