THE URINARY SYSTEM 423 



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 drops 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. 



736. 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 bloodvessel alone, are all practised, 

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



737. 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 time 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 

 veterinary profession have made a speciality of this operation, which 

 they perform very successfully, but the great secret seems to be in 

 the manner in which the animal is tied for the operation. Generally 

 the testicle that is retained in the abdominal cavity is of a morbid 

 character. 



738. The Bull.— As a rule, the young calf, when five or six 



