pared and equipped to render assistance to his suffering dumb dependents
where no practitioner is accessible and in cases of emergency. There are,
moreover, some minor operations upon cattle, some of which can hardly be
classed as surgical, that the stockman and farmer should be able to perform
himself.

In the performance of any operation upon an animal of the size and strength
of the bull or cow, the first consideration is to secure the animal in such
a manner as to preclude the possibility of its injuring either itself or
those taking any part in the operation. The nature and time likely to be
occupied by an operation must, of course, largely determine the method to
be adopted.

The majority of operations with which the present chapter is concerned are
usually performed on the animal in a standing position. A bull should
always be held by a staff attached to the ring in his nose. To secure the
cow in a standing position, grasp the nose, the finger and thumb being
introduced into the nostrils, and press against the cartilage which makes a
division between them. If she has horns, grasp one of them with the
disengaged hand. If this is insufficient the animal should be secured to a
post, along the side of a fence, or put into a stanchion. An excellent
method of restraint is to tie a long rope in a slip noose over the horns,
pass it around the chest just behind the forelegs, taking a half hitch on
itself, taking another half hitch in front of the hind limbs, passing the
free end under the tail, bringing it forward and making it fast either to
the head or one of the hitches. The head should be raised to the level of
the back before the final knot is tied, so as to render it too serious and
painful a matter for her to repeat the first attempt she makes to lower it.
Should the nature or extent of the operation be likely to take up
considerable time, it is invariably the best plan to throw the animal. In
the case of the ox this is very easily done, either by use of horse
hobbles, should they be at hand, or by the application of a simple rope. If
the horse hobbles are used, they should be fastened on the leg just above
the fetlocks (ankle joints), as in that position they are less liable to
come off than if placed around the pastern.

Of the many ways of applying the rope for this purpose we will describe
only two, which we consider the best and simplest:

First. Take a long, strong rope (one which has been used a few times