162 The Diseases of Animals 
the bleeding will be checked. In the course of five or 
six hours the bandage may be carefully removed, the 
parts cleansed, antiseptics applied and the torn tissues 
brought as nearly together as possible by the use of 
bandages, or sutures. The after-treatment is the same 
as for an ordinary wound. 
The hair about the edge of a wound should be eare- 
fully clipped, so that it will not get into the wound 
and irritate it. After cleansing, apply to the wound 
some good antiseptic or healing lotion or powder. 
Among those commonly used are corrosive sublimate, 
one part dissolved in one thousand parts of water, 
carbolie acid, one part to thirty parts of water. White 
lotion is excellent. Among powdered antiseptics, 
acetanilid finely pulverized, or iodoform dusted on the 
surface, are excellent. 
The next operation is to bring the lips of the wound 
together and to keep them there. If the wound is large 
the only practicable way, in treating animals, is to stitch 
the edges together. For 
Fig. 39. sere this purpose a surgeon’s 
a eet ; needle having cutting 
edges is necessary. Fig. 
39. <A poor substitute for it can be made by grinding a 
small darning-needle to a triangular form. It is prac- 
tically impossible to push the ordinary type of sewing 
needle through the thick skin of the larger animals. A 
good-sized, half-eurved surgeon’s needle, which costs 
but a few cents, should be kept on every stock farm 
where a veterinarian is not at hand. For sewing, silk is 
best. The coarser embroidery silks are good, but braided 
