764 
DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY. 
nerve cut as near to the sclera as possible. The muscles and 
conjunctiva can easily be dissected by rotating the eyeball. All 
haemorrhage must be checked with hot water. If the haemorrhage 
is extensive, the orbit must be filled with wads of absorbing 
cotton, saturated in hot water. After all haemorrhage is ariested, 
the edges of the conjunctiva may be sutured ; this, however, is 
not necessary ; most operators prefer to fill the orbit with wads 
of aseptic gauze or cotton, and a suitable bandage applied over 
the orbit. 
After-treatment .—The first dressing should be changed two 
or three hours after the operations, and the orbit washed with a 
mild antiseptic solution ; the dressings should be applied every 
day for the next three or four days ; after the fourth day the 
wads in the orbit may be omitted. 
Complications.— The most common complication is secondary 
haemorrhage, which must be controlled with hot water and 
wadding. Tetanus is another complication that may follow. 
Cellulitis and meningitis may also be sequellae \ each of these 
require good drainage and the removal of septic material from 
the wound, followed by hot fomentations. 
SURGICAL, ITEMS. 
Oophorectomy — Spaying—Female Castratio 7 i .— Although 
this does not interest the city practitioner very much, in some 
parts of this country it is quite an item to the country practitioner, 
especially in the great cattle-raising districts. The animal the 
veterinarian is most frequently called upon to perform this 
operation on is the ox. I will endeavor to explain why, what 
season of the year, the age and modus operandi, viz.: The 
spayed animal will carry more flesh and acquire that flesh much 
faster than the one not spayed and will sell for a better price. 
As an example, I will relate an experiment to this effect: 
bunch of spayed heifers and a bunch of non-spayed heifers were 
weighed in at equal weight, placed in the fattening pens under 
the same conditions for six months ; were again weighed at tne 
end of this six months, and the spayed heifers weighed 115 
pounds per head more than the others, and sold for 15 cents 
more per cwt. In regard to the season of the year, it has been 
demonstrated that the best time is from about May 1st to 
about November 1st. 
When you recommend the warm weather to the average 
farmer the first thing he wants to know is u what about the flies, 
but no professional man need ever fear the fly in this case, no 
