This may sometimes occur in working oxen. Rest is the principal remedy. The part may, however, be bathed daily with the following:-- Wormwood, 4 ounces. Scalding vinegar, 2 quarts. The liquor must be applied cold. _Strain of the knees_ or _shoulder_ may be treated in the same manner as above. FOUL IN THE FOOT. A great deal of learned nonsense has been written on this subject, which only serves to plunge the farmer into a labyrinth from which there is no escape. The author will not trespass on the reader's patience so much as to transcribe different authors' opinions in relation to the nature of the disease and its treatment, but will proceed at once to point out a common-sense explanation of its cause, and the proper mode of treating it. The disease is analogous to foot rot in sheep, and is the consequence of feeding in wet pastures, or suffering the animals to wallow in filth. A large quantity of morbific or excrementitious matter is thrown off from the system through the surfaces between the cleft. Now, should those surfaces be obstructed by filth, or contracted by cold, the delicate mouths of these excrementitious vessels, or outlets, are unable to rid the parts of their morbid accumulations: these vessels become distended beyond their usual capacity, communicate with each other, and, when no longer able to contain this mass of useless material, an artificial drain, in the form of "foot rot," is established, by which simple method the parts recover their reciprocal equilibrium. In this case, as in diarrhoea, we recognize a simple and sanative operation of nature's law, which, if aided, will generally prove beneficial. That "foul in the foot" is caused by the sudden stoppage of some natural evacuation is evident from the following facts: First, the disease is most prevalent in cold, low, marshy countries, where the foot is kept constantly moist. Secondly, the disease is neither contagious nor epidemic. (See _Journal de Méd. Vét. et comparée_, 1826, p. 319.) _Treatment._--In all cases of obstruction to the depurating apparatus, there is a loss of equilibrium between secretion and excretion. The first indication is, to restore the lost function. Previously, however, to doing so, the animal must be removed to a dry situation. The cause once removed, the cure is easy, provided we merely assist nature and follow her teachings. As warmth and moisture are known to relax all animal fibre, the part should be relaxed, warmed, and cleansed, first by warm water and soap, lastly by poultice; at the same time bearing in mind that the object is not to produce or invite suppuration, (formation of matter,) but only to liberate the excess of morbid materials that may already be present: as soon as this is accomplished, the poultice should be discontinued. _Poultice for Foul Feet._