Castrating 185 
In small animals where hemorrhage is feared, if the 
cord is scraped or torn apart there is much less dan- 
ger of bleeding than when the cord is cut with a sharp 
knife. 
After the operation the colt should rest for a time 
and then have gentle exercise, as this tends to remove 
blood clots that may collect, in the scrotum. If there 
is much swelling give plenty of exercise, and nitrate 
of potash (saltpeter) a small tablespoonful to a two- 
year-old daily for two or three days. If there are 
symptoms of septicemia, or blood- pcisoning, the 
wounds and scrotuin should be thoroughly cleaned out, 
blood clots and pus removed and antiseptics used freely 
at least twice daily. Peritonitis, or inflammation of 
the lining membrane of the abdominal cavity, some- 
times follows and is usually fatal. Antiseptics should 
be used on the wounds, and enemas of warm water and 
glycerine to empty the bowels. If the animal suffers 
severely, laudanum in ounce doses may be administered 
: every six hours until the pain is lessened. 
In castrating lambs, it is a good plan to eut off 
the lower end of the scrotum instead of making a sepa- 
rate incision on each side. The testicles are then drawn 
down and the cord cut off well wp. There is very 
little danger of hemorrhage in castrating young lambs, 
and the cord can usually be torn, scraped or cut off. 
The same method is sometimes used in castrating 
calves. In castrating bulls the end of the scrotum is 
frequently cut off, but the cord should be separated 
with the ecraseur, emasculator, or scraped off, as there 
is often considerable hemorrhage. 
