1 Jan., 1900.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 27 
Sets of instruments are usually made to order, but their cost is out of all 
proportion to their actual value, £1 being charged for a set. In America 
_caponising sets form one of the regular lines in ironmongery stores, and they 
| are to be had, we believe, in Melbourne, so that should there be any prospect of 
_ the operation coming into vogue in this colony it is likely that local ironmongers 
or cutlers will find it to their advantage to import the appliances and sell them 
at a reasonable price. {We understand that all the necessary instruments for 
_ caponising may be purchased from Messrs. Nobb and Co., Queen street, Brisbane, 
and that they furnish full instructions by Spratts Limited.—Ed. Q.4.J.] More 
than two years ago we described the operation as usually performed in the United 
States; and as many correspondents have expressed a wish for the republication. 
of the article, it is given below, with explanatory illustrations. 
| 
The operation is best performed upon chickens about three months old, 
although it will succeed, if carefully done, with the majority of fowls when they 
are ten or twelve months old. As with many other operations, this is one that 
can be learned most readily by seeing it done, and we advise those who would 
undertake it to procure instruction wherever it is available. Still, if one has a 
little confidence, he will meet with success if the directions here given are 
carefully followed. In the first place, a table is needed, in which a few screw 
_ rings are inserted at convenient places. These are furnished with broad tapes 
_ by which the bird is securely held during the operation. The best plan for a 
- novice is to kill a bird and operate upon that first, in order to learn the position 
of the parts. Lay the dead bird upon the table, dispose it as hereafter described, 
and then place the screw rings where they would be needed to secure a live 
fowl. One or two will be required to hold the wings, and one for each leg; six 
will be all that will ever be necessary. Place the bird upon the table, and 
fasten it down upon its left side, as shown above, where the rings and tapes are 
seen. The spot where the opening is to be made is shown in the Plate. Here the 
feathers are plucked, and an opening is made through the skin with a pair of 
sharp-pointed, long-bladed scissors. We have found these better than a knife. 
The skin is drawn to one side, and an opening is made with the scissors 
between the last two ribs for 1} inches in length, great care being taken not to 
wound the intestines. The ribs are then separated by the spring hooks, B, so 
as to expose the inside. The intestines are gently moved out of the way with 
the handle of a teaspoon, and the glands or testicles will be seen attached to the 
back. The tissue which covers them is torn open with the hook, D, aided 
by the tweezers, A. The gland is then grasped with the forceps, A, and the 
cord is held by the tweezers. The gland is then twisted off by turning the 
forceps, and when this has been done the other one is removed in the same way. 
Care must be taken not to injure the bloodvessel which is connected with the 
organs, as this is the only seat of danger in the operation, and its rupture will 
generally be fatal. The hook is then removed, and if the skin has been drawn 
backward at the outset it will now slip forward and cover the inner skin which 
covers the intestines, and close the opening. No stitching is needed. A few 
feathers are drawn together on each side of the opening and plastered down 
upon the skin with the blood, where they will dry and form the best possible cover- 
ing to the wound, which will begin to heal at once. The bird should be fed with 
a very little soft bread and milk for a few days after the operation, but should: 
have plenty of water. For two nights and one day before the operation no food 
or water should be given to the birds ; this will greatly facilitate the work and 
reduce the chances of loss. The operation, after a few successful trials, may be 
performed in less than one minute, and by the use of the rings and tapes no ~ 
assistance is needed. Capons may be made to earn their food by fostering 
young chicks, to which business they take very kindly. To bring them to their 
full and most profitable size, they should be kept until the second year. By 
giving them cornmeal steeped in warm milk, and providing a warm house, they 
will grow during the whole winter; and their flesh will become very white, 
sweet, and juicy. A good capon of light Brahmas will weigh 12 Ib. to 15 Ib. at 
twenty-two months old.— Bulletin of the Queensland Department of Agricul- 
ture, No. 8. 
