CASTRATION. 0/D 



best, and generally made use of. To make a clam, we pro- 

 cure a branch of old and dry elder, whose diameter should 

 be about an inch, and whose length should be from five to 

 six inches : of course, the dimensions must at all times be 

 proportioned to the size of the cord we have to operate 

 on. At the distance of half an inch from each end, a small 

 niche, sufficiently deep to hold the string, must be made, 

 and then the wood should be sawed through the middle 

 lengthways. Each divided surface should be planed, so as 

 to facilitate the opening of the clams, either when about 

 to place them on or take them off. The pith of the wood 

 is then to be taken out, and the hollow should be filled with 

 corrosive sublimate and flour, mixed with sufficient water to 

 form it into a paste. Some persons are not in the habit of 

 using any caustic whatever ; then, of course, scooping out 

 of the inside of the clam is not necessary : notwithstanding, 

 the caustic, inasmuch as it produces a speedier dissolution 

 of the parts, must be useful, and ought not to be neglected.' 

 The addition of the caustic, however, Mr. Goodwin objects 

 to with great reason, remarking, that unless it be a very 

 strong one, and therefore dangerous to employ, it cannot be 

 of any use to parts compressed and deprived of circulation 

 and life. He further informs us that he has operated in six 

 cases in succession with the same effect, without any escha- 

 rotic matter w^iatever. An experimental case of Mr. Per- 

 civall's terminated fatally : by the use of caustic the cord 

 w^as greatly inflamed, as high as the ring, and which un- 

 questionably produced the unfortunate result. ' The covered 

 operation,' continues Mr. Goodwin, ' is the one that I am 

 about to advocate, and which differs only inasmuch, that 

 the scrotum and dartos muscle must be cautiously cut 

 through, w^ithout dividing the tunica vaginalis. It was 

 Monsieur Berger who w^as accidentally at my house when I 

 w^as about to castrate a horse, and who, on my saying that 

 I should probably do it with the cautery, expressed his sur- 

 prise that 1 should perform the operation in any other w^ay 

 than on the plan generally approved of in France. Being a 

 stranger to it, he kindly consented to preside at the opera- 

 tion, and, after seeing him perform on the near testicle, I 

 did the same on the right, but of course not with the same 

 facility. After opening the scrotum, and dissecting through 



