634 DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



Warts. 



These are very common to horses, and quite annoying to 

 most owners to manage, and it is very important to know 

 how to treat them. Warts are of three kinds. The first is of 

 a cartilaginous nature, and is contained in a sac, or shell, grown 

 from the skin, and when this sac is divided, its contents drop out, 

 leaving a clean* cavity, which pretty soon vanishes. The operation 

 is a comparatively painless one. The second kind is also cartilag- 

 inous, but is not in a sac, adhering to the skin, and growing large, 

 with a rough crown and a vascular body; When severely injured, 

 it rarely heals, but ulcerates in a tedious manner. This is the same 

 species of wart usually found on the human hand. The third species 

 is hardly of the same nature as the others, consisting of a cuticular 

 case, inclosing a soft granular substance. 



When the warts are found to be inclosed in a well-defined cu- 

 ticular shell, the quickest and most humane practice is to take a 

 sharp-pointed knife, and run the blade through each in succession. 

 The edge should be cut away from the skin, and the knife being 

 withdrawn with an upward, cutting motion, the sac and substance 

 are both cut open. The inside may then be easily removed, and 

 the part touched with this solution : — 



Chloride of zinc 1 gr. 



Water '. . 1 oz. 



When the growth proves to be of the fixed cartilaginous kind, it 

 should be at once removed, and this is best done with a knife, and 

 the excrescence should be thoroughly cut away. The bleeding that 

 will follow may be controlled by means of a hot iron. 



Should excision be objected to, caustics may be applied, such 

 as strong acetic acid, butter of antimony, nitrate of silver, or lunar 

 caustic. (See caustics on page 630.) Afterwards treat as an ordi- 

 nary sore. 



