124 
ON PUNCTURED WOUNDS OF THE JOINTS. 
ture. They both begin in a definite point — gradually extend their 
ravages in every direction — convert all the proximate tissues, by a 
kind of assimilative process into their own kind of matter, and 
finally prove fatal, by sloughing, haemorrhage, or irritative fever. 
In their course they are generally attended with lancinating pains, 
which is seldom if ever the case in melanosis : indeed, all the cases 
I have personally seen did not appear to be attended by any fatal 
or other consequences than the inconvenience which the animal 
experienced when elevating or depressing the tail. 
“ The matter of melanosis is constantly found in cysts, which 
Messrs. Cullen and Carswell, in my opinion with very great jus- 
tice, consider as one of its distinctive characters : indeed this is so 
perceptible, that I recollect an instance where I removed an appa- 
rently large tumour from the base of a farm-horse’s tail, which was 
no sooner accomplished and put into the countryman’s hand, than 
he exclaimed, “ Why, Doctor, T never saw any thing so like a bunch 
of grapes in all my life.” Neither in melanosis had the neighbour- 
ing textures of the body undergone any alteration in consequence 
of the ravages of the disease. The bones are often coloured, but 
not diseased. The parenchymatous viscera were not altered in 
texture. The substance adjacent to the cyst was as healthy as the 
rest of the organ. There were no traces of vascularity. 
“ These and other considerations induced the above-named gentle- 
men to believe that melanosis in its simple form is of a nature quite 
different to cancer, both in its seat, symptoms, progress, and ana- 
tomical characters.” 
Before conclusion, I beg to state that the tumour, being composed 
of numberless cysts, is so truly pathognomonic of melanosis, that in 
the bunch-of-grape-case it was as easy for me to remove one cyst 
from another with the knife as to separate a grape from its kindred. 
With this kind of negative knowledge we must be satisfied at pre- 
sent, until the disease shall have excited more generally, and for a 
longer time, the medical and veterinary world. 
ON PUNCTURED WOUNDS OF THE JOINTS. 
By Mr. H. W. Sparrow, Alford. 
The above subject having so recently occupied the pages of The 
VETERINARIAN, farther observations on it may be deemed super- 
fluous ; but having, in the course of my practice, met with my 
share of these cases, and having been generally fortunate as to the 
results, I am induced to offer a slight sketch of my mode of treat- 
ment. 
