SURGICAL OPERATIONS. 297 



The hands of the operator and all instruments and dressings com- 

 ing in contact with a wound at any time should be made as clean as 

 possible by the use of antiseptics. 



Barbed-wire cuts. — We have specified these simply because in 

 some sections of the country there is a fixed idea that there is a 

 specific poison in barbed wire, causing injuries which require treat- 

 ment differing from that which is applicable to ordinary wounds. 

 Barbed-wire cuts differ from ordinary wounds only in the parts 

 being often lacerated and torn, and the treatment already indicated 

 for wounds of that description is applicable to them. 



CASTRATION. 



Castration consists in the removal of the essential organs of gener- 

 ation, and is performed upon both the male and the female. In the 

 male the organs removed are the testicles and in the female the 

 ovaries. 



CASTRATION OF THE MALE. 



Castration in the male is performed for several different purposes. 

 It may be necessary, as is the case in certain diseased conditions of 

 the testicles and in strangulated hernia, but the usual object of the 

 operation is to enhance the general value of the animal. For ex- 

 ample, if the animal is intended for burden, the operation will better 

 fit him for his work by so modifying his temperament and physical 

 condition that he may easily be controlled by his master. Again, if 

 he is merely to be used for beef purposes, the operation will improve 

 the quality of the flesh and cause an added development of the most 

 valuable portions of the dressed carcass. 



The operation upon the female may be performed on account of 

 diseased conditions, but we may say that the chief object of the 

 operation is to make the animal one of more profit to its owner by 

 lessening the lacteal secretion and also improving the physical con- 

 dition from the point of view of beef production. When the cow is 

 spayed, it does away with all trouble attending estrum, or heat, ges- 

 tation, and parturition with its accidents and ailments. The flesh 

 of the spayed cow is more tender and juicy than that of the natural 

 animal. 



The operation upon the male may be either the uncovered or tlie 

 covered. In the former the incision is made down to the testicle 

 proper, and in the latter the cut is made through the scrotum or the 

 outside covering and through the dartos, or the next coat, care being 

 taken to cut no deeper tissues or coats. The age at which the opera- 

 tion is performed varies, but usually it is performed between the 

 second and third month. If done in early life, there is less danger of 

 complications, the organs being in a latent condition and not fully 

 developed. There are many different methods of operating, the prin- 

 cipal ones of which we shall mention. In the uncovered operation a 



