120 DOCKING. , 



of chloroform has been found very beneficial in performing the 

 operation in the old way, both in removing all pain, and also 

 preventing that severe struggling which often takes place, and 

 which has sometimes been followed with very dangerous con- 

 sequences. With the assistance of this agent, the operation 

 has been safely performed in seven minutes, without any pain 

 to the animal. 



DOCKING. 



This is an operation, whose only sanction is to be found in 

 the requirements of a senseless fashion. " The convenience of 

 the rider," which is sometimes urged in its favor, is the veriest 

 nonsense afloat. In truth, the operation is one of the most 

 useless which the brain of man, fertile in romance and expedi- 

 ents as it is, ever devised ; since, instead of adding to the beauty 

 of the animal, as some assert, it but adds deformity. Not many 

 years back, this attempted improvement upon nature became a 

 perfect mania. In England, however, this cruel practice has 

 been almost entirely discarded ; and it is to be hoped that the 

 operation in the United States also will speedily be frowned 

 down. 



The operation, as now performed by veterinary surgeons, was 

 introduced some years ago by the American Veterinary Asso- 

 ciation of Philadelphia. It consists in passing a narrow-bladed 

 knife (a pricking knife will answer,) between the coccygeal bones 

 at the desired point, from above downwards, cutting outwards 

 and backwards on each side so as to form two flaps, which are 

 carefully brought together over the end of the tail and secured 

 by the interrupted suture ; thus giving protection to the stump 

 of the tail, and making a much neater finish than by any other 



