388 POLL EVIL. 
will be the response. The longer the time and greater the force requi- 
site to induce signs of uneasiness, the deeper, as a general rule, will be 
the center of the disease. 
In either case there is little good accomplished by those applications 
which are recognized as mild measures. Fomentations and poultices 
commonly waste valuable time, and, at last, prove of no avail. There- 
fore, blister over the place. Obviously, the employment of more active 
treatment is at present forbidden. Do not, however, give the carter so 
much liquid blister, to be rubbed in by his heavy and coarse hand; but 
lightly paint over the seat of the supposed hurt with spirituous or 
acetous tincture of cantharides. Do this daily till copious irritation is 
produced, and, before that dies away, repeat the dressing. Keep up 
the soreness, but do no more. Never apply the tincture upon active 
vesication, otherwise a foul sore, ending in a lasting blemish, may be the 
result. Make the poll merely painful. An additional motive will thereby 
be instituted to keep the head perfectly quict, for constant motion pro- 
vokes the worst consequences of poll evil, causing the confined pus to 
burrow, or to form sinuses. 
The foregoing treatment has been proposed because the tincture, 
when applied by means of a brush, penetrates the hair more quickly, 
acts quite as energetically, and is less likely to run down upon other 
parts than the oil of cantharides, which the heat of the body always 
renders more liquid. It is advised to be used, because it establishes an 
external inflammation. Inflammations in living bodies, like fires prey- 
ing upon inanimate substances, have 
an attraction for each other. All 
injuries which lead to suppuration 
likewise have a tendency to move 
toward the surface; and these two 
laws, acting together, very probably 
may tend to the speedier develop- 
ment of poll evil, thereby shorten- 
ing the sufferings of the animal. 
Should they not have that effect, 
the vesicatory is beneficial. About 
the head of the horse are numerous 
layers of thin tendon, which are termed fascia. Through this substance 
matter absorbs its way with difficulty. It is, therefore, almost impris- 
oned, and motion always disposes the pus to seek new outlets. Thus 
pipes or sinuses are formed; these constitute one of the worst symp- 
toms attendant upon poll evil. 
As soon as the swelling appears, watch it attentively. Wait till 
POLL EVIL DURING THE FIRST STAGE. 
