604 
LEUCORRHCEA IN A MARE. 
one which is recent, or such a one as has not lost the natural pro¬ 
pensity of parts, give them time, to recover of themselves their 
normal condition. And even in other cases—cases in which this 
restorative power seems to have expended itself or to have grown 
dormant, and wherein fresh action seems cogently called for before 
absorption of the collected fluid can be expected to be brought 
about, I have always found that blood-letting, either from the 
shoulder or the toe, with the simultaneous application of a blister 
upon the swelling, and the combined operation of purgative me¬ 
dicine, has proved more effective than any of the ointments said to 
promote absorption, such as those of antimony, iodine, mercury, &c. 
Now and then, however, it will turn out that, instead of the 
fresh action excited by the blister producing absorption of the 
effused fluid, it will give rise not merely to a temporary augmenta¬ 
tion—which, indeed, is very commonly the effect of a blister, but— 
to fresh and permanent enlargement of the tumour, rendering the 
fluctuation more perceptible than it ever has been, and shewing a 
disposition, the same as any purulent abscess would, to point. At 
this stage operation becomes inevitable. The tumour may be 
punctured with a lancet, better held to cut longitudinally than 
transversely; the serous fluid, often stained with blood, let out ; 
and the case treated the same as any other serous abscess, save 
that setoning is not advisable here, and that, the sooner the parts 
can be got to granulate by injections, mild at first and increased in 
strength afterwards, the better. Sometimes it happens that the 
sheath of the extensor tendon in front of the knee becomes opened 
and involved in the abscess, and that synovial discharge is mingled 
with the serous: should this be suspected prior to lancing, the 
valvular operation, with scarification, as prescribed for capped hock, 
might be the preferable mode of procedure. Compresses confined 
upon the knee by elastic contrivances will be found very useful in 
promoting adhesion of the scarified surfaces. 
LEUCORRHCEA IN A MARE. 
By H. J. FITTER, M.R.C.V.S., Wolverhampton. 
To the Editor of “ The Veterinarian .” 
Dear Sir,— Fully convinced that you feel gratified by any 
member of the veterinary profession sending you cases for in¬ 
sertion in your Journal conducive to the advancement of the sci¬ 
ence, and knowing that your Journal is not only read by the 
senior branch of the profession but likewise by the junior, to whom 
illustrations are useful, I send you a case of leucorrheea in a mare. 
