262 DADD'S VETERINARY MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 



orifice. The sheath is first forced back, and the penis brought 

 forward to its greatest possible extent. Whatever portion it if» 

 intended to remove is now cut through, by means of an ampu- 

 tating knife, when the remainder is retracted within the sheath, 

 and little hemorrhage has afterward occurred, except at the time 

 of passing the urine ; but there appears to have been no alarming 

 quantity of blood lost. 



Amputation of the Tail, or Docking. — "We are most happy to 

 state this filthy and unnecessary operation is now discarded. It 

 never consisted of more than the cutting off a portion of the 

 stump with brute force, and the cruel application afterward of a 

 hot iron to the small artery of the tail. 



Nicking. 



We should be grateful that this barbarous and dangerous pro- 

 cess is no longer numbered among the necessary operations. It ns 

 so beset with accidents, which no skill or prudence can prevent, 

 that no one who has a free will ought to mutilate a horse by 

 nicking. 



Firing. 



The practice of filing was not always confined to quadrupeds. 

 On the contrary, it probably was first used on man ; and to this 

 day, in many countries, it is a very popular remedy among human 

 surgeons. In India it is applied over the abdomen for the cure 

 1 if scirrhosity of the liver. 



Firing, in veterinary practice, has, by Mr. Coleman's pupils, 

 been justified as only men will justify a favorite operation, the 

 virtues of which have been impressed upon their minds by an elo- 

 quent teacher. When Coleman was the chief of the veterinary 

 profession, firing, under his rule, was used for any and every 

 occasion. It was ridiculously supposed to act as a permanent 

 bandage, as if a few strokes with a heated iron could destroy the 

 elastic property inherent in the skin. It was the favorite styptic 

 of these practitioners, and was applied to arteries (as of the tail) 

 as though it possessed within itself some medicinal virtue. It 

 was used to promote absorption, as in callus; and was likewise 

 resorted to for checking absorption, as in ulceration. It was called 

 into action to promote granulation, in broken knees ; and was also a 



