94 
THE POULTRY BOOK. 
never found necessary, the oatmeal should be mixed rather stiff, and then rolled 
into crams about two inches long and as thick as a man’s little finger. Six or 
seven of these are then taken, dipped in milk or water, and placed in the back of 
the mouth of the fowl, which is held in the lap, the mouth being opened with the 
aid of the left hand. In this manner the birds should be fed three times a day, 
care being always taken to ascertain that the last meal has completely passed out 
of the crop before the next is given. Sometimes, in cramming, the food will 
become hardened in the crop. In this case some lukewarm water should be 
poured down the throat, and the mass loosened by gentle pressure with the 
fingers. 
We have not recommended the operation of making capons : by far the greater 
number of the fowls which are sold in London under that name, are not really 
birds that have undergone the operation of caponizing, but simply young cocks 
that have been fatted as recommended. The operation, moreover, as performed 
in England, is of the most barbarous and consequently frequently fatal character. 
The plan adopted is to cut across the belly between the end of the breast-bone and 
the vent ; the intestines and gizzard are then pushed aside, and by that means 
the testicles, which in birds lie in close contact with the back-bone in the im- 
mediate neighbourhood of the kidneys, are reached ; they are then pulled away 
from their attachments by the finger, and removed through the wound. It is 
needless to say that an operation so severe in its character is necessarily often 
fatal. 
In France the operation is performed in a much more skilful and scientific 
manner, and with so little pain and inconvenience to the birds, that they will feed 
immediately after its performance. The details of this operation were published 
in the “ Oiseaux de Basse Cour,” par Mdlle. Millet Kobinet, a treatise issued with 
the concurrence of the Minister of Agriculture. As the plan of proceeding is so 
much superior to that followed in our own country, we do not hesitate to insert a free 
translation of the chapter on Caponizing, although we must state that we do not 
recommend the operation, and have never performed it, except in the course of 
some physiological experiments ; but when we have done so, we have found that it 
is attended with little or almost no risk to the animal. 
‘‘ The name of capon is given to young cocks which have been deprived of the 
faculty of reproduction. In this state they grow to a very large size, and fatten 
more readily : their flesh also is more delicate. 
“It is desirable to submit the cocks to the operation when they are about four 
months old, and it is very important to choose a time when the weather is some- 
wdiat cool, rather moist than dry, and especially to avoid performing the operation 
during the great heats of summer. 
“ The instrument employed in the operation should be very sharp ; a surgeon’s 
small operating-knife, termed a curved-pointed bistoury, is far better than an 
ordinary knife, as it makes a much neater wound, and so increases greatly the 
chances of healing ; or a curved-pointed penknife may be used. A stout needle 
