WARTS CANCER. 247 



applied. In four days considerable salivation came on, and lasted a week, 

 but at the expiration of that time the warts had vanished. The owner of 

 the dog had applied the solution with the tip of her finger ; she experienced 

 some salivation, which she attributed to this cause. 



The skin of the dog, from the feebleness of its perspiratory functions, is 

 little sensible to the influence of diaphoretics : therefore we trust so much 

 to external apolications for the cure of diseases of the skin of that animal. 



CANCER. 



This is a disease too frequent among females of the dog tribe, and occa- 

 sionally seen in the male. Its symptoms, local and general, are various. 

 They are usually very obscure in their commencement ; they increase with- 

 out any limit ; they are exasperated by irritants of any kind ; and in the 

 majority of cases their reproduction is almost constant, and perfectly 

 incurable. 



With regard to the female, it is mostly connected with the secretion of 

 milk. Two or three years may pass, and at almost every return of the 

 period of oestrum, there will be some degree of enlargement or inflamma- 

 tion of the teats. Some degree of fever also appears ; but, after a few 

 weeks have passed away, and one or two physic balls have been administered, 

 everything goes on well. In process of time, however, the period of 

 oestrum is attended by a greater degree of fever and enlargement 

 of the teats, and at length some diminutive hardened nuclei, not ex- 

 ceeding in size the tip of a finger, are felt within one of the teats. By 

 degrees they increase in size ; they become hard, hot, and tender. A 

 considerable degree of redness begins to appear. Some small enlarge- 

 ments are visible. The animal evidently exhibits considerable pain when 

 these enlargements are pressed upon. They rapidly increase, they 

 become more hot and red, various shining protuberances appear about th3 

 projection, and at length the tumour ulcerates. A considerable degree 

 of sanious matter flows from the aperture. 



The tumours, however, after a while diminish in size ; the heat and 

 redness diminish ; the ulcer partly or entirely closes, but, after a while, 

 and especially when the next period of oestrum arrives, the tumour again 

 increases, and with far greater rapidity than before, and then comes the 

 necessity of the removal of the tumour, or if not, the destruction of the 

 animal. In the great majority of cases, the removal of the cancer does 

 not destroy the dog, but lessens its torture. The knife and the forceps 

 must usually be resorted to, and in the hands of a skilful surgeon the life 

 of the animal will be saved. 



When the cancer is attached to the neighbouring parts by cellular sub- 

 stance alone, no difficulty will be experienced in detaching the whole of it. 

 The operation will be speedily performed, and there will be end of the 

 matter ; but, if the tumour has been neglected, and the muscular, the cel- 

 lular, or even the superficial parts have been attacked, the utmost caution 

 is requisite that every diseased portion shall be removed. Mr. Blaine adds 

 to this that " it must also be taken into the account, that, although in the 

 canine cancer ulceration does not often reappear in the immediate part, when 

 the operation has been judiciously performed, yet, when the constitution has 

 been long affected with this ulcerative action, it is very apt to show itself in 

 some neighbouring part soon after." 



