ion of the
reparative process. But the great essential condition of cure, and the
one without which the possibility of relapse will always remain as a
menace, is, as we have often reiterated in analogous cases, _rest_,
imperatively rest, irrespective of any other prescriptions with which it
may be associated.

SPRAIN OF THE ELBOW MUSCLES.

_Causes._--This injury, which fortunately is not very common, is mostly
encountered in cities among heavy draft horses or rapidly driven animals
which are obliged to travel, often smooth shod, upon slippery, icy, or
greasy pavements, where they are easily liable to lose their foothold.
The region of the strain is the posterior part of the shoulder, and the
affected muscles are those which occupy the space between the posterior
border of the scapula and the posterior face of the arm. It is the
muscles of the olecranon which give way.

_Symptoms._--The symptoms are easily recognized, especially when the
animal is in action. While at rest the attitude may be normal, or by
close scrutiny a peculiarity may perhaps be detected. The leg may seem
to drop; the elbow may appear to be lower than its fellow, with the knee
and lower part of the leg flexed and the foot resting on the toe, with
the heel raised. Such an attitude, however, may be occasionally assumed
by an animal without having any special significance, but when it
becomes more pronounced in motion the fact acquires a symptomatic value,
and this is the case in the present instance. A rapid gait becomes quite
impossible, and the walk, as in some few other diseases, becomes
sufficiently characteristic to warrant a diagnosis even when observed
from a distance. An entire dropping of the anterior part of the trunk
becomes manifest, and no weight is carried on the disabled side in
consequence of the loss of action in the suspensory muscles. There are
often heat, pain, and swelling in the muscular mass at the elbow, though
at times a hollow, or depression, may be observed near the posterior
border of the scapula, which is probably the seat of injury.

These hurts are of various degrees of importance, varying from mere
minor casualties of quick recovery to lesions which are of sufficient
severity to render an animal useless and valueless for life.

_Treatment._--The prime elements of treatment, which should be strictly
observed, are rest and quiet. Prescriptions of all kinds, of course,
have their advocates. Among them are ether, chlor