THE DISEASES OF CATTLE. 315 



" In many parts of France the bull-calf is castrated by means 

 >f a curious species of torsion, termed Ustournage. The ani- 

 inal is thrown and secured ; the operator places himself behind 

 the animal, and opposite to the tail ; he seizes the testicles with 

 both his hands, and pushes them violently upwards and down- 

 wards several times, in order to destroy their adhesion to their 

 coverings. He continues this manipulation until he thinks that 

 he has produced sufficient lengthening of the cords, and dilata- 

 tion of the bag itself ; he then pushes up the left testicle as 

 nearly as possible to the ring, leaving the right one low in the 

 bag ; he seizes the cord of the right testicle between the finger 

 and thumb of the left hand, about an inch above the testicle, 

 and grasping the bottom of the scrotum with his right hand, he 

 turns the testicle, and pushes it forcibly upwards, until he has 

 reversed it, and its inferior extremity is uppermost. Some 

 little practice is required in order readily to effect this. Then, 

 the right hand holding the testicle while the left hand raises the 

 cord, the testicle is turned round from right to left four or five 

 or six times, until there is a degree of tension and difficulty in 

 the turning, which indicates that the spermatic vessels are so 

 far compressed or obliterated as to be deprived of the power 

 of secreting or conveying the seminal fluid. The testicle is by 

 tiiis means brought up nearly to the abdominal ring, where it 

 is retained by turning the scrotum over it, while the left testi- 

 cle is brought down, reversed, and turned in the same manner. 

 Last of all, in order to prevent the untwisting of the cords and 

 the descent of the testicles, the operator grasps the bottom of 

 the scrotum in his left hand, and holding one end of a piece of 

 cord, eighteen inches in length, and about as large as a quill, 

 between his teeth, and having the other end in his right hand, 

 he makes with it several turns round the scrotum with consid- 

 erable firmness below and close to the testicles, yet not so 

 tightly as quite to stop the circulation of blood through the 

 bag. This is taken away at the end of the second day, after 

 which the testicles will remain fixed against the abdomen, and 

 will gradually wither away. The animal is usually bled after 

 the operation, and half of its allowance of food taken away.'* 



