383 



Watering places, accessible without having to wade through mud, 

 are to be supplied. In toAvns, where the mud or dust is largely impreg- 

 nated with mineral products, it is not possible to adopt complete pro- 

 phylactic measures. ' Much can be done, however, by careful cleansing 

 of the feet and legs as soon as the animal returns from work. Warm 

 water should be used to remove the mud and dirt, after which the 

 parts are to be thoroughly dried with soft cloths. 



The means which are to be adopted for the cure of cutaneous quittor 

 vary with the stage of the disease at the time the case is presented for 

 treatment. If the case is seen early, that is, before any of the signs 

 of suppuration have developed, the affected foot is to be placed under 

 a constant stream of cold Avater, with the object of arresting a further 

 extension of the inflammatory process. To accomplish this put the 

 patient in slings in a narrow stall havinga slat or open floor. Bandage 

 the foot and leg to the knee or hock, as the case may be, with flannel 

 bandages loosely applied. Set a tub or barrel filled with cold water 

 above the patient and by the use of a small rubber hose of sufficient 

 length make a siphon which will carry the water from the bottom of 

 the tub to the leg at the top of the bandages. The stream of water 

 should be quite small, audit is to be continned until the inflammation 

 has entirely subsided or until the presence of pus can be detected in 

 the tumor. When suppuration has commenced the process should be 

 aided by the use of warm baths and poultices of linseed meal or boiled 

 turnips. If the tumor is of rapid growth, accompanied by intense 

 pain, relief is secured and sloughing largely limited by a free incision 

 of the parts. The incision should be vertical and deep into the tumor, 

 care being taken not to entirely divide the coronarj- band. If the 

 tumor is large more than one incision may be necessar3\ 



The foot should now be placed in a warm bath for half an hour or 

 longer and then poulticed. The hemorrhage produced by the cutting 

 and encouraged by the Avarm bath is generally very copious and soon 

 gives relief to the overtcnsion of the parts. 



In other cases it will be found that suppuration is well under way, 

 so that the center of the tumor is soft when the patient is first pre- 

 sented for treatment. It is always good surgery to relieve pus Avhen- 

 ever its presence can be detected; hence in these cases a free incision 

 must be made into the softened parts, the pus evacuated, and the foot 

 poulticed. 



By surgical interference the tumor is noAV converted into an oi^en 

 sore or ulcer, which, after it has been well cleaned by v.-arm baths 

 and poultices applied for two or three days, needs to be protected by 

 proper dressings. The best of all protective dressings is made of 

 small balls or pledgets of oakum, carefully packed into the wound 

 and held in place by a roller bandage 4 yards long, from 3 to 4 inches 

 wide, made of common bedticking and skillfully applied. The rem- 

 edies which may be used to stimulate the healing process are many, 

 and as a rule they are applied in the form of solutions or tinctures. 



