318 KENNEL DISEASES. 
coating daily would likely be sufficient. Its use should be persisted in for at 
least three weeks, or until the skin is assuming a healthy appearance. 
Another valuable application is Canada balsam and carbolic acid, in equal 
parts, to be used as in eczema. 
RINGWORM. 
Ringworm is a disease of the skin resulting from the growth of a vegetable 
parasite or fungus. It manifests itself by small round scaly patches, in which 
the hairs soon become dry and brittle, and finally break off near the surface. 
These patches are covered with thin white powdery scales. At first about as 
large as an American penny, they spread quite uniformly, usually reaching 
the size of a trade dollar; and they may be even larger. Their borders are 
ridge-like, being slightly raised; and as they extend, their centres clear up 
more or less, the thickening disappearing, and the skin therein regaining some- 
what its natural appearance: thus they retain the annular or ring-like shape 
which their name implies. 
This is the most common form of the disease, but it sometimes appears as 
small pointed vesicles, containing a clear fluid, and arranged in circles; and 
it may even take the form of pale red spots, with a small whitish scale in the 
centre. 
Treatment should be undertaken with the fact in mind that the cure must 
be complete, for if a trace of the disease remains it will soon be redeyeloped. 
A very potent remedy is the tincture of iodine, with which the affected 
spots, also the healthy skin within half an inch of them, should be painted 
twice daily for a week. This will cause the epidermis to peel off, and with it 
the disease be removed. 
A remedy even more powerful than the tincture of iodine alone can be 
made by uniting that tincture with equal parts of carbolic acid crystals and 
the hydrate of chloral. This combination possesses very strong anti-parasitic 
properties, penetrates deeply, and hastens the absorption of imflammatory 
products. It should be applied, by means of a camel’s-hair brush, to the 
eruptive patches and about one-half an inch of the adjacent healthy skin. One 
application daily for three days should be the rule; and thereafter it ought to 
be put on every third day until the ringworm has evidently been totally de- 
stroyed; or if there remains much thickening of the tissues beneath, applica- 
tions at such intervals may be persisted in until the skin has thinned down to 
near the normal. All that remains to be done after using it is to keep the skin 
softened for a time with cocoa-butter, vaselin, or the like. 
Soap will cure in many instances if the skin be well scrubbed with it; and 
