234 
FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE. 
alimentary substance to a sick beast would be a vast boon to 
the stock-producing interests of this country. Applying the 
principles which have been advocated to the treatment of 
mouth and foot disease, it is obvious that at first all 
medicine should be withheld; the animal should be supplied 
with soft food, succulent grass, pulped roots, mashes of bran 
and linseed, or thick gruel. No attempt, unless under com- 
petent direction, should be made to open the mouth, or to 
horn down any fluids, alimentary or medicinal. If the fever 
is very severe, an ounce of nitrate or bicarbonate of potass 
may be dissolved in the drink-water, and a solution of the 
first named agent, I part to 40 parts of water, may be 
syringed over the feet frequently, for the purpose of keeping 
them clean and cool. Bleeding and purgatives are 
absolutely deadly : even mild laxatives, which do no harm, 
are of questionable utility ; and the use of powerful astrin- 
gent, styptic, and caustic lotions to the sore mouth amounts 
to unmitigated brutality. 
As an antiseptic remedy, hyposulphite of soda has been 
much advocated in this and other infectious diseases, and has 
the positive merit of being innocuous ; the administration of 
4 to 8 ounces daily of this neutral salt in the drink-water 
may advantageously take the place of more active measures. 
The writer's experience, however, does not enable him to 
speak in its favour as a preventive of infection. 
Under the system of treatment suggested, and which is of 
the least obtrusive character, the sick animals, in the 
majority of instances, will progress favorably towards 
recovery. Under unfavorable circumstances of locality, 
atmospheric conditions, or state of constitution, the malady 
may assume a virulent type, and in that event the aid of the 
scientific veterinarian is required. Sloughing of tissue will be 
met by the use of antiseptic lotions, among which solutions 
of chloride of zinc, carbolic acid, and tannic acid are most 
effective. Carbolic acid or chloride of zinc is best adapted 
for application to the feet, and tannic acid for the mouth. A 
solution of one ounce of tannin to a gallon of water will be 
sufficiently strong; and a little of this fluid poured gently 
into the mouth, and allowed to run to the back of the tongue, 
will allay irritation and protect the excoriated surface by 
coagulating the albumen of the secretions. 
Tonics and stimulants are necessary when the disease 
assumes a low form, and they are best administered mixed 
with the food. Salts of iron, stout, and brandy may be 
employed with advantage in these cases, but, under good 
management at the commencement, it will rarely be neces- 
