and feet with a side line, so that the practitioner may operate with safety to himself, the tail must be placed between the docking-shears, and at one steady stroke the lower part should be dissevered from the upper, and the operation is performed. Blood will naturally flow, and this in some degree is beneficial, but after a short time it must be stopped, and this is done by the application of a hot iron to the stump. The iron is made for all amputations of the same kind, with a hole in the centre, as it is dangerous to sear the bone, and a dull red heat is quite sufficient to stop the hemorrhage. Some persons use other methods, but many of them are cruel and unnecessary; a mild application of the cautery being not only the best but speediest in its effects. The use of rosin with the cautery tends oftentimes to produce inflammation, and is better not applied. Farmers sometimes dock with a large and sharp knife and mallet, but it must be observed that the operation should always be performed at one stroke, as the quicker it is done the less pain is felt by the animal. It is a practice in the country to dock colts when very young, at times a few days after they are dropped; and this doubtless is the safest period to operate on them, as none ever die through the amputation at that early age. Should the animal after docking get a lock-jaw, which, however, oftener follows the cruelties attendant on the operation than the amputation itself, it will be necessary to try anothe joint.

NICKING

Is another operation which fashion has made very necessary

in some cases.

Care is required in perform

ing it, as the consequences are more frequently fatal in this than in docking; and the animal ought to be more safely secured, as the pain is much more severe than in the last instance. As before observed, the tail has three different sets of muscles; one set is used to raise it, the second to depress it, and the third to give it that lateral motion we observe when the animal whisks it from side to side: the second and third sets, however, are sometimes used conjunctively, and then the erector, or first set of muscles, have not sufficient power to counterbalance the effects of the depressor and lateral muscles, consequently the tail, except when the horse is excited, is usually found resting near the buttocks. It is to give him that elevation of the tail which we observe in the horse when his passions are roused, that the operation of Nicking is performed, and this is to cut through the depressor and some of the lateral muscles, and the erector muscles can then bring the tail to a position more or less elevated, according to the depth of incision on the former muscles.

The tail of some horses, rising high out of the back, have naturally an elegant and beautiful sweep, and do not require nicking. But there are, on the other hand, horses which invariably have a sluggish appearance, and carry the tail incessantly downwards, unless much excited, and the operation of nicking is always found to improve the appearance of these, although the tail in this case, which is either carried in a straight line or has a slight curve upwards, is never so handsome as when naturally elevated.

Having carefully secured the horse, in some instances it is deemed necessary to cast him, as the safety of the operator is greatly at stake from the severity of the incision; then grasp the tail, and about three or four

inches from the root, with a very sharp knife, cut a transverse line across the centre of one of the bones deep enough to sever the muscles, but take care to avoid the artery running near the bone; a skilful person should perform this at one trial, and as rapidly as possible. The one incision is generally all that is requisite for a racer or blood-horse; a hunter may sometimes require a second about an inch and a half or two inches below the first; and the common hackneys and cock-tails usually have three incisions.

When the animal is nicked near one of the joints of the tail instead of the centre of one of the bones, the ligament which unites these bones is apt to be wounded, and thus the appearance is deformed and ugly.

The section being complete, the hemorrhage must next be stopped, and the best method is to twist some stripes of lint or tow, and having inserted one in each nick, tie them on the back of the tail, and on the morrow, when the bleeding will have ceased, cut these bandages, and leave just as much as the coagulated blood keeps in the incision. These bandages should be more or less tight, according to the flow of blood, and at the furthest removed in twenty-four hours, as the tail is apt to swell, and inflammation would be the consequence of a lengthened pressure.

Having thus attended to the wounds, the next step is to bring the tail to that position which the owner deems necessary. For which purpose a short cord is tied to the hair at the end of the tail, and to this two longer pieces are joined, one from each side of the stable, and these running through a pulley, have a weight attached to the end just sufficient to raise the tail to the wished-for elevation. Some prefer affixing a cord to the girth, as thus elevate the tail by bending it over the back. The pulleys will be found the longt

painful. The weights attached to each, however, should be moderate, as, if the incisions be not deep enough, it were vain to attempt to strain the tail higher than the muscles would allow, and, moreover, it gives unnecessary pain to the animal. When the incision is healed, the pulleys may be removed, but whilst they are open they must be kept clean. The horse may be exercised morning and evening. The use of the weights and pulleys, or the girth and cord, are essentially necessary, for if they are not used, the operation of nicking is rendered unavailing, and the animal has been put to unnecessary pain. Should any symptoms of locked-jaw follow, it will be necessary to dock one joint higher than the incision or incisions

While we are speaking of the several amputations a horse is often doomed to undergo, it may not be out of place to mention Castration.

CASTRATION,

Is an operation performed in three different ways. 1. By Cauterisation, which is now most generally adopted, as it is proved the safest., 2. By Ligature, which is the most barbarous and inhuman method that could well be invented. 3. By Excision, as is usual with the human subject; this, however, seldom answers the expectation of the operator; in many cases it has been fatal, and consequently but seldom practised now.

The best time for performing this operation is in the month of May or August, the temperature of the atmosphere being then more regular and the weather mild, both of which are essentially necessary to the health of the horse in such a case. The age of the

animal varies according to the caprice of the owner, although when between two and three years old appears to be the most popular age for castrating. Some, however, think it most advisable to cut between the second and fifth months, as then it does but little impede the growth, and few are lost at that age. Those that wish for good draught-horses, where the limbs must be stout, strong, and well developed, the crest lofty, and the forehead full, prefer waiting till the second or even the third year, when the colour of the hair likewise assumes a deeper and brighter tone of colour than when the animal has been operated on at an earlier stage of his life. Colts do not require much preparation; but when a full-grown horse is to cut, if his living has been good, and he is in fine condition and at all plethoric, it is necessary to bleed and administer a purgative, and lower his diet, when he will soon be fit for the operation; on the other hand, a horse in a state of great debility is equally unfit as a full plethoric one. It may be here remarked that there exists a great dissimilarity between a horse which has been cut when young, and one allowed to reach a maturer age. In this last case the windpipe is larger, and, like the stallion, he has a better wind than geldings of a younger age; the head has a broader front, and a more decided character, the eyes are more prominent, and the voice of a deeper and more sonorous tone.

Castration by cauterisation is the method usually practised by veterinary surgeons, although where there are several methods each will find its advocates. Having ascertained that hernia or rupture is absent, after casting and properly securing the animal, open the bag on either side, and having cut off the testicle, apply the hot iron, but do not keep it to the wound an unnecessary length of time, as that is an unavailing