834 DISEASES OF THE HORSE, 
directly to the skin, or a covering of thin linen may be interposed. 
-\ putty made with powdered chalk and the white of egg is recom- 
mended for small animals, though a mixture of sugar of lead and 
burnt alum with the albumen is preferred by others. Another for- 
mula is spirits of camphor, Goulard’s extract, and albumen. An- 
other recommendation is to saturate the oakum and bandages with 
an adhesive solution formed with gum arabic, dextrin, flour paste, 
or starch. This is advised particularly for small animals, as is also 
the silicate of soda. Dextrin mixed while warm with burnt alum 
and alcohol cools and solidifies into a stony consistency, and is pref- 
erable to plaster of Paris, which is less friable and has less solidity, 
besides being heavier and requiring constant additions as it becomes 
older. Starch and plaster of Paris form another good compound. 
In applying the dressing the leg is usually padded with a cushion 
of oakum thick and soft enough to equalize the irregularities of the 
surface and to form a bedding for the protection of the skin from 
chafing. Over this the splints are placed. The material for these is, 
variously, pasteboard, thin wood, bark, laths, gutta-percha, strips of 
thin metal, as tin or perhaps sheet iron. They should be of sufficient 
length not only to cover the region of the fracture but to extend 
sufficiently above and below to render the immobility more nearly 
complete than in the surrounding joints. The splints, again, are 
covered with cloth bandages—linen preferably—soaked in a glu- 
tinous mixture. These bandages are to be carefully applied, with a 
perfect condition of lightness. They are usually made to embrace 
the entire length of the leg in order to avoid the possibility of inter- 
ference with the circulation of the extremity as well as for the pre- 
vention of chafing. They should be rolled from the lower part of 
the leg upward and carefully secured against loosening. In some 
instances suspensory bandages are recommended, but except for 
small animals our experience does not justify a concurrence in the 
recommendation. 
These permanent dressings always need careful watching with ref- 
erence to their immediate effect upon the region they cover, especially 
during the first days succeeding that of their application. Any mani- 
festation of pain, or any appearance of swelling above or below, or 
any odor suggestive of suppuration should excite suspicion, and a 
thorough investigation should follow without delay. The removal of 
the dressing should be performed with great care, and especially so 
if time enough has elapsed since its application to allow of a proba- 
bility of a commencement of the healing process or the existence of 
any points of consolidation. With the original dressing properly ap- 
plied in its entirety in the first instance, the entire extremity will 
have lost all chance of mobility, and the repairing process may be 
permitted to proceed without interference. There will be no neces- 
