FRACTURE OF THE METATARSAL BONES. 
571 
that many valuable animals have been destroyed, or permitted 
to die by the farrier and charlatan, when a simple operation 
might have saved both the life of the animal and the pocket 
of the owner. On the other hand, the empiric will sometimes 
be found to attempt the performance of operations from 
which the veterinary surgeon would shrink: 
“ Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” 
And should he succeed, he is praised as a clever fellow; 
but should chance not favour him, having no reputation to 
lose, little is thought of the failure, no matter in however 
bungling a manner his work has been done, or how cruelly the 
animal has been treated. Truly this is vivisection, but not 
done even with a view to promote science, nor by hands 
taught to operate, or with instruments adapted for the purpose, 
but simply from a desire to gratify a morbid ambition. Over 
the door of such a one should be written, “ Mangling done 
here.” 
And lest it should be thought that this is a mere picture of 
imagination, permit me to mention the following facts. A 
horse, the property of Messrs. H. and W., worth about £0,8 9 
received some trifling injury to the near fore foot. It was 
placed under the treatment of a farrier, who cut and blistered 
until the poor animal was brought to walk, first upon its toe, 
and then upon the fore part of the fetlock-joint. 
It was subjected to this misery for some time, when another 
farrier, still more clever, in his own opinion, than the former 
one, undertook the case. He had the animal under his care, 
or rather cruelty, for six weeks, when the superintendent of 
police, hearing of the case, desired my attendance, and oh ! 
horrible ! almost too horrible for description ! there stood the 
poor animal, nearly a skeleton, with a bar of iron up the 
course of the flexor tendons, the lower end of the metacarpal 
bone protruding in front, and a large, flat, rusty bar of iron, 
from an old wheel, placed in front of the joint and in contact 
with the trochleal surface of the denuded bone. These in¬ 
struments of torture were firmly bound down by straps and 
strings, which, by continued pressure, had caused deep wounds, 
from which large quantities of vermin were crawling. Added 
to this, a piece of board, a potion of the head of an old cask, 
was wedged in to tighten the whole, and a strong solution of 
Hydrarg. Bichlor. poured into the w 7 ounds to destroy the 
vermin concluded the scene ! 
I need scarcely add that I ordered the poor animal to be 
destroyed forthwith. Upon inspection of the leg after death 
it was evident that the simple operation of tendiotomy, 
