Wirt, an excrescence on the skin, consisting of elongated papillae of the dermis covered with cuticle, the nature of which is not very well understood. Warts are often superficial and movable, but generally implanted in the substance of the true skin, where they are retained by dense, whitish, fibrous filaments. The common flat wart is formed of small separate prolongations of the dermis, giving to it a furrowed or rough appearance; the shape is usually rounded, and the tissue is firm and fibrous, sometimes almost cartilaginous; it is insensible at the surface, sensitive at the base, receiving small vessels which yield blood on incision; it is commonly painless, paler than the surface on which it rests, and seated principally on the hands. Warts are sometimes produced by compression and by neglect of cleanliness, and by the syphilitic virus about the openings of the mucous canals, showing the analogy between the. skin and the mucous membranes; they come and go without apparent cause, especially in the young, and may go on increasing in spite of all treatment. The hard variety is not communicable by contact, but in some situations, where the cuticle is delicate, they exude a serous fluid which is commonly considered contagious.

The pediculated warts are more vascular and redder, and either hard or soft; they are most common on the neck, chest, and back. - The most approved methods of treatment are by caustics, excision, and ligature, the last especially for the pediculated kinds. A common way is to pare the wart, without bringing blood, and touch with nitrate of silver, or, if this be too slow, to put on nitric or sulphuric acid, which penetrate more deeply, and sometimes too deeply, injuring joints or making indelible scars. Other methods are to touch with a mixture of one part of muriatic acid and three parts of muriated tincture of iron; with a solution of diacetate of lead; with corrosive sublimate, muriate of ammonia, and alum solutions; with muriate of soda and vinegar; with chloride of ammonia; with lime water; or with vegetable juices, as those 6f the garlic, onion, and sumach. Poultices of scraped carrots and the application of quicklime will sometimes cause their fall; and rubbing with chalk or a fine file is a favorite means of removal.

Wirt #1

Wirt, a W. central county of West Virginia, bounded N. by Hughes river, and intersected by the Little Kanawha; area, 298 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 4,804, of whom 29 were colored. The surface is very hilly and the soil generally fertile. Iron ore and bituminous coal are abundant. The chief productions in 1870 were 15,532 bushels of wheat, 128,836 of Indian corn, 37,988 of oats, 17,809 of potatoes, 44,000 lbs. of butter, 8,712 of tobacco, and 1,527 tons of hay. There were 954 horses, 954 milch cows, 1,259 other cattle, 4,183 sheep, and 3,700 swine. Capital, Wirt Court House.