145 



of sulphate of copper may be mixed with an ounce of lard and pressed 

 into the groove in the face of each clamp. In applying the clamp 

 over the cord it should be drawn so close with jjincers as to press out 

 all blood from the compressed cord and destroy its vitality-, and 

 the cord applied upon the comijressing clamps should be so hard- 

 twined that it will not stretch later and slacken the hold. When the 

 clamp has been fixed the testicle is cut off one-half to 1 inch below 

 it, and the clamp may be left thus for twenty-four hours; then, by 

 cutting the cord around one end of the clamp, the latter may be 

 opened and the stump liberated, without any danger of bleeding. 

 Should the stump hang out of the wound it should be pushed inside 

 with the finger and left there. The wound should begin to discharge 

 white matter on the second day in hot weather, or the third in cold, 

 and from that time a good recovery may be expected. 



CONDITIOXS FAVORABLE TO SUCCESSFUL CASTRATION. 



The young horse suffers less from castration than the old, and very 

 rarely perishes. Good health in the subject is all important. Castra- 

 tion should never be attemjited during the prevalence of strangles, 

 influenza, catarrhal fever, contagious pleurisy, bronchitis, pneumonia, 

 purpura hsemorrhagica, or other specific disease, nor on subjects that 

 have been kept in close, illy ventilated, filthy buildings, where the 

 system is liable to have been charged with putrid bacteria or other 

 products. Warm weather is to be preferred to cold, but the fly time 

 should be avoided or the flies kept at a distance by the apjilication of 

 a watery solution of tar, carbolic acid, or camphor to the wound. 



CASTRATION OF CRYPTORCHIDS (RIDGLINGS). 



This is the removal of a testicle or testicles that have failed to 

 descend into the scrotum, but have been detained in the inguinal 

 canal or inside the abdomen. The manipulation requires an accurate 

 anatomical knowledge of the parts, and special skill, experience, and 

 manual dexterity, and can not be made clear to the unprofessional 

 mind in a short notice. It consists, however, in the discovery and 

 removal of the missing gland by exploring through the natural chan- 

 nel (the inguinal canal), or, in case it is absent, through the inguinal 

 ring or through an artificial opening made in front and above that 

 channel between the abdominal muscles and the strong fascia on the 

 inner side of the thigh (Poupart's ligament). Whatever method is 

 used, the skin, hands, and instruments should be rendered aseptic 

 with a solution of mercuric chloride 1 part; Avater 2,000 parts (a car- 

 bolic acid lotion for the instruments), and the spermatic cord is best 

 torn through by the ecraseur. In many such cases, too, it is desirable 

 to sew uj) the external wound and keep the animal still, to favor 

 healing of the wound by adhesion. 



