THE CAUTERY AND THE SETON. 
295 
that the coals are soon extinguished — that it is necessary fre- 
quently to renew them — and that, consequently, the operation is 
prolonged and less efficacious. 
The immediate superficial firing {transcur rente immediate ) con- 
sists in drawing the edge of the common cautery iron ( le cautere 
cultellaire ) over the surface of the skin. There should be a cer- 
tain regularity and symmetry in the lines : they should form cer- 
tain figures, which, however, after all, have little connexion with 
the object of the operation. All that is essential is to trace the 
lines in such a manner that the part which stands in most espe- 
cial need of the cautery shall receive it most severely, avoiding 
as much as possible all complicated figures, such as circles, arcs, 
&c. The first lines should be traced where the cautery is most 
necessary; and then the appearance of the part should be ren- 
dered more pleasing or regular by tracing, more lightly, other 
lines which are only accessory, and which may be varied accord- 
ing to the surface to which they are applied. The ordinary 
figures are feathers, a goose’s foot, a star, a medal, a Maltese 
cross, a half wheel, a concentric arc, or demi-ellipse, with the 
rays tending to the part most requiring the fire, and also in paral- 
lel lines, oblique or perpendicular, or crossing each other. 
The cautery is the most powerful of all tonics: it is the excit- 
ant par excellence. It may also, in certain cases, be considered 
as capable of producing an important and salutary revulsion. 
When it is not applied on parts which are already in a state of 
super-excitation — irritated, inflamed — it is one of the most valu- 
able veterinary therapeutic agents. Applied to weakened limbs, 
it causes them to recover, to a certain extent, their former vigour, 
their perpendicularity, and both the suppleness and the firmness 
of their motion. It effects a resolution of chronic and oedema- 
tous enlargements of the limbs. It opposes the return of certain 
pathological states produced by organic debility. It is highly 
serviceable after muscular distentions, sprains, luxations, &. c., 
when the inflammation has disappeared but the lameness re- 
mains. Effusions in the articular cavities, and white swellings 
of the joints, often yield to its power. It removes or it arrests 
the progress of bony tumours, such as curb, spavin, ringbone, 
&c. 
Some apply the iron to the point of the shoulder, the hip-joint, 
the stifle, the knee, and to other parts of the surface of the body ; 
but it is especially about the legs that it is oftenest and most suc- 
cessfully used. The detail into which we are about to enter 
with respect to the application of the cautery to these parts will, 
with some modifications, be a sufficient guide for its use else- 
where. 
