72S DISEASES AND ABNORMALITIES OF THE YOUNG ANIMAL. 



the inflamed joints being enveloped afterwards in linen bandages. 

 Anodyne lotions and embrocations have also been recommended, in 

 order to allay the pain and irritative fever ; as well as the application 

 of tinctm'e of iodine before the suppuration period. "When suppuration 

 is established, the abscess should be opened at the proper time. 



Tonics have been given with advantage, as well as cod-liver-oil» 

 castor-oil, and even ordinary oils and fats. These not only aid in the 

 assimilation of earthy salts and nitrogenous matters, but to some 

 extent act as a laxative — a service of some importance. Small doses 

 of sulphate of magnesia or soda, or even aloes, may also be given with 

 the last-named object, or to produce continuous purgation for some 

 time. 



With regard to the ti-eatment of the disease in Lambs, Walley 

 advises that those affected be removed from the dam, and receive milk 

 from healthy animals. This milk may be mixed with beaten-up eggs, 

 and good nitrogenised gruels may also be allowed. " Place in dry, 

 warm houses, and give gentle aperients — as castor-oil — or better, a 

 small dose of mercury with chalk ; follow up by febrifuges and 

 diuretics, as nitrate of potash and camphor, with nitric ether, or car- 

 bonate of ammonia ; if much pain is evinced, give small doses of opiates 

 — Dover's powder being the best agent of this class ; or inject a small 

 quantity of the solution of morphia underneath the skin of the joints. 

 In the course of a few days, tonic treatment should be adopted, as the 

 administration of iron, alternated with iodide of potassium ; or mineral 

 acids with cinchona, or other vegetable tonics ; and allow a little wine, 

 good old ale, or porter." The same authority recommends, as local 

 treatment, the application of a strong blister — as the compound tincture 

 of iodine ointment — all round the joint, at the commencement of the 

 disease ; and when the subsequent inflammation has subsided, to keep 

 the joints at rest and in their proper position by the use of light splints 

 and bandages, leaving the joint exposed for further observation. As 

 soon as any tendency towards " pointing " in suppuration is perceived, 

 the joint is to be opened freely, the inflammatory products removed, 

 and the interior washed out with a solution of carbolic acid in glycerine 

 and warm water — one part of the first, two of the second, and forty or 

 fifty of the last. Afterwards, pads of soft lint or linen and tow, saturated 

 in carbolised oil (one to eight or ten) should be applied, leaving an 

 aperture inferiorly for the escape of discharge ; the dressings are to be 

 renewed every day. Mild caustics or astringent lotions are to be 

 applied if granulations project above the skin. If the ends of the bones 

 are carious, they must be scraped, and nitric or muriatic acid applied ; 

 should sinuses have formed, they must be obliterated by the use of 

 setons, or laying them open with the knife, and treating them after- 

 wards as ordinary wounds. " In treating the results of this disease, it 

 must be borne in mind that in young animals the reparative processes 

 go on very rapidly ; and that what appears to be a very formidable 

 wound, is soon converted into a comparatively simple one. Animals, 

 too, may, with a little trouble, be fattened and their flesh utilised ; few 

 can be preserved for breeding purposes."^ 



As salicylic acid is unrivalled for its antipyretic properties, and par- 

 ticularly in inflammation of the fibro-serous membranes, its internal 

 administration should be tried in this arthritis of young animals. The 



^ The flesh of animals which have been suffering from this disease should be interdicted 

 as food, as it is positively dangerous to those who consume it. 



