ys
treat the limb as if a fracture were present. "Black and blue"
discoloration of the skin much more extensive than that following
sprain will become evident over the whole leg within twenty-four
hours.

=Treatment.=--When a surgeon cannot be obtained, the following
temporary pillowdressing, recommended by Scudder in his book on
fractures, is one of the best. With the patient on his back, the leg
having been straightened and any deformity removed as far as possible
by grasping the foot and pulling directly away from the body while an
assistant steadies the thigh, a large, soft pillow, inclosed in a
pillowcase, is placed under the leg. The sides of the pillow are
brought well up about the leg and the edges of the pillowcase are
pinned together along the front of the leg.

Then three strips of wood about four inches wide, three-sixteenths to
a quarter of an inch thick, and long enough to reach from the sole of
the foot to about four inches above the knee, are placed outside of
the pillow along the inner and outer aspects of the leg and beneath
it. The splints are held in place, with the pillow as padding beneath,
by four straps of webbing (or if these cannot be obtained, by strips
of stout cloth, adhesive plaster, or even rope); but four pads made of
folded towels should be put under the straps where they cross the
front of the leg where little but the pillowcase overlaps. These
straps are applied thus: one above the knee, one above the ankle, and
the other two between these two points, holding all firmly together.
This dressing may be left undisturbed for a week or even ten days if
necessary. (See Figs. 27 and 28.)

The leg should be kept elevated after the splints are applied, and
steadied by pillows placed either side of it. From one to two months
are required to secure union in a broken leg in adults, and from three
to five months elapse before the limb is completely serviceable. In
children the time requisite for a cure is usually much shorter.

=ANKLE-JOINT FRACTURE.=

_First Aid Rule.--One or both bones of leg may be broken just above
ankle. Foot is generally pushed or bent outward. Prepare two pieces of
thin wood, four inches wide and long enough to go from sole of foot to
just below knee:--the splints. Pad them with folded towels or pieces
of blanket._

_While assistants pull bones apart gently, one pulling on knee, other
pulling on foot and turning it straight, apply the splints, one each
side of the