May easily be treated in the dog by any person possessed of ordinary mechanical ingenuity. The bones most commonly fractured are those of the extremities; but almost all throughout the body are at times subject to this accident.

Fractures of the Ribs are very common from the kick of a horse, or from the thick boot of a man, who sometimes in his rage, at the attack of a dog, administers a blow with his iron-shod toe which is sufficient to destroy life, or, at all events, to break one or more ribs. When from any cause they are fractured, the best plan is to apply a horse-girth round the whole chest, by buckling it smoothly twice round, or, if the size of the dog will not admit of this, the girth may be adapted to one circle only. This may be buckled so tightly as to prevent the dog using his ribs in breathing, and to confine him to the use of his diaphragm for that purpose, by which means the ribs are kept quite still, and nature in about three weeks unites the broken ends. For a broken shoulder-blade, or true arm, there is little to be done, nor in the case of a fractured pelvis or upper thigh-bone can much good be effected by interference. Nature will in all cases work a cure so far as to enable a new joint to be formed; but the animal is rendered useless for sporting purposes, and can only be kept for his or her breed.

In Fractures of the Limbs, splints or strips of deal should be neatly applied round the limb and encircled with tapes to keep them in position. The first thing to be done is to adapt the splints to the leg, so that the parts shall be kept in a tolerably correct position while the inflammation is being subdued; for if the fracture has been the result of much violence there will be considerable swelling of the soft parts, and the tapes require constant attention to' prevent undue pressure. Some experience in such matters is, however, required, and a surgeon should always be called in when the animal is of sufficient importance.