116 WOUNDS AND BRUISES. 



paralysis. Besides the nervous effect, the electricity may burn the 

 hair, skin, and underlying structures; may tear the soft parts; and 

 even break bones. The burns on the hair and skin not unfre- 

 quently take the form of tracings of the branches of trees. 



To relieve the unconsciousness, we may cause the patient to smell 

 ammonia, and give him strong tea or coffee to drink. We may 

 combat the paralysis by rubbing into the part some stimulating 

 liniment, such as compound camphor liniment; a mixture of one 

 part of either turpentine or kerosene (paraffin) oil to two parts of 

 any ordinary oil; or mustard oil. To stimulate the paralysed 

 muscles, we may inject subcutaneously in their neighbourhood, from 

 time to time, two grains of the hydrochlorate of strychnine dissolved 

 in a teaspoonful of water. Or we may give a drachm of nux vomica 

 in the food. 



Frost-Bite. 



The effects of frost-bite in the horse are usually confined to the 

 frog of the foot (giving rise to thrush) and to the skin of the pastern. 

 The practice of using salt to melt snow is liable to cause frost-bite 

 in the feet of horses which travel on roads thus treated. 



In Russia I have seen several cases of the tips of horses' ears 

 having been removed by frost-bite. 



The symptoms of frost-bite are due to the fact that if the blood 

 is driven out of any part, and that part is kept bloodless for a 

 period which need not exceed two or three minutes, inflammation 

 will be set up if the blood be allowed to again enter the vessels, 

 especially in large quantities. If the blood-vessels continue to be 

 deprived of blood for a comparatively long period, they will become 

 incapable of receiving the blood, and the part will consequently 

 remain bloodless and dead. In this case, suppuration will be set up 

 in the neighbouring healthy tissue, and the dead part will become 

 separated. In cases which admit of recovery, the inflammation 

 caused by the re-entrance of the blood will not be sufficiently 

 intense to cause destruction of the part. To obtain this desirable 

 result, the re-admission of the blood should be very carefully regu- 

 lated ; for the larger the amount, the greater will be the irritation 

 to the vessels. Hence, the worst possible treatment we could 

 apply to the part, would be to immerse it in warm water, or to 

 expose it to the influence of a fire. On the contrary, our efforts 

 in stimulating the return of the blood should be limited to friction 

 with a lump of snow, or with a pad of cloth or straw dipped in 

 cold water. As the horse cannot give us an account of his feelings, 

 and as his skin is thick, covered with hair, and generally full of 

 pigment ; we are hardly ever able to apply remedies for frost-bite 

 to him in sufficient time to aid in the restoration of the part to 



