301 



by any siicli means, and if a trial of these unknown compounds 

 should be followed b}' complications no worse than the establishment 

 of one or more ugly, hairless cicatrices, it will be well for both the 

 horse and his owner. 



Rest and counter-irritation, with the j^roper medicaments, consti- 

 tute, then, the prominent points in the treatment designed for the 

 relief of bone spavin. Yet there are cases in which all the agencies 

 and methods referred to seem to lack effectiveness and fail to produce 

 sat isf actor}'" results. Either the rest has been prematurelj^ inter- 

 rupted, or the blisters have failed to righth' modif}' the serous infil- 

 tration, or the case in hand has some undiscernible characteristics 

 which seem to have rendered the disease neutral to the agencies 

 emplo3"ed against it. An indication of more energetic means is then 

 presented, and free cauterization with the fire-iron becomes necessary. 



At this point a word of explanation in reference to this operation 

 of firing may bs approj)riale for the satisfaction of any among our 

 readers who maj' entertain an exaggerated idea of its severity and 

 possible cruelty. 



The operation is one of simplicity, but is nevertheless one which, 

 in order to secure its benefits, must be reserved for times and occa- 

 sions of which only the best knowledge and highest discretion should 

 be allowed to judge. It is not the mere application of a hot iron to a 

 given i^art of the body Avhich constitutes the operation of firing. It 

 is the methodical and scientific introduction of heat into the structure 

 with a view to a given effect upon a diseased organ or tissue bj^ an 

 expert surgeon. The first is one of the degrees of mere burning. The 

 other is scientific cauterization, and is a surgical manipulation Avhich 

 sliould be committed exclusively to the practised hand of the veter- 

 inary surgeon. 



Either firing alone or stimulation v\ith blisters is of great efficacy 

 for the I'elief of lameness from bone spavin. Failure to produce relief 

 after a few applications and after allowing a sufficient interval of 

 rest should be followed by a second, or, if needed, a third firing. 



In case of further failure there is a reserve of certain special oper- 

 ations which have been tried and recommended, among which those 

 of tarsal tenotom}^ periosteotomy, the division of nervous branches, 

 etc., may be mentioned. These, however, belong to the peculiar 

 domain of the veterinary practitioner, and need not now engage our 

 attention. 



FRACTURES. 



In technical language a fracture is a " solution of continuity in the 

 structure or substance of a bone," and it ranks among the most seri- 

 ous of the lesions to which the horse — or any animal — can be subject. 

 It is a subject of special interest to veterinarians, and to horse own- 

 ers as well, in view of the vai-iety of forms in which it may occur, as 



