12 
Snyplement lo the ' Tropical Agriculturist.'" [July 1, 1902. 
the instrument tray aseptic, and the Te?.?el con- 
taining the antiseptic solution in a similar condi- 
tion ; we can to a certain extent disinfect the 
skin and surroundingparts of the field of operation ; 
and, last but not least, we can render our hands 
aseptic. 
Next comes the great difficulty and drawback 
to our efforts, viz., the surroundings and the 
attendant. Our experience has been, that 
provided the weather be favourable the animals 
are far better on grass than in the best-forined 
stable, also that the le;,s handling they receive 
from the attendant the better. Of course no hard 
and fast rule can be laid down on the subject, 
and while some give no trouble, without any 
attention from the attendant, others require to be 
looked after. With very few exceptions do we 
find buildings which are fit to accommodate 
surgical cases, certainly not in country districts 
■where the majority of colts are housed after the 
operation. Many are filthy in the extreme, and 
even the aid of a Hercules would not render 
them clean enough to satisfy our minds. Still 
we have to make the best of our surroandiiigs, 
and endeavour to have them cleaned and 
disinfected as far as possible. As regards the 
ordinary farm attendant's hands, we imagiiie that 
even prolonged boiling would hardly sterilise 
them. Under such circumstances we cannot be 
surprised when bad results of the operation 
follow, a combination of dirt and rough handling 
being opposed to natural healing. 
Taking everything into consideration, we may 
state that the resuUs obtained are very satis- 
factory, and that the unfavourable sequalte to 
which we shall shortly refer can to a great extent 
be minimised or prevented. Given an animal 
in healthy condition, and surroundings as favour- 
able as can be expected, the next important 
point is with reference to casting for the operation,. 
Of course all necessary precautions must be 
taken, as in casting for any operation. We may 
state that we prefer casting with small-sized 
hobbles, and performing the operation with the 
animal lying on the side, the uppermost hind 
leg being released from the hobble and secured 
towards the shoulder by means of a side-line. 
Needless to say, we administer chloroform 
to animals of all ages, and have no trouble, 
danger, or anxiety from its use- Next with 
reference to the instruments. We use a special 
clniip, with edges that fit arcuratelj' like an 
artery forceps. The testicle is exposed iu the 
ordinary way, the so-called nou-vuscular portion 
of the cord is severed by means of a pair of 
scissors with serrated edges. This precaution 
prevents hcemorrhage from the small testicular 
artery. The clam.p is then fixed on the vascular 
portion of the cord as high up as possible, witiiout 
dragging on the latter, and the instrument is 
closed as tightly .' s possible. The torsion forceps 
are then applied, and if the testicle be birge 
it is removed a sliort distance from tl)e forCv;p«. 
We apply the forceps as close as poS3il)le to the 
surface of the clam]), and then rotate the forceps 
slowly and regularly, the first few turns being 
more rapid ; by this means no bruised tissue 
\» left behind, and the operation is more 
expeditious. We never permit an assistant to 
hold the clamp, as we can do so ourselves, and 
perform torsion with facility. The important 
matter is to avoid any dragging on the cord. 
In the case of yearlings, if we operate in thj 
country we leave them on tlie grass at once, 
provided the weather is favourable ; of course, 
they are housed at night for a variable period. 
In two-year-olds and upwards we keep the animals 
inside until next day, tlien leave tiiem on the 
grass, and make certain they have at least an 
hour's exercise daily. The importance of daily 
exercise cannot be over-extimated. 
The sequelffi cf castration we are all unfor- 
tunately too well acquainted with. 
Hemorrhage, either primary or secondary, will 
sometimes occur in spite of all precaution?. 
Although we have never known a case that 
terminated fatally as the result of hsemorrhage, 
still it is our experience that colts which bleed 
after the operation do not progress favourably, 
and freqiieatly develop other sequalce. The source 
of the hfemorrhage is not always easy to discover, 
but in yearlings we have often observed that 
the small testicular artery is very well developed, 
and we are cJf opinion that the hasmorrhage 
arises from this vessel. If this portion be severed 
by means of a serrated scissors inltead of a 
knife, there will be practically no hajmorrhage. 
In weak yearlings we have found it of advantage 
to place the entire cor^l in. the clamp, and sever 
the non-vascular portion on the surface of the 
instrument before applying the torsion forceps. 
It is rare to encounter hfemorrhage immediately 
after the operation ; of course, some animals 
bleed more from the scrotal incisions than others, 
but this soon ceases. 
It is hsemorihage occurring from two to six 
hours after the operation that is likely to cause 
trouble. As regards its suppression, much de- 
pends on circumstances. If the bleeding be only 
slight, the application of cold water may 
to bring about a spontaneous cessation ; but if 
profuse, especially with evidences of arterial 
bleeding, we must resort to plugging the Ciinal, 
and the best material is carbolised tow pushed 
in firmly in pledgets. This has always succeeded, 
but we must admit that next morning there is 
always enormous swelling, and a tendency for 
a recurrence of the hsemorrhage when the pledgets 
are being removed. It is astonishing the tendency 
to htemorrhage possessed by some animals; we 
have seen intermittent htemorrhage to last for 
three days, and recur in a continuous drip every 
time tlie pledgets of tow were removed. One 
important detail is not to allow the packing to 
remain in too long, as it very quickly becomes 
septic. At the same time care is required in 
removing it- One of the most troublesome c ises 
of bleeding we ever encountered was when acting 
as as.sistant. Tiie animal, a large yearling, was 
castrated the previous day by another practitioner. 
By clumce we happened to be passing by, and 
found the groom in a great state of alarm ; 
the blood could be heard gushing in a firm 
stream. No appliances were at hand, and not 
even tow or wool, We came acro.3s some alum 
and dissolved it iu cold water, and applied 
