General Diseases of Bones, Joints and M'usdes. 39 7 



clipped in water before it is applied ; or pieces of sheet- 

 iron carefully padded to prevent chafing and secure perfect 

 adaptation, and bound firmly by a surface bandage ; oi 

 wooden sphnts may be fashioned to the form of one side 

 of the hmb and applied with a sufficient internal padding. 

 It is usually needful to apply one of these wooden or iron 

 sphnts outside the starch or gutta-percha cases, iu the 

 larger animals, to give the requisite solidity. In all 

 cases the limb should be accurately wrapped in a long 

 narrow strip of cotton or linen as a protection before the 

 application of the bandage proper. The bandage should 

 always extend to the extremity of the hmb (hoof or claws), 

 otherwise the uncovered portion wiU swell, inflame, and 

 perhaps die. It should not only fix immovably all the 

 joints below the fracture but if possible the next above as 

 well, as by this means, as well as by the enforced immo- 

 bility of the muscles, the perfect rest of the broken ends 

 is secured. 



If swelling existed before the application of the bandage, 

 it may become loose in a day or two and should be re- 

 opened and more accurately applied, care being taken to 

 secure equal pressure from the extremity up. The starch 

 bandage may be sht open up the side and when properly 

 padded reapplied with the one edge overlappiug the other 

 as far as necessary, and fixed by a long bandage applied 

 over all. The plaster bandage may be adapted by filHng 

 up the interval between the soft skin bandage and the 

 plaster case with a thin pulpy mixture of plaster of Paris 

 and water poured in at the top. 



The Hmb should be kept iu the bandage for a month or 

 six weeks, and will require a rest of two or three months 

 more, for the consolidation of the new tissue, before being 

 put to work. 



Fractures iu the upper parts of the hmbs of quadrupeds, 

 which it is impossible to fix by bandages, may yet recover 

 with very Uttle shortening or distortion if the break is 

 transverse. Fractures of these parts and of the ribs 



