MEDICINES AND RECEIPTS. 371 



a nail has run in the foot, after the nail is pulled out and the nail-hole 



pared out, to drop a few drops in the hole to kill the rust and 



poison of the nail. 



BENZOm. 



Benzoin is got from a tree called styrax benzoin, which 

 grows in the southern part of Asia. It ii got by cutting- a hole 

 in the bark and catching the sap which afterwards soon becomes 

 hard and brittle. 



Its Action and Use. — The form we use this in is known as 

 Compound Tincture of Benzoin, or Friar's Balsam, which is pre- 

 pared from the gum. Its chief action is for healing wounds by 

 painting the wound over with a feather twice a day, and is especi- 

 ally useful for caulks, or where a nail has run in the foot, to kill 

 the poison. It is not used much internally. 



BROMIDE OF POTASSIUM. 



Bromide of Potassium is prepared from seawater, and the 

 form we usually get it in is in a white crystal powder, which has a 

 salty taste. 



Its Action and Use. — Its chief action is to quiet the nerves 

 in nervous diseases, such as lockjaw (tetanus), or in convulsions, 

 chorea and other painful diseases. 



Dose. — For horses, 1 teaspoonful; cattle, 1 teaspoonful; 



sheep, Yz teaspoonful ; pigs and dogs, ^ teaspoonful. The dose 



can be given three or four times a day, according to the severity 



of the case. 



BINIODID OF MERCURY (RED PRECIPITATE). 



Biniodid of Mercury is got from the mineral kingdom. It is 

 bought in the form of a heavy, bright-red powder. 



Its Action and Use. — It is chiefly used for blistering bony 

 enlargements, such as spavins, ringbones, sidebones, splints, etc. 

 The proportions in which it is used is 1 to 2 drams to the ounce 

 of vaseline, or lard, according to the breed of the horse and thick- 

 ness of the skin. Have the mercury and vaseline, or lard, 

 thoroughly mixed before using, and three days after applying the 

 blister grease the part with lard. For further information look at 

 mercury blister among the receipts. 



BUCKTHORIf. 

 Buckthorn is got from the ripe berries of a shrubby bush that 

 grows along the North Pacific Coast. The form we use it in is 

 known as Syrup of Buckthorn. 



