ACTUAL CAUTERY AND Sf:TON. 
175 
tusions or any other cause, the actual cautery and blisters had 
been applied, and, up to this very day, without any decided suc¬ 
cess; but they often immediately yield to the new operation 
which he had had the honour to introduce.” This is not saying 
much : the terms “ without any decided success,” in one case, 
and often" in the other, pretty nearly balance the account. 
He next proceeds to the fetlock, which he properly describes as 
a complicated joint in itself and its various connexions. He as¬ 
sures us that, here, both the blister and the cautery have often 
been employed in vain, which I believe to be too true, and I 
always dreaded a fetlock lameness: but,” says the President, 
the seton and the subcutaneous periosteotomy had performed 
cures without the severity and suffering inflicted by the cautery ; 
indeed, without any suffering at all !” 
The President next contrasts the relative danger of the two ope- 
ationsof fire and steel. Death, says he, has been caused by both 
superficial and by deep firing, and likewise by the blister, but he 
challenges the profession to produce one fatal instance from 
setoning. His remark on Germany and France is correct. 
They fire their horses a great deal in both countries—in parallel 
lines, on the extremities; and seton much, as I have already 
said, for all visceral diseases, the favourite part being the gas- 
kin. 
Mr. Sewell now appeals to sportsmen as to the eflicacy of 
firing their hunters; and I take leave to comment on one pas¬ 
sage in this paragraph. I particularly applied,” he says, ‘*to 
one gentleman whose opinion has great weight in the sporting 
world, who acknowledged that it used to be the practice to fire the 
weakly colt, and the hunter, at the close of the season, in order 
to refresh his legs. He had done it, but he never knew any 
benefit to accrue from it.” Now, the reply of this sportsman 
perplexes me. Had the question been put to me, I should have 
answered it thus:—‘‘the practice of firing the weakly colt has 
long been discontinued by Yorkshire breeders, but it never was 
a custom, generally, among sportsmen; and it was their prac¬ 
tice to blister not to fire their hunter’s legs at the conclusion of a 
season, in order to “ refresh” them ; but that practice is now 
very much diminished, and I have reason to believe that I con¬ 
tributed greatly to write it down. If decided symptoms of mis¬ 
chief to sinews, &c. appear, either the mercurial charge or 
the cautery is resorted to, as the severity of the case may re¬ 
quire ; and w'hich will continue to be their practice, unless you. 
Sir, can convince them, that the milder and less painful operation 
of the seton will have the desired effect.” Mr. S. concludes 
with the bold assertion, that with the exception of curb and ring- 
