SPAYING SOWS 717 



These incisions should begin well forward on the scrotum, and 

 extend sufficiently far backward to allow the testicle to be removed 

 from the scrotum without effort. The larger the incision, the bet- 

 ter. These incisions should be parallel to each other and to the 

 median Une ("raphe"). They should be from | to 1 inch — depend- 

 ing on the size of the hog — on each side of the median Une. If for 

 any reason the first incision was not sufficiently deep to penetrate 

 the tunica vaginalis (sac covering testicle) and completely release 

 the testicle from scrotum, then with another stroke of the knife this 

 tunic is incised, which allows the testicle to escape from the scrotum. 

 The testicle is now grasped with the left hand, by which it is ad- 

 visable to apply about one to two pounds' tension on the cord, 

 after which apply the emasculator, M, to cord and its coverings, L, 

 as close to the skin or scrotal incision as possible, being careful that 

 the. instrument is at direct right angles to the cord, after which 

 the cord is severed by bringing the handles of the instrument 

 together (Fig. 108). The opposite testicle is now removed in like 

 manner. 



Sequelae.— Septicemia (blood-poison); peritonitis; scirrhous 

 cord; tetanus (lockjaw); hemorrhage. 



SPAYING SOWS 



Definition. — ''Spaying" — scientifically referred to as ovariot- 

 omy — means unsexing the female, which consists in removing 

 both ovaries from the abdominal cavity. 



Objects of the Operation. — The one and only beneficial result 

 of this operation is to facilitate growth, fattening, marketing, and 

 slaughter without the handicap of early pregnancy. The economic 

 importance of spaying is well recognized by many swine owners. 

 Formerly the operation was more generally practised than it is 

 at the present day. This may be accounted for by the fact that 

 what would have formerly been termed revolutionary methods are 

 now in vogue in the great swine-raising sections of the Middle West 

 and Central States in raising and marketing hogs. This practice 

 enables swine owners to grow, fatten, and market hogs as early as 

 six to ten months of age, and is becoming more universal each and 

 every year. Of course, under such circumstances, spaying would 

 not be an essential operation. However, in the South and South- 



