SURGICAL OPERATIONS. 295 



of conceited ability to manufacture on scientific prescriptions an arti- 

 ficial substitute for the cud supposed to be "lost." 



There is yet another class of owners who entertain a blind belief in 

 liniments and patent nostrums, many of which are not only an unnec- 

 essary expense, but may by their very action retard rather than expe- 

 dite the process by which nature repairs the injured tissues, tendons, 

 and bony structure. 



It should always be borne in mind that although some applications 

 are stimulating, and therefore serve as a useful ally in the process of 

 restoration, it is, after all, to nature we must look to renovate the 

 injured parts, and all that the most skillful can do is to aid her intel- 

 ligently by combating those conditions which are calculated to inter- 

 fere with her beneficent endeavors. All that the most suitable appli- 

 cations can accomplish in the case of wounds is, in the first place, to 

 prevent the access of those poisonous germs which exist in the sur- 

 roundings of the animal, such as the soil and the manure, and, in the 

 second place, when the process of repair is for some reason temporarily 

 inactive or altogether arrested, to incite that curative inflammation 

 which is the, invariable method by which the cure is effected. 



Some owners may urge that it has always been their practice to use 

 some shotgun prescription that has earned for itself a reputation, 

 because it was supposed to have routed a rash on the youngest baby, 

 and proved equally efficacious on a wire cut on the last-dropped calf, 

 without even pausing to think that either case might have done 

 equally well or even better if confided unanointed to the healing 

 hands of Nature. 



For the purposes of the present work wounds may be divided into 

 three classes: (1) Incised; (2) punctured; (3) lacerated or contused. 



Incised wound. — This is one with clean-cut edges, and may be 

 either superficial or deep. In wounds of all descriptions there is 

 necessarily more or less bleeding, and this is especially liable to be 

 the case in incised wounds, particularly when they penetrate to a con- 

 siderable depth, or when inflicted on a part where arteries of any size 

 approach the surface. To arrest the hemorrhage must, therefore, be 

 the first consideration. If slight, a generous use of cold water will be 

 all that is necessary, but if one or more vessels of any size have been 

 wounded or entirely severed, they should be taken up and ligated. 

 If the blood flows continuously and is dark in color, it proceeds from 

 a vein, but if bright- colored and jerky in its flow, it is arterial. 



There is nothing very formidable or difficult in taking up an artery. 

 It simply means tying up the bleeding vessel, which should be accom- 

 plished as follows : To discover the bleeding artery take a sponge, dip 

 it in cold water, and by gentle pressure on the wound clear it of the 

 accumulated blood. The jet of fresh blood reveals the end of the 

 vessel, which is readily recognized by its whitish yellow, or buff, color. 

 It should be seized with a forceps or pincers and slightly drawn clear 



