DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 331 



ill-- exudation will be most prominent, being very profuse, and serve to 

 spread tin* disorder over a large surface. In other cases the formation 

 of incrustations, or rawness ( ,f the skin, will be the most striking- fea- 

 iii;v. The disease may be limited to certain small areas, or it may be 

 diffused over the greater part of the body ; the vesicles or pustules may 

 be scattered in small clusters, or a large number run together. The 

 chronic form is really only a prolongation of the disease, SUCCCSMV. 

 crops of pustules appearing on various portions of the body, frequently 

 invading fresh sections of the skin, while the older surfaces form scabs 

 or crusts upon the raw, indurated skin. 



Jn old standing cases the skin will break, forming fissures, especially 

 on portions of the body that bend the neck and limbs. Thus the dis- 

 ease may be prolonged indefinitely. When eczema reaches its latest 

 period, either acute or chronic, desquamatiou of the affected parts is 

 the most prominent feature. The formation and shedding of these suc- 

 cessive crops of scales constitute the character of the disease frequently 

 denominated psoriasis. 



Treatment. The treatment of eczema is often anything but a pleasant 

 task. There is no one method of treatment which will always prove 

 successful, no matter how early it is begun, or how small an area is 

 involved. We must endeavor to remove the cause by giving attention 

 to the general health of the animal and its environment. Feeding 

 should be moderate in quantity and not too stimulating in character 

 green feed, bran mashes, ground oats, clean hay, plenty of salt. If the 

 animal has been fed too high, give an active purgative Epsom salts 

 prefen e,d once a week, if necessary, and half an ounce of acetate or 

 nitrate of potash may be given in the feed twice a day. If the animal 

 is in poor condition and debilitated, give a tablespoon ful of the follow- 

 ing mixture in feed twice a day: Powdered copperas, gentian, sulphur, 

 and sassafras bark, equal parts by weight. If the animal is lousy the 

 parasites must be destroyed before the eczema can be cured. The 

 external treatment must vary with the character of the lesions; no 

 irritating application is to be made while the disease is in its acute, 

 vesicular, or pustular stage, and, in the chronic stage, active stimu- 

 lants must be used. Much washing is harmful, yet crusts and seale-s 

 must be removed in order to obtain satisfactory results from the external 

 applications. Both objects, however, can be attained by judiciously 

 combining the curative agents with such substances as will at the same 

 time cleanse the parts. 



In the vesicular stage, when the skin is feverish and the epidermis 

 peeling off, exposing the exuding skin, an application of boracic acid 

 solution, 2 drains of the a-cid to 8 ounces of water, will often relieve the 

 smarting or itching, and also serve to check the exudation and dry the 

 surface. If this fails to hare the desired effect usecrcolin, 1 ounce to a 

 quart of water as a wash, or the black wash, composed of 1 dram of 

 calomel to 10 ounces of linic water. Anvof these three washes may IK? 



