The Breeding Herd 63 



care that the slits extend well to the bottom of the scro- 

 tum, but careless operators will often leave a pocket that 

 will gather pus and cause infection of the wound. In 

 making the vertical incision, the skin is held tightly over 

 the testicle and the testicle pops out the instant the in- 

 cision is long enough to permit it. This leaves an in- 

 cision that often does not reach to the end of the scrotum 

 and which in any case is so small that the wound will 

 heal on the outside before it does on the inside. For these 

 reasons, it is necessary to enlarge the openings after the 

 testicles have been removed, a precaution which careless 

 operators will not take. Thus many cattle-men require 

 the operator to take off the entire end of the sack, and 

 since but few buyers now pay any attention to the filling 

 of the cod, it would seem best to follow this as the easiest 

 and most sanitary method. 



After the scrotum is opened, the testicle will be found 

 inclosed in a membranous covering. This is slit open, 

 and the testicle squeezed out. The membranes are also 

 cut from around the cord, so that there is nothing holding 

 the testicle but the soft vascular cord. This is then pulled 

 out as far as possible and scraped in two with the knife. 

 Some good disinfectant is used to wash off the scrotum 

 before the operation and to apply to the wound when 

 finished. The best operators will sometimes lose a calf, 

 but most of the losses are due to failure to use disinfec- 

 tants or to open the wound so the pus can escape and 

 so that there is no danger of the outside healing before the 

 inside. 



WINTERING 



Winter feeds in different communities vary so widely 

 that few rules for wintering can govern all cases. Dry 



