LANCASHIRE VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
47 
is mainly referable to gastric or pulmonary disease ; old animals are 
generally affected with it. It is not contagious, and is occasionally 
seen in the cow at a certain period of utero-gestation, around the 
eyes and labia. In the dog it is sometimes caused by haemorrhoids, 
when it is called pruritus ani. If depending on these, give injec¬ 
tions of turpentine. In cows it is said to depend on a general 
fulness or plethora of the system, causing a congestion of blood in 
the parts. Treatment—bleed, and give aperients. In horses it is 
seen in the legs, arising from accumulation of hair and scurf, being 
the result of neglect and bad grooming. Give the horse a gentle 
dose of physic, followed by alteratives and cleanliness, and you will 
effect a cure. We will now turn to— 
Urticaria, 
commonly called stinge. This is oftener seen in the cow, I think, 
than in the horse. It is thought to be brought on by the animal 
eating some noxious matter. It appears in the shape of irregularly 
formed tumours over the body of the horse; and in the cow we 
find great swelling round the eyes, lips, anus, and labia; it comes 
on quickly and passes off, as a rule, with proper treatment, in a few 
hours. As far as the skin itself is concerned, it is only a congestion 
of the blood-vessels. I find bleeding and the administration of a 
bold purgative, followed up by a stimulant, particularly in the 
bovine race, to answer well. I will now proceed to another disease, 
called— 
Pityriasis, 
said to be produced by the presence of lice. It is accompanied by 
a desquamation of cuticle in branny scales, this being one of the 
leading features, associated with a great amount of itching. It is 
often found in thin-skinned animals in low’ condition. It may be 
regarded as inflammatory in its character; it is seen in the 
head, neck, shoulders, and tail—very often in the tail. If of 
long standing w^e have thickening of the skin and loss of its plia¬ 
bility. Animals so affected evince great pleasure on being 
scratched, and occasionally rub themselves to such an extent as to 
produce abrasion, which gives off a nasty ichorous matter. The 
hair does not readily come off in this affection, but becomes brittle 
and broken. The skin of the neck and root of tail will corrugate, 
and so remain. Treatment—give a dose of physic, or an oil draught 
with turpentine, for in young animals there are often worms 
present, follow up by alteratives and tonics; wash the skin with 
soap and water with the addition of potass or soda, afterwards 
sponging the body over with a saturated solution of sulphuret of 
potassium; and if you do not make a cure, apply an ointment of 
sulphate of potass and sulphur in combination with lard. Some 
people use arsenic, ^ss to the gallon of water. We will now turn 
to an affection which, in my opinion, is one of the most important 
as affecting our patients, 1 mean— 
