DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 473 



hair is shed, and the heel may appear but as one mass of rounded, 

 red, angry excrescences which bleed on handling and are covered 

 with the now repulsively fetid, decomposing discharge. During this 

 time there is little or no fever, the animal feeds well, and but for 

 its local trouble it might continue at work.' When the malady ex- 

 tends to the frog, there is a fetid discharge from its cleft or from the 

 depressions at its sides, and this gradually extends to its whole sur- 

 face and upon the adjacent parts of the sole. The horn meanwhile 

 becomes soft, whitish, and fleshy in aspect, its constituent tubes being 

 greatly enlarged and losing their natural cohesion ; it grows rapidly 

 above the level of the surrounding horn, and when pared is found to 

 be penetrated to an unusual depth by the secreting papillae, and that 

 at intervals these have bulged out into a vascular fungous mass com- 

 parable to the " grapes." 



Treatment. — In treatment hygienic measures occupy a front rank, 

 but are in themselves insufficient to establish a cure. All local and 

 general conditions which favor the production and persistence of the 

 disease must be guarded against. Above all, cleanliness and purity 

 of the stable and air must be obtained ; also nourishing diet, regular 

 exercise, and the avoidance of local irritants — septic, muddy, chillr 

 ing, etc. At the outset benzoated oxid of zinc ointment may be used 

 with advantage. A still better dressing is made with 1 ounce vase- 

 line, 2 drams oxid of zinc, and 20 drops iodized phenol. If the sur- 

 face is much swollen and tender, a flaxseed poultice may be applied, 

 over the surface of which has been poured some of the following 

 lotion : Sugar of lead, one-half ounce ; carbolic acid, 1 drani ; water, 1 

 quart. All the astringents of the pharmacopoeia have been em- 

 ployed with more or less advantage, and some particular one seems 

 to suit particular cases or patients. To destroy the grapes, they 

 may be rubbed daily with strong caustics (copperas, bluestone, lunar 

 caustic), or each may be tied round its neck with a stout, waxed 

 thread, or, finally and more speedily, they may be cut off by a black- 

 smith's shovel heated to redness and applied with its sharp edge 

 toward the neck of the excrescence, over a cold shovel held between 

 it and the skin to protect the skin from the heat. The cold shovel 

 must be kept cool by frequent dipping in water. After the removal 

 of the grapes the astringent dressing must be persistently applied 

 to the surface. When the frog is affected, it must be pared to the 

 quick and dressed with dry caustic powders (quicklime, copperas, 

 ■ bluestone) or carbolic acid and subjected to pressure, the dressing 

 being renewed every day at least. 



