6oS MISCELLANEA. 



tain wife-acre employed hirtifelf two hours, eti* 

 deavouring to bring the dying man toa con- 

 feflion. The itch for miracles feems innate, 

 Sipopulus vult hiimbuggi, humbuggiatiirt 



On this fubjeft of caflration Mr Blaine dilates 

 with much confidences but, as ufual, purely in 

 ^he fpeculative way. He aflerts roundly, that 

 Gibfon and Bartl^t, as furgeons, recommended 

 the ligature merely from analogy; intirely over- 

 looking the great veterinary pra61ice of the for* 

 mer. The fa6l appears to have been, that the 

 ligature was firft introduced by Gibfon, from 

 the repeated accidents which occurred in his 

 time, by the heavy-handed cauterizing or care- 

 lefsnefs of fmiths and farriers. Of this, I have 

 heard complaints in the country, even of late ; 

 but in general, they are improved, giving the 

 fire in a more fkiiful way, and hence, the liga- 

 ture in gelding horfes, has been long difconti- 

 nued. My advifing the ligature was chiefly on 

 my own experience, and on account of the 

 mifchiefs I had feen and heard of from particu- 

 lar cafes of hemorrhage, both in gelding and 

 docking : generally, the danger is fofmall, that 

 I willingly accede to the ufe of the cautery. 

 It is wonderful how nature fo readily and 

 certainly provides her ilyptics in thefe cafes. 

 Horfes, on the continent, have been caftrated 

 and inftantly driven pofl ; and there is a fow- 

 gelder near Barnet, who will, and has repeat- 



' edly. 



