CASTRATION. 
289 
up the wound with oakum, saturated with bichloride and creo- 
line solution. I then reduced the hernia on the left side, which 
was present prior to casting the animal; removed that testicle 
b>y the covered operation, and let the animal upon his feet; for 
a time he seemed considerably distressed and I ordered stimu¬ 
lants administered during the balance of the day. Toward night 
he began to have violent pains and I was telephoned to that 
effect, I replied through the telephone directing them to use 
opiates. Through the night the horse rolled around consider- 
ably, but gradually grew more quiet; the following morning he 
appeared to be much better, so the groom said, but that evening 
he died. On the 22d I made a post-mortem examination; peri¬ 
tonitis had set it. A portion of the intestines had again passed 
into the inguinal canal on the left side, and was strangulated 
alongside of the clamps which I had attached to the covered 
cord. The stitches I had put into the right side were still hold- 
ing, and the packing in place, but the parts surrounding were 
terribly inflamed. The ridgling testicle was found encysted in 
a mass of omentum, and all firmly adhered to a tumor about as 
large as a goose egg, which entire mass was adhered to the ab¬ 
dominal wall in the lower portion of the abdomen, and about on 
a line with the cartilages of the ribs; no amount of pulling on 
the cord from the internal inguinal ring could ever have loos¬ 
ened the testicle. 
The walls of the abdomen had been injured probably from a 
kick externally, just at that point which most likely accounted 
for the condition within. 
From the above list we show the causes of death to be from 
Rupture of blood-vessel. j 
Adenitis. 2 
Peritonitis. 7 
Tetanus. 6 
Blood-poison. 2 
Pneumonia. 3 
Total. 21 
Of those which died of peritonitis, at least three of them 
were ruptured prior to or at the time of the operation or both; 
