668 OPERATIONS. 



ordinary strapper or even stud groom regards grooming as merely 

 a form of " eye-wash " ; but a capable Indian syce knows how to 

 hath inulna (massage) a fatigued horse, so as to make him fresh 

 again in about twenty minutes. 



The evident pleasure which stroking gives horses, cats, dogs 

 and other animals, and the delight which tired horses take in 

 rolling, are convincing proofs of the health-giving effect of massage. 

 In India, I have always remarked that while a horse was being 

 hand-rubbed by a good syce, the animal did his best to help his 

 masseur, by bringing his weight against the man's hands. Patting 

 on the neck, which is gratefully appreciated by all horses, is a form 

 of massage that is known to medical men as tapotement. 



My readers will find much useful information about massage 

 in the writings of Dr. • Eccles, Sir William H. Bennett, and other 

 authorities. 



Killing a Horse. 



Theoretically, the most effective way to shoot a horse, is to aim 

 so that the bullet will go through the brain and enter the spinal 

 cord. This condition, which is difficult to obtain, is apparently 

 well fulfilled in Fig. 169, which is a reproduction of a photograph 

 I took in South Africa in 1901. The entrance of the bullet through 

 the centre of the brain is almost always certain death, even when 

 the spinal cord is not touched. A good and easy plan for killing 

 a horse with either pistol or gun, is to shoot him in the middle 

 line of the forehead, about four or five inches above the level of 

 the eyes; for instance, in the centre of the "star" in Fig. 170. 

 The weapon should be held close to the forehead. If this be done, 

 the animal will drop down, without a struggle, on the spot upon 

 which he had been standing. Or, having opened the jugular vein, 

 we may, by means of a tube, blow air into the vein in the direction 

 of the heart, when death will ensue from suffocation (p. 640) 



A very easy and eft'ective method of shooting a horse is by means 

 of Greener's ''Humane Cattle Killer" (Fig. 171), which is an in- 

 valuable help in slaughter houses or when large numbers of useless 

 and disabled horses have to be destroyed, as often happens, during 

 war time. The fact of its being noiseless greatly enhances its 

 value in enclosed areas. 



Neurotomy (Neurectomy ). 



In surgery, the operation of removing a portion of a nerve or 

 nerves, which is almost always done with the object of depriving 

 the part of sensation, is termed neurectomy ; but in popular 



