Strong Mustard Blister.—For cases of acute inflammation, mustard to be made into a paste, eight ounces; oil of turpentine, two ounces—To be well rubbed into the chest or belly in severe inflammation.
Blisters should never be applied to a horse’s four legs at the same time, as is the practice with some farriers. Two legs only should be blistered at once, and an interval of three or four days suffered to elapse before the application of the remaining blisters. The animal’s head should be tied up for at least thirty hours after the blister is put on, to prevent his gnawing the part; but if a cradle round the neck can effect the same purpose in cases where other parts are blistered, its use is preferable to tying up the head.
Sedative.—To allay excitement after a wound, &c.: tincture of aconite, ten to twenty drops, in drench of one pint of water with chill off.
To make Gruel.—Mix well a pound of oatmeal in a quart of cold water; put this mixture in a stew-pan containing three quarts of boiling water, stir all well over the fire till it becomes thick, then leave it aside to cool sufficiently to be eatable.
Disinfectant.—As it will perhaps be useful to any proprietor of horse-flesh, who may unfortunately have had contagious disease in his stables, such as farcy or glanders, to know how premises should be disinfected according to the most approved means, the following recommendations of Government for purifying the holds of ships, during the prevalence of rinderpest, are appended:—
Suggestions for Disinfecting Holds of Ships.—The Government has issued the following circular to the shipowners and veterinary inspectors of Irish ports. It must not be forgotten that the importation of raw hides is still permitted.
“23d August 1865.
“The usual means had recourse to for the purpose of disinfecting the holds of vessels (such as washing and subsequently applying diluted disinfecting solutions, the most generally used of which is chloride of lime), do not possess sufficient efficacy, particularly within the limited time that can be devoted to that purpose, without interfering with the commercial interests of the vessels.
“It would occupy too much time to carefully scour and afterwards apply a disinfecting fluid to the entire surface of a ship’s hold, in which, generally, there are many crevices and parts that cannot be reached by the hand or brush. Such crevices and parts are capable of retaining the contagious and infectious principles in all their virulence.
“Holds of vessels, and all other chambers from which the external air can be excluded for a time, can be, comparatively speaking, most effectually disinfected by filling them with chlorine gas, the great disinfecting principle of chloride of lime. The gas insinuates itself into every chink, crevice, and part of the chamber in which it is confined, and more effectually decomposes the contagious and infectious compounds, whether they be solid, fluid, or aeriform, than any other disinfectant equally easy of application, and as cheap. The mode of disinfecting the hold of a vessel with chlorine is, to place a quantity of common salt and black oxide of manganese in a strong basin, which may be put into a bucket, to the handle of which a rope has been attached. Pour on the salt and black oxide of manganese their combined weight of sulphuric acid; then let the bucket containing the basin a little way down into the hold by the rope attached to its handle. The chlorine gas, being heavier than the atmospheric air, will quickly displace the latter and fill the hold. In a short time, when the hold has become filled with chlorine, the hatches may be battened down for about half an hour.