FARROWING TIME 229 



held across the fence and allowed to rest on the upper 

 rail, while the operator standing outside can perform 

 very quickly and conveniently. In the case of larger pigs, 

 they may be laid on their back and the attendant may sit 

 astride of their neck with the front feet as well as the 

 hind feet of the pig in front of the attendant. The hind 

 feet are then held, one by each hand, and pulled forward 

 a little, which again puts the pig in a splendid position 

 for the operation. 



Mature boars cannot be held so easily and must be 

 tied. If properly done, a man single handed can castrate 

 the largest boar living. One way to do this is as follows : 

 A strong small rope should be placed around the pastern 

 of one front foot while the hog is eating or otherwise 

 unaware of what is about to happen. With the rope 

 securely fastened at this point, the hog may be thrown 

 and if his front feet are kept off the ground he cannot 

 rise. After this the rope is drawn around one hind foot, 

 then around the other front foot, and lastly around the 

 other hind foot. The four feet are securely tied together. 

 In such a position the hog cannot rise, and cannot help 

 himself and the operator may proceed undisturbed. With 

 the hog lying on his left side, the operator standing at the 

 back of the hog holds the knife in his right hand, and 

 uses his left hand to hold the scrotum in position. To 

 facilitate matters a little more, the rope with which the 

 feet are tied may be fastened somewhere overhead to 

 keep them slightly off the ground. 



Another way to hold a large boar is by means of a rope 

 on his snout as described later in connection with putting 

 rings in the snout to prevent a hog from rooting. 



Ruptured Pigs. Ruptured boar pigs (those ruptured 

 in the scrotum) may be castrated so as to make just as 



