RUEGICAL OPERATIONS. 291 



Dehorning of adult animals is usually performed after the age of 

 2 years, as after that age there is less probability of the horns again 

 growing. The horns should be severed from the head from a quar- 

 ter to a half -inch below where the skin joins the base of the horn, 

 cutting from the back toward the front if a saw is used. If the 

 horn is not cut close enough to the head, an irregular, gnarly 

 growth of horn is liable to follow. 



Before attempting to dehorn the animal, it should be securely 

 controlled by ropes in a stanchion or by casting. Upon the range 

 the cattle are usually controlled by casting or by placing them in a 

 " squeezer " connected with a corral. A clean, sharp meat saw or a 

 miter saw with a rigid back may be used. ^ arious types of dehorn- 

 ing shears or clippers are in general use. One type of dehorner 

 has a stationar}^ knife edge with its cutting edge shaped like a very 

 wide V, and opposing this, another knife of similar shape moving 

 in a slide, so that the cutting edges act upon the horn from all four 

 sides at once, all the edges passing the center at the same time. An- 

 other type has a movable knife, with one oblique or one curved edge, 

 and the cutting is done in one direction only. The power for cut- 

 ting with these instruments is supplied by pulling together two long 

 handles which, in order to transmit a greater force, are generally 

 so constructed that they act through the medium of a series of cogs. 

 In dehorning with these instruments the cutting edges should be 

 slipped down over the horn and the knives closed, so that their edges 

 set firmly against the horn in such position that the cut will be made 

 in the right place and in the right direction. The handles should 

 then be drawn together with a quick, firm, strong pull so that the 

 horn will be completely severed by the first act and without twisting. 



Dehorning should, when possible, be performed in cool weather 

 when the flies are not plentiful. The loss of blood from the opera- 

 tion is not sufficient, as a rule, to be of consequence, and after care 

 being taken to prevent substances from getting into the openings 

 left after the removal of the horns it is not usual to apply any 

 dressing. Pine tar or a mixture of pine tar and tannic acid may be 

 applied, particularly if the weather is warm. 



SETONING. 



The ordinary use of a seton is to keep up constant drainage from 

 a cavity containing matter or to act as a stimulant or counterirritant. 

 To insert a seton, the place of entrance and exit having been decided 

 on, with the finger and thumb make a small fold of the skin trans- 

 versely to the direction the seton is to be inserted, and cut it through, 

 either with a sharp knife or a pair of scissors (this should be done at 

 both the entrance and exit) ; then with a steady pressure and slight 



