EDITORIAL OBSERVATIONS. 293 
cows give us, and of making them afterwards — a sad return ! — 
into beef which shall not be inferior to that of the ox. 
M. CHARLIER, a veterinary surgeon practising at Rheims, in 
France, twenty years ago heard of this operation being practised 
by some farmers in America, and from some trials which he lost 
no time in making of it, became so enraptured with the discovery, 
that night and day he ruminated over it, spending most of his time, 
as well as une par tie de sa modeste fortune , in bringing it to the 
perfection it promised, and making it extensively known. In both 
these objects, however, even up to the present day, he appears to 
have failed : he has neither made the spaying of cows public in 
every part of France; neither has he succeeded in convincing those 
who are informed of it of advantages to be derived from it such as 
he has, in his enthusiasm perhaps, depicted to himself. The Aca- 
demy of Rheims have, it is true, through their commission spe- 
cially appointed for the purpose, reported favourably of it ; but 
with the Veterinary College at Alfort, on whom we veterinarians 
of this country mostly re\y, the subject seems yet to lie shelved in 
doubt and abeyance. 
M. Renault, director of the Alfort Veterinary College, as we 
have seen, says in his report of it — “ If the result of fresh experi- 
ments, at any time to be made, come to confirm those already ob- 
tained, a fresh source of productiveness and wealth will be opened 
to agriculture.” And M. Bouley, professor of the same school, 
and chief editor of the Recueil is of opinion that, not by advice 
but by facts alone, perseveringly put forth for a series of years, can 
the advantages and harmlessness of such an operation be fully im- 
pressed upon the public mind. 
The first question to be asked in such a matter is, concerning 
the safety of the operation. Can cows be spayed with the same 
absence of apprehension or alarm as to the result that bulls or 
horses can be castrated I And can this be done, thus fearlessly, 
at such age as the cow — which will, of course, be after she has had 
one or more calves, indeed, turns out best after the third or fourth 
calf — is in a fit condition for it? Because, unless this be the case, 
the operation on this account alone must fall to the ground. 
Being satisfied about the safety of the operation, the next 
question is — are such advantages as are represented surely de- 
rivable from it, and do no disadvantages attend which may turn 
