egular
succession, for in some cases the exudation is most prominent, being very
profuse, and serve to spread the disorder over a large surface. In other
cases the formation of incrustations, or rawness of the skin, is the most
striking feature. The disease may be limited to certain small areas, or it
may be diffused over the greater part of the body; the vesicles, or
pustules, may be scattered in small clusters, or a large number run
together. The chronic form is really only a prolongation of the disease,
successive crops of pustules appearing on various portions of the body,
frequently invading fresh sections of the skin, while the older surfaces
form scabs, or crusts, upon the raw, indurated skin.

In old, standing cases the skin breaks, forming fissures, especially on
portions of the body that bend--the neck and limbs. Thus the disease may be
prolonged indefinitely. When eczema reaches its latest period, either acute
or chronic, desquamation of the affected parts is the most prominent
feature. The formation and shedding of these successive crops of scales
constitute the character of the disease frequently denominated psoriasis.

_Treatment._--The treatment of eczema is often anything but a pleasant
task. There is no one method of treatment which always proves successful,
no matter how early it is begun or how small an area is involved. We must
endeavor to remove the cause by giving attention to the general health of
the animal and to its environment. Feeding should be moderate in quantity
and not too stimulating in character--green feed, bran mashes, ground oats,
clean hay, plenty of salt. If the animal has been fed too high, give an
active purgative--Epsom salt preferred--once a week, if necessary, and
half an ounce of acetate or nitrate of potassium may be given in the feed
twice a day. If the animal is in poor condition and debilitated, give a
tablespoonful of the following mixture in feed twice a day: Powdered
copperas, gentian, sulphur, and sassafras bark, equal parts by weight. If
the animal is lousy, the parasite must be destroyed before the eczema can
be cured. The external treatment must vary with the character of the
lesions; no irritating application is to be made while the disease is in
its acute vesicular, or pustular, stage, and, in the chronic stage, active
stimulants must be used. Much washing is harmful, yet crusts and scales
must be removed in order to obtain satisfactory results from the external