64 Journal of Agriculture. [8 Jan., 1907. 



Speying Cattle (Ovariotomy). 



The most suitable age for speying, cattle is prioT to^ the first calf. At 

 this period there is the minimum risk of mishap. If older cows are to 

 be speyed, they should be in store condition, and not in calf. In-calf 

 cows often slip their calves after speving. The operation should not be 

 performed on cows in season, nor within a month after calving. The 

 most suitable time for speying is the earlv summer, when the nights are 

 warm and dry. The subjects for operation should be kept short of food 

 for twenty-four hours before. 



There are two^ methods of operation in vogue, viz., the flank operation 

 and the operation per vaginum.. Where considerable numbers are to be 

 speyed, the flank operation is usually preferred. The cattle are secured 

 in a long narrow race or crush, with fence-work sides, so that the operator 

 can work through the rails. When the numbers are few, they may be 

 tied or strapped, right side on, to an ordinary three-rail fence. The seat 

 of operation through the flank is on the right side, in a position similar 

 to that described for gastrotomy, and the incision is made in the same 

 direction, downwards and forwards across the direction of the hair 

 down to the peritoneum. The right side i'S chosen in preference to the 

 left, because the operator's manipulation is not interfered wi.h by the 

 presence of the distended paunch. Before making the incision, the hair 

 should be clipped off an oblique strip, and the part washed with an anti- 

 septic solution. The hands and arms of the operator should also be 

 similarly washed between each operation. The peritoneum or thin membrane 

 lining the abdominal cavity should not be broken until the hsem.OTrhage from 

 the outside wound is somewhat allayed. It is then cut through, and the 

 hand introduced into the abdominal cavity in search of the ovaries. The one 

 furthest away (the left one) should be grasped first, and removed from 

 its corded attachment bv snipping with knife or scissors, or, if it is 

 desired to avoid haemorrhage totally, the ecraseur is used. The right 

 ovary is then grasped and removed. Some operators stitch the p^itoneum, 

 the muscles, and the skin separatelv, but this is scarcely necessarv'. Usually 

 the wound is stitched with three or four strong sutures, taking, in a half- 

 inch of skin at each side. A dressing of carbolized oil or tar is then 

 smeared over the surface, and the operation is complete. The vaginal 

 operation on cattle is performed as described above for mares, except that 

 it is not at all necessary to use chloroform or local anaesthetics. 



{To be continued.) 



