300 



hot iron, and are very successful. Other forms of operation are to 

 remove the testicles with the ecraseur, demasculator, or by 

 torsion instruments. I have tried these instruments, but do not 

 favour them, as, in some cases, bleeding followed. 



730. Some operators again lay open the scrotum with a knife, and 

 fix on to the cord a clam made of two pieces of wood, for the purpose 

 of stopping bleeding ; this is one of the methods of operating in the 

 standing position. There is no doubt that this is a most cruel 

 proceeding, whether performed lying down or standing ; to leave a pair 

 of wooden clams dangling at the end of the cord for several hours, to 

 be pulled up and down by the action of the muscles, into the raw open 

 wound, must be highly painful and irritating to the unfortunate 

 animal. The clam should only be used in cases of hernia (rupture), 

 and should then be put on over the skin. With reference to the 

 standing operation, I think it fool-hardy on the part of the owner as 

 well as the operator. Many things can be urged against it ; for 

 instance, when the ecraseur is about half-way through the cord, the 

 animal suddenly lies down, and the operator, not wanting to be beat, 

 sticks to the instrument and so drags the cord too far out ; one case 

 like this would satisfy me. As for injuring the animal in casting, the 

 record of such cases is extremely small ; I cannot remember a single 

 case of mine, where any harm resulted from casting with the side-lines. 



731. Crushing the testicle — (which in my opinion is a cruel 

 operation), scraping the cord through, tying the cord with silk or 

 antiseptic thread, and tying the blood-vessel alone, are all practised, 

 but, as already stated, I prefer casting and using the hot iron. 



732. The Rig, is a horse, in which, one or both testicles have failed 

 to come down into the scrotum. In ordinary castration, should one 

 testicle only be down at the tmie of operating, I make it a rule to take 

 it away so that the other may develop, and subsequently descend. 

 With a few exceptions, this has taken place, removal following in the 

 ordinary way. Should this not happen, the best time to operate on a 

 rig is when it is rising three years old. Several members of the 



