FRACTURES. 565 



flammation of a bruise and cut of this kind of anything I know of. 

 (See Calendula in list of medicines used.) 



Fractures. 



Owing to the difficulty experienced in keeping the bones of the 

 leg of the horse in place to enable their reunion, with the expense 

 and trouble involved, in addition to the fact that if even treated suc- 

 cessfully the horse is supposed to be of but little value afterward, 

 there is but little encouragement given by veterinary authorities for 

 the successful treatment of such cases. But the success of Dr. Mc 

 Bethy of Battle Creek, Mich., in treating ordinary fractures, has been 

 so marked, and by such simple treatment, too, which is, I believe, 

 peculiar to himself, not being, so far as I know, laid down in veter- 

 inary works, that I am induced to give his method of treatment, 

 which he kindly explained to me with permission to publish, as it 

 may serve to occasionally save a valuable horse. 



He tells me that within the past two years he has treated three 

 cases with perfect success. The first, a yearling, with a split of the 

 ossafraginis, or short coronary bone of the fore leg. The second, a 

 four-year-old, a fracturei three inches above the fetlock joint of the 

 off hind leg. Third, an oblique fracture, involving the fetlock joint 

 one inch above the joint of the fore leg of a seven-year-old. His 

 method of -treatment is as follows : — 



After providing himself with the best quality of plaster-of- 

 Paris, he prepares from three to four splints made from strips of 

 hickory wood, about an inch and a half in width and a fourth of an 

 inch thick, , of suitable length, or pieces of band iron about one 

 eighth Of an inch in thickness, with the ends thinned down some- 

 what, and if necessary, the edges and the bar bent to fit the form of 

 the part ; he next provides bandages of suitable strips of cotton 

 cloth, about three inches and a half in width. While the horse is 

 •standing naturally, the limb is brought forward a little, resting 

 easily and naturally upon the ground, when the bones are held 

 gently in a proper position. The part is first covered with a bandage 

 of one thickness of the cloth ; next a little of the plaster, after being 

 prepared, is put on the cloth under the splints, so as to level off the 

 inequalities of the surface, and give an even bearing to the- splints. 

 The bandage is now started from the bottom, W^ith the aid of an as- 

 sistant; a little of the plaster is laid on quickly with the knife, in a 

 layer of from one fourth to three eighths of an inch thick, when 

 the bandage is brought quickly over it, and drawn tight enough' to 

 cause the water to ooze through the cloth; this is continued, the 



