326 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 



successive crops of pustules appearing on various portions of the body, 

 frequentl y invading fresh sections of the skin, while the older surfaces 

 form scabs, or crusts, upon the raw, indurated skin. 



In. old standing cases the skin will break, forming fissures, especially 

 on portions of the body that bend — the neck and limbs. Thus the dis- 

 ease may be prolonged indefinitely. "When eczema reaches its latest 

 period, either acute or chronic, desquamation of the affected parts 

 is the most prominent feature. The formation and shedding of these 

 successive crops of scales constitute the character of the disease fre- 

 quently denominated psoriasis. 



Treatment. — The treatment of eczema is often anything but a pleas- 

 ant task. There is no one method of treatment which will always 

 prove successful, no matter how early it is begun or how small an 

 area is involved. We must endeavor to remove the cause by giving 

 attention to the general health of the animal and to its environment. 

 Feeding should be moderate in quantity and not too stimulating in 

 character — green feed, bran mashes, ground oats, .clean hay, plenty 

 of salt. If the animal has been fed too high, give an active purga- 

 tive — Epsom salts preferred — once a week, if necessary, and half an 

 ounce of acetate or nitrate of potash may be given in the feed twice a 

 day. If the animal is in poor condition and debilitated, give a table- 

 spoonful of the following mixture in feed twice a day: Powdered cop- 

 peras, gentian, sulphur, and sassafras bark, equal parts by weight. 

 If the animal is lousy, the parasite must be destroyed before the 

 eczema can be cured. The external treatment must vary with the 

 character of the lesions ; no irritating application is to be made while 

 the disease is in its acute vesicular, or pustular, stage, and, in the 

 chronic stage, active stimulants must be used. Much washing is 

 harmful, yet crusts and scales must be removed in order to obtain 

 satisfactory results from the ex'ternal applications. Both objects, 

 however, can be attained by judiciously combining the curative 

 agents with such substances as will at the same time cleanse the 

 parts. 



In the vesicular stage, when the skin is feverish and the epidermis 

 peeling off, exposing the exuding dermis, an application of boracic acid 

 solution, 2 drams of the acid to 8 ounces of water, will often relieve 

 the smarting or itching, and also serve to check the exudation and 

 dry the surface. If this fails to have the desired effect, use creolin, 

 1 ounce to a quart of water, as a wash. Either of these washes may 

 be used several times a day until incrustation is well established. 

 Then use creolin, 1 ounce to a pint of sweet oil, or the benzoated oxid 

 of zinc ointment, giving the affected surfaces a thorough application 

 once a day. When the eczema is not the result of an external irri- 

 tant, it takes usually from one to two weeks before the healing is 

 completed. 



In chronic eczema, where there is a succession of scabs, or scales, 



