Docking Castrating 181 



from fights, and it leads a more contented and peace- 

 ful life. 



Docking Horses 



Docking horses by cutting off the tail, except for 

 disease or to overcome a vice, is a useless and cruel 

 practice, and is not to be recommended. It is now 

 the fashion to dock horses, but such a fashion cannot 

 be permanent. 



Docking Lambs 



In docking the tails of lambs a strong, sharp knife 

 should be used, and the tail amputated at a joint if 

 possible. To prevent hemorrhage, touching the end 

 of the cut artery with a hot iron or twisting it with 

 a pair of fine forceps will usually stop the flow of 

 blood. The younger lambs are docked the less 

 is the hemorrhage, and the animals do not seem to 

 suffer under the operation as they do when they are 

 older. Lambs are docked to render them cleaner and 

 to prevent the occurrence of filth diseases. 



Castrating 



Castration consists in the removal or destruction 

 of the essential organs of generation. In the male 

 these organs are the testicles; in the female they are 

 the ovaries. The term castration is properly applied 

 only to the removal of testicles. The operation in 

 the female is commonly called "spaying," and after the 

 operation the animal is said to be "spayed." Animals 



