firmly secured, every night and morning, after repeating the fomentation for five or six days; or till a suppuration be effected. When the discharge ceases, the following ointment, spread on tow, should be applied to the wound, and the poultice laid over it, to promote the healing of the ulcerated part:—Take of resin, and Burgundy pitch, six oz. each; of hog's-lard, 4 oz.; of honey and common turpentine, two oz. each; and one oz. of yellow wax. These ingredients must be melted together: on removing the mixture, two drams of finely pulverized verdigrease must be gradually incorporated, and the whole frequently stirred, till it become cool.
Should the horse, during the strangles, be seized with considerable fever and inflammation, or the swelling be so situated as to threaten suffocation, it will be advisable to bleed him moderately. The food, throughout the course of the disease, ought to consist of warm mashes, given frequently in small quantities; to which half an ounce of liquorice and aniseed, in powder, may be advantageously added, together with about two ounces of honey. The diseased animal must be kept warm; and, if the weather be favourable, he should take gentle exercise, or undergo the usual discipline of the stable, though in a less compulsory degree.
This malady is seldom productive of dangerous consequences, unless it be neglected. As it mostly terminates with a discharge from the nostrils, these parts should be often cleansed with sponges, dipped in warm water; but, if such evacuation continue to be copious and fetid, after the swellings have suppurated and healed, it may be considered as symptomatical of the Glanders; in which case it will be advisable to adopt the treatment already stated under that article.
Strangury. See Urine.
STRAW, denotes the stalk on which corn grows, and from which it is separated by threshing.
Straw is an article of extensive utility in rural and domestic economy.—When chopped or cut small, by means of the machine known under the name of Straw-cutter (to which we refer), it affords a wholesome provender for horses and oxen, especially if it be mixed with green food. It is likewise usefully employed in thatching cottages, houses, and barns. But, as such buildings are liable to be uncovered by violent storms, farmers should, if possible, annually save a sufficient quantity of wheat-straw, in order to be provided against accidents: thus, the necessity of purchasing straw at a high price, or of threshing their wheat at an improper season, may be effectually obviated.
In May, 1798, Mr. Peter Boileau, obtained a patent for a new and improved method of manufacturing straw into hats, bonnets, &c. but such privilege having been annulled by a Court of Justice, we shall state the plan on which he proceeds.—The straw is first separated at the joint, and deprived of its external skin or covering; one end of each tube being cut in the form of a pen, so that it may be inserted into the cavity of another; after which it is immersed in water, to render it pliant, and susceptible of the requisite shape on the block. Next, a small circle is to be traced on the surface of a wooden mould (having the form of the crown corres-
