433 



well, and but for its local trouble it might continue at work. When the 

 malady extends to the frog there is a fetid discharge from its cleft, or 

 from the depressions at its sides, and this gradually extends to its whole 

 surface and upon the adjacent parts of the sole. The horn meanwhile 

 becomes soft, whitish, and ileshy in aspect, its constituent tubes being 

 greatly enlarged and losing their natural cohesion ; it grows rapidly 

 above the level of the surrounding horn, and when pared is found to be 

 penetrated to an unusual depth by the secreting papillae, and that at 

 intervals these have bulged out into a vascular fungus mass compar- 

 able to the "grapes." 



In treatment hygienic measures occupy a front rank, but arc in them- 

 selves insufficient to establish a cure. All local and general conditions 

 which favor the production and persistence of the disease must be 

 guarded against. Above all, cleanliness and purity of the stable and 

 air must be secured; also, nourishing diet, regular exercise, and the 

 avoidance of local irritants — septic, muddy, chilling, etc. At the outset 

 benzoated oxide of zinc ointment may be used with advantage. A still 

 better dressing is made with 1 ounce vaseline, 2 drams oxide of zinc, 

 and 20 drops iodized phenol. If the surface is much swollen and tender, 

 a Ihixseed poultice may be applied over the surface of which has been 

 poured some of the following lotion : Sugar of lead, one-half ounce; car- 

 boli a.'id,! dram; water, 1 quart. All the astringents of the pharma- 

 copoeia have been employed with more or less advantage, and some par- 

 ticular one seems to suit particular cases or patients. To destroy the 

 grai)es, they may be rubbed daily with strong caustics (copperas, blue 

 stone, lunar caustic), or each may be tied round its neck by a stout 

 waxed thread, or finally and more speedily they may be cut oft by a 

 blacksmith's shovel heated to redness, and applied with its sharp edge 

 toward the neck of the excrescence, over a cold shovel held b».'t\veeu it 

 and the skin to protect it from the heat. The latter must be frequently 

 dipped in water to cool it down. After the removal of the grapes the 

 astringent dressing must be persistently applied to the surface. When 

 the frog is affected it must be pared to the quick and dressed with dry 

 caustic powders (quicklime, copperas, bluestone), or carbolic acid and 

 subjected to pressure, the dressing being renewed every day at least. 



ERYSIPELAS. 



This is a specific contagious disease, characterized by spreading drop- 

 sical inflammation of the skin and subcutaneous tissues, attended by 

 general fever. It differs from most specific diseases in the absence of 

 a definite period of incubation, a regular course and duration, and a 

 conferring of immunity on the subject after recovery. On the contrary, 

 one attack of erysipelas predisposes to another, partly, doubtless, by the 

 loss of tone and vitality in the affected tissues, but also, perhaps, be- 

 cause of the survival of the infecting germ. It is no longer to be doubted 

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