240 
A. ZUNDEL. 
dimensions of the upper border, its groove running backwards- 
Key considers that to be running too far back and too near the 
heel, and recommends the groove to be so made that the lower 
border will have the same length as the upper, and for that 
reason advises that it be as nearly parallel as possible with the 
line of the heels. Lafosse, Senior, removes too large a portion 
of the hoof. Lafosse, Jr., leaves a portion of hoof which not 
only is useless, but which interferes with certain steps of the 
operation, when with the double sage knife, the skin is separated 
from the external surface of the cartilage, and also, when this is 
removed; and again, there is a separation between the severed 
portions of the quarters much greater than occurs in the process 
of Renault, which, like that of Key, exposes the entire cartilage, 
and greatly facilitates the operation. 
It is to be understood that the foot has been prepared; that 
the hairs have been clipped over the skin covering the cartilage; 
that the sole has been pared thin, down to the blood, as well as 
the bar corresponding to the diseased cartilage, so that the quarter 
has been allowed to project below the sole, to facilitate its 
eversion. The foot has been, moreover, well prepared by two or 
three days of poulticing, to render the hoof easier to be cut by 
the instrument, and the operation easier to perform, and therefore 
shorter in its various steps, besides placing the patient in the best 
condition for the endurance of so serious an operation. 
After casting the animal upon a good bed, and fixing the feet, 
placing a temporary tremoslater with a strong cord, similar to a 
tourinquet, around the coronet, a groove is made, using various 
sized drawing knives, running from the anterior angle of the 
lower border of the cartilage downwards to the sole, following 
the direction recommended by Lafosse, Senior, Key or Renault. 
This groove, made first with the widest, and finished with the 
narrowest of the drawing knives, must not touch the podophyll- 
ous tissue, and still must run through the entire thickness of the 
wall, without producing hemorrhage. In this step of the opera¬ 
tion, as Girard correctly observes, short cuts of the knife are 
always better and quicker than those made by scraping or drag¬ 
ging with the instrument. It is also important to come dowm to 
