1030 fOWLTRY. 



i 



"The Operation. 



) "The fowl should be confined to a table or board, by laying him 



with the left side downward, the wings drawn behind the rump, 

 and the legs extended backward, with the upper one farthest drawn 

 out, and the head and neck left perfectly free. The feathers are 

 next to be plucked on the right side, near the hip joint, on a 

 line with and between the joints of the shoulders. 



" The space uncovered may be from an inch to an inch and 

 a half in diameter, according to the size of the bird. Make incision 

 with a bevel-edged knife between the last two ribs, commencing 

 about an inch from the backbone, and extending it obliquely down- 

 ward from an inch to an inch and a half, just deep enough to sepa- 

 rate the ribs, taking due care not to wound the intestines.* 



' " Next adjust and apply the retractor, and stretch the wound 

 sufficiently wide apart to afford room for an examination of the or- 

 gans to be removed ; and then puncture the peritoneum. Then 

 with the forceps extirpate the testicles, which have been 

 brought to view. In birds the testicles are situated in the abdomi- 

 nal cavity, inferior to the vertebral column, and in front of the kid- 

 neys. They correspond exactly to the articulation of the last three 

 ribs with the spinal column, where they lie close together and in 

 contact with the blood vessels which separate them from the kid- 

 neys. They are held in position by the peritoneum spread above 

 them, and by .minute blood vessels, branches of the aorta, or the 

 vena cava. , 



" After the operation the bird may be placed in a warm house, 

 where there are no perches, since if such appliances are present, the 

 newly made capon will very probably injure himself in his attempt 

 to perch. 



" Gapons are fattened in precisely the same manner as other 

 fowls. 



"Death due to the operation is less than one per cent, and 

 these generally die during the operation." 



