TRANSLATIONS FROM CONTINENTAL JOURNALS. 119 
the hand. The extirpation of the ovaries does not essentially 
differ from that by M. Charlier. 
Another mode of castrating is that by ligature,recommended 
byM. Prange. This is to avoid the torsion, which, according to 
M. Prange, cannot be done without being liable to serious con¬ 
sequences, on account of the broad attachment of the ovaries 
to the ligament. M. Prange proceeds to operate in the same 
w T ay as M. Charlier, and after having brought the ovary in the 
vagina, he applies a ligature with a sliding noose over it, the 
ends of which are kept in the left hand, and by pulling both 
ends it is tightened above the ovary, which is afterwards 
excised. The ligature is either left hanging out at the vulva, 
or in the vagina, attached to a cork. M. Prange does not 
describe the instrument bv which he excises the ovaries. 
Castration of the mare was unknown to the ancients. It 
was introduced about the seventeenth centurv, and became 
so general that it was found necessary for the government in 
France to interfere and forbid it; after which, without being 
abandoned, it was but little practised. The operation was 
performed, as in the other females, by an opening made in 
the flank. M. Charlier operates the same way as in the 
cow, by the vagina. There are, however, some anatomical 
differences which it is necessary to study. The operation is 
recommended in cases where mares are difficult to manage, 
or lose their condition and health by always horsing. 
In a supplementary note M. Gourdon enters into the his¬ 
tory of castration in man, which in some rare instances is 
resorted to as a medical means, as for instance in sarcocele 
of the testicle, or in case of cancerous degeneration of that 
organ. But the majority of instances have been to create in 
the individuals a special inaptitude, so as to appropriate them 
to certain purposes incompatible with the organs of virility, 
in the opinion of those who employed them. These indi¬ 
viduals are called eunuchs. An ancient tradition, if it is to 
be credited, refers its antiquity to Semiramis, who, it is said, 
ordered all the weak and deformed children of the male sex 
to be castrated. Whatever credence may be attached to this, 
there is no doubt of its antiquity; fora great number of 
eunuchs existed in Assyria, Persia, and other countries in 
the East. All the Greek and Latin authors are unanimous 
on this subject. With the kings of Mede and Persia these 
eunuchs acquired great influence, from the time of Cyrus, 
who had 2000 of them, and who formed a special guard. 
The eunuchs were obtained from every country, but most 
commonly from Egypt, which has always possessed the 
privilege of this execrable industry. There also existed a 
