After one year old, all boars should have their tusks removed ai 

 least twice a year. This may be done quickly and effectively with a 

 pair of strong nippers or sharp blacksmiths' pincers. Knocking the 

 tusks out with a cold chisel is a cruel and unnecessary operation. 



CASTRATION OF YOUNG PIGS. 



The age at which castration in young pigs can best be per- 

 formed is not fully agreed upon. It may be performed when the pig 

 is a few weeks old and still nursing, or after it has been weaned, and 

 when several months of age. Young pigs when nursing the mother 

 do not suffer from the shock of the operation as much as at the time 

 of weaning or when older, and the growth is not noticeably checked. 

 Castration at all seasons of the year and under all sorts of condi- 

 tions, is practiced, but where the conditions cannot be controlled 

 after the operation, the most favorable seasons for operating are 

 the spring and fall. 



Sucking pigs need not be prepared for the operation. In older 

 ones, it is best to starve them for about twelve hours before castrat- 

 ing them, and we should avoid getting the hogs warmed up, as will 

 happen if we have to run them about in order to catch them. This 

 can be avoided if the pigs are shut up in a small pen where the as- 

 sistant can catch them quickly. One person will be able to confine 

 the pigs for the operation. If the pig is small, the hind legs can 

 be held with the hands and the head and forelegs between the knees ; 

 or it can be laid on its side or back and the hind legs drawn well 

 forward. 



The operation is very simple. The operator should provide 

 himself with plenty of antiseptic solution. It is best to wash the 

 scrotum with a tw r o per cent solution of some coal tar product, and 

 the knife, needles, ligature, etc., should be placed in a similar solu- 

 tion when not in use in order to prevent infection. The testicle is 

 grasped between the thumb and fingers and pushed against the 

 walls of the scrotum. An incision is made in the scrotum and tunic 

 of the testicle parallel to the middle line or raphe, and from half 

 an inch to an inch to one side. The incision should be made with 

 one stroke of the knife and large enough to allow the testicle to 

 slip out. In young pigs the cord of the testicle may be broken off 

 and removed at one jerk. In older ones it can be severed by cutting 

 and scraping with a dull knife. The opposite testicle is then^ re- 

 moved in a similar manner. Before liberating the pig, the incisions 

 in the scrotum should be examined and if they do not extend to 

 the very lowest part of the scrotum, they must be enlarged. ^ This 

 will allow the blood and pus to drain off instead of collecting in the 

 part. The wound requires no after treatment. The pig should not 

 be allowed to wallow in ponds or remain in dirty, dusty or muddy 

 pens. 



The operation in the boar with the exception of severing the 

 testicular cord is the same. The cord in old hogs is large and a 

 dangerous hemorrhage may occur if cut off with a sharp knife. 

 Scraping the cord in two with a dull knife, if properly performed, 

 will so crush the blood vessels that little bleeding occurs. Another 



