176 THE COMMON COLICS OF THE HORSE 



' The scissors, forceps, needles, scalpel, etc., should be 

 kept together in a sheet-iron case, which may be placed 

 on a stove or near a fire. 



' After operation the sponges, instruments, etc., must 

 be cleansed. The sponges and tarlatan are placed 

 together in cold water, which is frequently changed ; 

 then the sponges are transferred to hot water containing 

 washing soda — 4 ounces to the gallon — and left there 

 for a day. From this they are placed under the cold- 

 water tap, then washed separately in hot water, dried 

 in the sun, divested of hairs, and again placed in 5 per 

 cent, carbolic. The tarlatan is washed as before with 

 Hudson's powder, dried, and placed beside the sponges. 

 For keeping sponges and muslin a 2-gallon pail, with 

 hinged lid, will be found very convenient. The sponge 

 cloths, after soaking in water, are boiled with soda, 

 rinsed, and dried. The instruments are scrubbed and 

 washed in hot water containing Hudson's powder, dried, 

 and enclosed in the iron case, which is then placed near 

 a fire. 



' Preparation for Operation. — Before casting the horse, the 

 flank from spine to groin and from haunch to sixteenth 

 rib is clipped and washed. When the horse is under 

 chloroform the flank, within 2 or 3 inches of the 

 boundary marked by clipping, is shaved and disinfected. 

 While these preliminaries are proceeding, the pails and 

 trays are arranged and filled. All the solutions must be 

 warm, and the water used in their preparation passed 

 through muslin. Pail No. i is filled with 5 per cent, 

 and pail No. 2 with 2J per cent., solution of carbohc 

 acid. The trays are filled with hot solution of the same 

 strength as pail No. 2. The sponge cloths are placed in 

 No. I, and kept there until required. The sponges and 

 tarlatan, after having been squeezed as dry as possible, 



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