THE ACTUAL CAUTERY IN VETERINARY PRACTICE. 553 
connected with lameness, namely, in farcy, oedematous swell- 
ing of the leg of long standing, open joints, inflamed jugular 
vein, lampas, in many cases of haemorrhage, and last, though 
not least, in the case of a bite from a dog, when there is 
reason to suppose that the animal was affected with rabies. 
After I am perfectly convinced that I have correctly dia- 
gnosed the cause and seat of lameness, I direct the hair to be 
cut from the part to he operated on as short as possible. If 
it is a hind leg, I have a side line applied on the opposite 
leg ; if a fore leg, I have the sound leg tied up “ a la 
Rarey.” 
I never have my patient cast, only, at least, as a dernier 
ressort. Having the iron at a white heat, I score the parts, 
sometimes in a perpendicular and sometimes in a transverse 
direction, hut generally the latter. 
I draw the instrument pretty sharply over the part until 
there is left on the surface a mark of brown colour, which 
tells you that the part is sufficiently fired. 
I find that by having the iron very hot, instead of at a dull 
red heat, as some writers have advocated, I can produce all 
the effect desired without the sloughing. I make the lines 
from half an inch to an inch apart, according to the breeding 
of the animal, the skin of the cart-horse requiring the lines 
wider apart and deeper. 
I am not afraid of firing through the skin, because union 
of the parts will always take place. 
I then blister the part with Ung. Canthar, tie the animal’s 
head up to prevent him biting the part, if so inclined. At the 
end of two or three days, when the discharge has ceased, I 
apply lard or sweet oil, loose the head, and put the animal in 
a loose box, or turn him to grass, according to the wish of 
the owner ; but I decidedly give the preference to the loose 
box, because in it the animal has more rest. 
In cases of ringbone, ossified cartilage, quittor, farcy, thick 
leg, &c. I fire deeply, sometimes to the depth of an inch. 
I find light firing is of no use in those cases. 
In hip-joint lameness I send the iron over head into the 
parts surrounding the joint, making four openings, namely, 
a superior, inferior, and two lateral, with the most beneficial 
results. 
Having thus endeavoured to describe, as briefly as possible, 
my ideas on firing and the benefits derivable from it, I will 
now give my opinion of its action on the animal economy. 
In all cases of lameness the presence of pain enables us 
generally to discover its seat and draw our conclusions ac- 
cordingly as to its cause, & c. 
