While this process is readily applicable to young sows, and requires a certain amount of practice to be performed expertly and with success, it is slightly modified when applied to older animals. In that case the two horns must not be exposed outside together, but each must be returned when the removal of the ovary connected with it has been effected. The simple tearing of the ovaries is not always sufficient, and may be sometimes followed by serious hemorrhage. The scraping and the torsion are safer, and in some instances the ligature has been applied. The incision is closed with the interrupted or, which is preferable, the continued suture. No special after-treatment is required beyond low diet for a few days, with a little extra attention to cleanliness. The operation may at times be rendered difficult by exceptional and accidental conditions, as, for example, the shortness of the fingers of the operator. This difficulty, however, can be overcome by placing a bundle of straw or other substance under the right flank, which, by raising the body displaces the intestines upwards and crowds the ovary towards the left flank. It may also happen, as sometimes with old sows, that the ovary has become the seat of large cysts, or that its size is increased in consequence of pathological changes in its structure. In the first case, the cyst may be punctured and emptied with a trochar before attempting the obliteration of the organ. In the second, the opening into the abdomen must be enlarged sufficiently to permit the exit of the extra bulk. If through inadvertence the operation has been begun while the animal is in a state of pregnancy, the proceeding must be discontinued, the patient kept quiet and the matter indefinitely postponed. [Illustration: FIG. 43. GENITAL ORGANS OF THE BITCH. 1--Ovary. 2--Fold of the broad ligament, displaced to expose the ovary. 3--Internal fold of the same. 4--Broad ligaments. 5--Horn of the uterus. 6--Its body. 7--Rectum. 8--Vagina. 9--Kidney. 10--Bladder. 11--Descending colon.] DOGS. The _male_ is altered by either the process of excision, torsion, or ligature, according to the age and size of the animal.