142 
UMBILICAL HERNIA. 
way, the cases did well. Occasionally, however, death ensued, 
either from peritoneal inflammation or locked jaw. Thinking a 
safer mode of treatment might be adopted through the influence 
of pressure, from having known cases in the human subject 
cured simply by wearing a truss, I was determined to put it to 
the test. Accordingly, 1 had a kind of truss apparatus made for 
the purpose, which I am happy to say has proved successful in 
many cases. It consists of a common girth, properly sloped to 
the body, having a stiff piece of oval-shaped leather introduced 
inferiorly, to come in contact with the rupture. This should be 
buckled on moderately tight, and retained in its situation as 
follows:—Place a common collar on the animal’s neck, to which 
three straps are attached, one on each side, and the other at the 
brisket. Two pieces of webbing should be attached to the 
main girth with buckles at the opposite end, to meet the side 
straps, and a piece of leather, instead of webbing, to meet the 
brisket one. This latter should be forked or split, part of the 
way, so as to admit of its being attached to the oval piece of 
leather covering the rupture. These are then to be buckled to 
the three straps coming from the collar, by which means the 
main girth is effectually held in its proper position. Over the 
whole a common circingle may be placed, just behind the elbows 
(the usual girthing place), in order to keep the whole snug and 
close to the body. 
The animal thus harnessed should be turned into a loose box 
and fed well, the object being to force the system as much as 
possible. The best time for applying the truss is when the 
animal is taken off the mare. In a general way, about three 
months’ wear of the truss will be found sufficient to effect a cure. 
The modus operandi appears to be this:—pressure keeps the 
bowel within the abdomen, thereby giving the aperture an 
opportunity of closing, which in many cases it will do most 
completely. But even should it not, you may depend upon its 
not getting larger. The bowel, from the general development 
going on in the system, hastened by the good keep, will soon 
do so, i. e. get larger, and consequently will not dip into the 
same opening, even should it remain. Partial or complete ad¬ 
hesion of the sides of the sac will take place, followed by an 
entire removal of the unsightly pendulous bag, with its contents, 
which constituted the disease. 
