if the weather is
warm.

SETONING.

The ordinary use of a seton is to keep up constant drainage from a cavity
containing matter or to act as a stimulant or counterirritant. To insert a
seton, the place of entrance and exit having been decided on, with the
finger and thumb make a small fold of the skin transversely to the
direction the seton is to be inserted, and cut it through, either with a
sharp knife or a pair of scissors (this should be done at both the entrance
and exit); then with a steady pressure and slight lateral movement insert
the seton by means of a seton needle. (Pl. XXVII, figs. 1 and 2.) The seton
should consist of a piece of strong tape, varying in breadth according to
circumstances, and should be kept in place either by a knot on each end or
by tying the ends together.

Setons should be gently moved once a day after suppuration is set up, and
they should not be allowed to remain in over three weeks, or a month at the
outside.

TRACHEOTOMY.

This operation consists in making an opening in the trachea, or windpipe.
It is indicated whenever there is an obstruction from any cause in the
upper part of the respiratory tract which threatens the death of the animal
by asphyxia (suffocation). The mode of procedure is as follows: Have an
assistant extend the animal's head as far as possible to make the trachea
tense and prominent; make a longitudinal incision about 2 to 2-1/2 inches
long through the skin and deeper tissues and trachea at the most prominent
part of the trachea, which is about the middle or upper third, and then
insert the tracheotomy tube. The latter should be removed once or twice
daily and cleansed, and the wound dressed antiseptically. To ascertain when
it is time to discontinue the use of the tube and to allow the wound to
close, the hand should be held over the opening, which will require the
animal to use its natural passages in breathing. Observe whether it is
performed in a natural manner, and if so, remove the tube and allow the
wound to close. Often the operation has to be performed in great haste
without the proper instruments and under great disadvantages, the operator
having to cut down quickly, open the trachea and spread the parts, using
some instrument improvised by him at the time. This operation only gives
the animal relief in breathing, and therefore the proper remedial treatment
should be adopted at the onset of the attack and continued until the cause
(the disease