VII. 
THE AFTER TREATMENT. 
HOW TO HASTEN THE HEALING PROCESS. 
M* elaborate description of the whole oper- 
ation of caponizing may lead many of my 
readers to imagine that the capon is in bad 
shape when he comes from the operating table. 
This a mistake. The testicles are not a vital part. 
Their removal is of little consequence so far as the 
bird’s health and vitality are concerned; the only 
difference it makes is in regard to the sexual devel- 
opment of the bird. The thin membrane which 
envelops the intestines is not a vital part. The 
holes which we have torn into it are an injury which 
amounts to almost nothing. The only real injuries 
inflicted, therefore, are the two incisions, and these 
are merely flesh wounds of the simplest character, 
and by no means severe. The skin having slipped 
back in its natural position, covers the flesh wound 
between the ribs; the cut in the skin, and that in 
the flesh, on each side, cannot well be in more fav- 
orable shape for rapid healing. There is no need of 
sewing the edges of the wound together, or using 
any kind of salve, or plaster, or wash. Just trust 
in nature, the boss physician, and you will not be 
disappointed. 
At the beginning of the caponizing season, I put 
up what I call my ‘‘capon hospital.’ This is simply 
a space on one side of the barn containing, 
say, three or four square feet of floor 
surface to each capon, and covered with a 
Capon 
Hospital. 
