Poultry Surgery 327 



trouble is more apt to be with the wattles than the comb, 

 because the former dip into the drinking water and then 

 freeze at times when if dry they would not do so. 



The following brief but adequate directions for treating 

 frozen combs and wattles are taken from Farm Poultry, Vol. 

 15, p. 41 : " First thaw the wattles or combs out by manipulat- 

 ing with the fingers well smeared with vaseline. Keep the 

 bird in a cool (not cold) place, and anoint the frozen parts 

 with a mixture of vaseline, 5 tablespoonfuls ; glycerin, 

 2 tablespoonfuls ; turpentine, one tablespoonful, once or 

 twice a day. If he is not very badly frosted it probably will 

 make no difference with his breeding a few months from now 

 — provided he is not again injured the same way." 



Anaesthetizing Poultry 



The difficulty which we have found to be inherent in anaes- 

 thetizing the domestic fowl may be stated briefly in this way : 

 If any anaesthetic is pushed to the point at which the bird is in 

 satisfactory condition for operative procedure in about 9 

 cases out of 10 the bird will die on the table from the effects 

 of the anaesthesia before the operation, if extensive, can be 

 completed. If, on the other hand, the anaesthetic is given less 

 freely the bird does not lose its reflex excitability. Every 

 time a cut is made or a nerve is pinched wuth the forceps the 

 bird will struggle. Our experience in anaesthetizing birds, 

 which has now covered a large number of individuals, leads 

 us to believe that the only middle ground between these two 

 extremes is afforded by those cases (unfortunately too few) 

 in w^hich the individual idiosyncrasy of the bird toward ether 

 makes it take the anaesthetic well. 



While we have made no detailed physiologic study as to the 

 fundamental reasons underlying this difficulty respecting 

 anaesthesia which has been described, it seems reasonably 



