CASTRATION AND SPAVlNG 



241 



Any emasculator that will satisfactorily cut off the cord 

 with the tunic included is too sharp to effectually prevent 

 haemorrhage, and any one that will always prevent hasmor- 

 rhage, is too blunt to divide this tough fibrous membrane, 

 except by the employment of more than the ordinary 

 strength of one or even both hands. 



The ecraseur is much the best ablating instrument for 

 recumbent castrations in horses, bulls, bucks and goats, es- 

 pecially where it is desired to effect the division of the cord 

 high up in the inguinal canal. It is much less convenient 

 and inflicts a more lasting pain than the emasculator, as 

 with it more time is required to crush through the spermatic 

 cord. For standing castration it is much too slow ; the sub- 

 ject often becomes uncontrollable before the ordeal is over. 



The wooden clamps, once a standard and very popular 

 method of managing the haemorrhage, are now used only in 



Fig. 125 — Wooden Clamp for Castration and for the Clamping of Hernias. 



emergencies. The ecraseur chain may break unexpectedly, 

 the emasculator may be unequal to the task on account of 

 an unexpected anomaly, or a hernia not previously noticed 

 may present itself at a critical moment. The clamps are in- 

 cluded in the equipment to meet such emergencies, if not 

 also sometimes to satisfy a caprice against the more mod- 

 ern instruments. The braided silk is sometimes required to 

 control haemorrhage from the spermatic artery and occa- 

 sionally to perform an operation against hernia. (See Van 

 Law's operation.) 



RESTRAINT. — Any of the domestic animals can be cas- 

 trated in the standing position. In the horse, however, the 

 recumbent position is generally desirable on account of the 

 personal danger to the operator, or because the testicles may 

 be too high up in the scrotum to be pulled down easily. The 

 standing position may be safely adopted in the well-broken 



