invaded the substance of the cartilage: at least, I can recommend the trial of only one other mode of treatment; and to that, on account of its comparative mild and painless operation, I feel inclined, myself, in the generality of cases, to give the precedence. I am alluding to MR. NEWPORT'S METHOD OF CURE*. "After the shoe has been removed, thin the sole until it will yield to the pressure of the thumb; then cut the under parts of the wall in an oblique direction from the heel to the anterior part, immediately under the seat of complaint, and only as far as it extends, and rasp the side of the wall thin enough to give way to the pressure of the over-distended parts; and put on a bar-shoe, rather elevated from the frog. Ascertain with a probe the direction of the sinuses, and introduce into them a saturated solution of sulphate of zinc, with a small syringe. Place over this dressing the common cataplasm, or the turpentine ointment, and renew the application every twenty-four hours. I have frequently found three or four such applications complete a cure. I should recommend that when the probe is introduced to ascertain the progress of cure, it be gently and carefully used; otherwise it may break down the newformed lymph. I have found the solution very valuable where the synovial fluid has escaped; but not to be used if the inflammation of the parts be great."-For this piece of valuable practical information veterinarians may, and I believe all do, consider themselves under great obligations to Mr. Newport it is evidently the result of practice, and comes to us in too straightforward and respectable a form to be either doubted or disputed. Those that feel inclined to do either, may soon satisfy themselves of its efficacy by trial. : OTHER MODES OF CURE are to be resorted to when these fail; and cases now and then (though comparatively rarely) do present themselves, in which we are compelled to adopt measures of that harsh and cruel nature that nothing short of absolute necessity would warrant the execution of. When once the susbtance of the cartilage has fallen into established caries, very questionable is the power we possess over the disease through medicinal interference. Though in some instances caustics are followed by sloughing and healing in the usual way, yet it often happens that fresh eruptions take place, and that these succeed one another until we become, in the end, forced to admit the unwelcome truth, that the case is not to be cured by any injection or dressing we can employ; or, indeed, by any other apparent means but an operation. CAUTERIZATION was formerly much practised for the cure of quittor of * Published in "The Veterinarian,” vol. i, from which I have extracted it. all kinds. It has, however, in this country pretty generally given place to the potential cautery; while the latter has, in a measure, in its turn, given way to yet milder remedial agents. Even for such cases however as we are now considering, the actual cautery seems by no means so well adapted as an operation of which I am about to speak. For, unless we could cauterize every part and portion of the carious cartilage, we should fail to eradicate the disease; and even supposing we could, it does not appear so certain that every part of the cartilage of the foot (for it has been proved to differ in its nature and organization, in its anterior and posterior portions*) possesses the power of exfoliation-of throwing off that which is dead, and retaining what is alive; indeed, there are some intelligent French veterinarians who assert that caries once engendered in the cartilage, must pervade its entire substance, from want of power within itself to resist the destructive action, or counteract it by a healthy onet. THE OPERATION FOR THE CURE OF QUITTOR consists in the partial or total removal of the quarter of the hoof, with a view to the exposure of the lateral cartilage, and the ultimate excision of it, either in toto or in such portions as may be deemed, on examination, unfit to remain. The operation originated with Lafosse, sen., and has since his time been very generally practised throughout France: though of late years it has experienced considerable diminution of its popularity in consequence of the strong recommendations of Professor Girard in favour of corrosive sublimate. Still, however, the Professor admits the necessity of the operation in certain cases. There are different ways of performing this operation; our selec *Towards its base it is similar in its texture to cartilage, properly so called; as we approach its borders and posterior part, it discovers a fibrous or filamentous texture. Still more posteriorly the fibro-cartilaginous organization is more manifest, and here seem to exist isolated cartilaginous knots, surrounded by substance entirely fibrous. Lastly, the extreme posterior end is fibro-adipose, and is confounded with the fatty frog. Hence it is that while the anterior part is incapable of regeneration, being wholly cartilaginous; the posterior parts possess the power of throwing up granulations from the cellular tissue in their composition.-Reflexions on Quittor, by M. Reinault. 66 ተ L'experience a demontré que ce corps n'est pas susceptible d'exfoliation partielle, et que, quand on se contente d'enlever la portion malade, le reste ne tarde pas à s'alterer, à donner lieu à la renoissance du mal, et à rendre une nouvelle operation semblable à la première bientot indispensable."-Dict. de Méd. Vet. Cases in which the quarters and heels are in a state of suppuration, the sole under-run, or the base of the cartilage and the coffin-bone carious. tion must depend on the part of the cartilage that harbours the disease. Lafosse confined himself to the section of a portion of the quarter, about an inch in breadth, but yet extending from the coronet to the bottom. This has been found insufficient, and so the entire quarter has been removed. An improvement on this practice, however, is suggested by Hurtrel D'Arboval* : he recommends that we commence our incision (as usual) opposite to the anterior extremity of the cartilage, below the coronary prominence, and carry it (instead of directly downward, in the course of the fibres of the hoof) diagonally across the wall in a direction towards the heel; so that when the isolated posterior part of the quarter is removed, there still will remain all the lower border, which will serve us for some time to nail a shoe toor at all events, will prove a serviceable support to the animal, even without a shoet. Having made this diagonal groove down to the quick, and likewise detached the quarter at the coronet, the part thus isolated is to be rasped as thin as possible, preparatory to its elevation by a broad pritchel, with which its edge is to be raised sufficiently to enable an assistant to lay firm hold of it with the pincers, and with them carefully, though forcibly, rend it from its connexions: a part of the operation that may often be much facilitated by dividing the connecting fibres, to the extent that we can, with a common scalpel. After this, so much of the coronary substance and skin as clothe the lateral cartilage are to be dissected off it, but not detached— only made a flap of, which flap must be carefully laid and bound down again in its place after the operation. So much effected, the state of the parts will determine what our next step is to be; or whether we have already, as far as respects operation, accomplished all we wish. Should the lamina be found the seat of disease, the cartilage appearing not yet affected, the nitric acid lotion may, now that the diseased parts are exposed, answer every end of restoring them to healthy action: an end, I would add, in all foot-cases, that is materially furthered by voluminous dossils of tow, and tight and compact bandaging. But what we have to look for and expect is, carious cartilage, and perhaps coffin-bone as well; and, in this case, we are recommended not to be content with removing the diseased portions of the lateral cartilage, but the whole of that body‡: otherwise, what is left of it will fall into the same course of disease, and we shall be, after all our trouble, foiled in our purpose. For the more convenient and complete excision of the cartilage, the French use a curved sort of scalpel, which, from its form, they call * In his "Dictionnaire de Medicine Vétérinaire." ↑ At this period of the operation, the animal must be cast and properly secured. Also, before we proceed further it is advisable to put a ligature of tape around the pastern, sufficiently tight to suppress hemorrhage. See note (in French) p. 250, extracted from the Dict. de Méd. Vet. a sage-leaf knife (feuille de sauge simple): I have seen the instrument in this country; but, nowadays, one seems to hear little or nothing about it— a circumstance probably rather owing to the rarity of the cases requiring its aid than to any mean opinion we entertain of its utility. THE CHIEF PRECAUTIONS IN OPERATING required of us, are that we do not, in detaching the cartilage from its internal connexions, wound either the plantar bloodvessels or nerve, cut through the capsule of the pasternjoint, or divide the long lateral ligaments of the pastern; the two former of which accidents would be attended with temporarily serious consequences, though not such as are necessarily irremediable or fatal; while the latter would probably prove a source of permanent lameness. A tantalizing occurrence is the co-existence of ossification of the cartilage with caries of it. Girard takes notice of this vexatious complication; and tells us that we are still to proceed with the operation; removing the entire cartilage, though wholly converted into bone, should it be found necessary; or, should the transformation be but partial or in places, only such portions as still retain any of their cartilage. The old English farriers, who derived their knowledge of this operation from France, were in the habit of sadly misapplying it, and on quite needless occasions removing the quarter of the hoof to get at this ossified cartilage; which they called the quittor-bone, and regarded, sound or unsound, as the producer of all the mischief. THE DRESSINGS commonly recommended after the completion of the operation, are those of a stimulant or spirituous nature; such as alcohol or brandy and water, the warm tinctures, &c. After the skin and coronary substance have been laid down in their places, and the border of the wall next to the wound has been made so thin and weak that it cannot anywise injuriously press upon the sensitive parts, the bare surface is to be dressed with fine or soft tow (or lint) dipped in the spirituous mixture; over which dossils of coarse tow should be smoothly and compactly piled, and the whole afterwards bound on with broad coarse tape, in such manner that firm and uniform pressure may be exerted upon parts that have now lost the support and compression of the hoof. Lastly, the whole may be confined by a piece of sacking or coarse cloth, or else encased in a leathern boot. The first dressing should not be removed before the fifth or sixth day; or at least, not before suppuration is established. The after-treatment of the case must be conducted on the principles laid down for the general management of such wounds. FALSE QUARTER More commonly results from quittor than any other cause: though it may be occasioned by injury or disease of any kind destroying the organization of the coronary substance: on which the production of the wall depends. In the same manner as any partial separation or destruction of the glandular substance at the root of one of our nails occasions a sort of cleft or division in it; so will injury of any part of the coronary substance cause a defalcation of the hoof directly below; to which, from its ordinary situation, the name of false quarter has been given. This is not, therefore, in itself, a disease; but the effect of disease; or, possibly, simply of injury. The appearance it assumes is that of a gap or indentation in the side of the wall, lengthwise, along the bottom of which runs a narrow cleft or fissure, commonly filled with horny substance, marking the line of separation in the formative structure-the coronary substance. Either from the weight imposed upon the quarter from above, or the jar it sustains in action, the fissure occasionally splits asunder and opens, and perhaps bleeds, from the rupture of some small bloodvessel in the laminæ. In this manner, or from dirt or grit getting into the breach, or, as James Clark says, from the tender and soft parts being squeezed between the divisions of horn (from the circumstance of the breach widening every time the horse sets his foot upon the ground, and closing again when it is lifted up), inflammation may be excited in the sensitive laminæ immediately underneath, and pus form and ooze through it. Under such circumstances, lameness will exist; though, so long as the fissure remains undivided and undisturbed, the animal seldom betrays pain or even inconvenience from it. A REMEDY for false quarter, at least a radical one, is not to be found. When once a division of any sort has taken place of that substance (the coronary), from which sprout and grow the fibres composing the wall of the hoof, no human art can effect a union such as originally existed: there will always be a separation in its organization-in the roots of the horny fibres, and consequently for ever remain a division in the horny fibres themselves. A false quarter, therefore, not only renders the horse having it subject to oc'casional lameness; but, in reality, considerably weakens that side of the hoof, insomuch that it becomes unable to support (that which originally was) its due share of the burthen of the body. PALLIATION.-Though it be an evil, however, that does not admit of cure, it is one we may do much to palliate. Proceeding on the principles of imposing as little weight as possible upon the weak quarter; and, at the same time, of defending it to the extent practicable from jar or concussion, we |