LETTER LXXIV. 

 To THE Honourable Daines Barrington. 



Castration has a strange effect ; it emasculates 

 both man, beast, and bird, and brings them to a near 

 resemblance of the other sex. Thus eunuchs have 

 smooth, unmuscular arms, thighs, and legs ; and 

 broad lips, and beardless chins, and squeaking voices. 

 Gelt stags and bucks have hornless heads, like hinds 

 and does. Thus wethers have small horns, like ewes ; 

 and oxen large bent horns, and hoarse voices when 

 they low, like cows : for bulls have short straight 

 horns ; and though they mutter and grumble in a 

 deep tremendous tone, yet they low in a shrill high 

 key. Capons have small combs and gills, and look 

 pallid about the head, like pullets ; they also walk 

 without any parade, and hover over chickens like 

 hens.* Barrow-hogs have also small tusks like sows. 



Thus far it is plain that the deprivation of mascu- 

 line vigour puts a stop to the growth of those parts 

 or appendages that are looked upon as its insignia. 

 But the ingenious Mr. Lisle, in his book on hus- 

 bandry, carries it much farther ; for he says that the 

 loss of those insignia alone has sometimes a strange 

 effect on the ability itself; he had a boar so fierce 



* Reaumur, Mr. Rennie tells us, trained capons to nurse the chickens 

 he hatched by artificial heat. They clucked like hens and proved good 

 nurses. 



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