310 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



matter how successful it may have been, he is pretty sure to have a 

 neighbor who will want to know the reason why he did not use 

 something else. Whatever antiseptic is used, always recollect that 

 cleanliness, rest, and attention constitute 50 per cent of the contest, 

 and that the other half may safely be left to the restoring touch of 

 nature. 



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

 exists in some sections of the country 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 of the removal of the essential organs of genera- 

 tion. It 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 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. 



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 

 altering the lacteal secretion and also the physical conditio^n. Advo- 

 cates of this operation claim that a spayed cow will milk under favor- 

 able conditions for a number of years continuously, and that the milk 

 is greatly increased in richness. Careful tests, however, indicate that 

 the value of this operation with dairy cows has been exaggerated. 

 When the cow is spayed, it does away with all trouble attending 

 estrum, or heat, gestation, and parturition with its accidents and ail- 

 ments. The flesh of the spayed cow is more tender and juicy than 

 that of the entire animal. 



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

 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- 



