ATTENDING THE OPERATION 
269 
last case; both being within the scrotum and they could be 
traced into the abdominal ring. I advised the proprietor to have 
them extracted ; he, however, demurred, and sent foi the geldei 
and another veterinary surgeon, who, I am sorry to say, had not 
the common courtesy to call upon me and consult on the nature 
of the case, although he acknowledged he had seen nothing ot 
the kind before. Both of them agreed, that to perform an ope¬ 
ration such as I proposed, would be certain destruction to the 
animal. , T v , x T 
The proprietor told me what had passed. I replied, that as L 
did not castrate the colt, I was quite easy about their determi¬ 
nation; but I assured him that, if the operation was not done, 
death would be the consequence. Six weeks more passed, 
during which I frequently saw the animal. Several lotions, 
liniments, and ointments, were directed to be applied to discuss 
the enormous swelling, or encourage suppuration. It did suppu¬ 
rate now and then, but this only added to the hardened mass, 
and formed more fistulous openings. The proprietor now lost 
faith in his other advisers, and, at last, assented to my proposals, 
as he said the beast was dying any icay. But what inducement 
had I now to operate, or what hope to succeed . The case at this 
period would have made the most daring one consider before he 
proceeded to use the knife. The poor animal was wasted to a 
skeleton ; the back was roached; an cedematous swelling ex¬ 
tended along the under part of the belly and chest; the sciotum 
and sheath were of enormous size ; in short, they formed a hard¬ 
ened scirrhous mass with numerous fistulous openings on its 
surface. No trace of the spermatic cord could now be found, 
and the animal for some days past had shewn sv mptoms o 
■ peritonitis . . 
Being, however, urged, I proceeded, and threw the animal. 
An incision was made in a line from the abdominal ring to the 
most pendulous part of the sheath : but this incision could not 
be made to open; I might as well have attempted to separate a 
piece of sole-leather. I was, nevertheless, determined to see 
the centre of this mass, and another incision was made about 
2J inches from the former, and each was carried on to the depth 
of 3 inches, and the intermediate portion removed. INo cord 
was to be seen; it was all a hardened mass, which crackled 
under the knife like cartilage, yet full of fistulous openings. 
The same operation was performed on the othei side, and the 
same appearance was presented. The bloodvessels of both 
were secured, and the gaps in the sheath allowed to remain open 
as a drain, through which the fluid might discharge itself, which 
it did for several weeks afterwards, along with large quantities 
