. The American farmer. A complete agricultural library, with useful facts for the household, devoted to farming in all its departments and details. are naturally inclined to attribute the greatest amount of suffer-ing to the one that at the time of death exhibits the most violent convulsions. In such aconjecture, however, we may be very much mistaken, for it is possible, hay, even probable,that there may be acute suffering with scarcely a struggle on the part of the animal; while,on the other hand, there may be much struggling, and even distortions, without pain orsensations of any kind, as is
. The American farmer. A complete agricultural library, with useful facts for the household, devoted to farming in all its departments and details. are naturally inclined to attribute the greatest amount of suffer-ing to the one that at the time of death exhibits the most violent convulsions. In such aconjecture, however, we may be very much mistaken, for it is possible, hay, even probable,that there may be acute suffering with scarcely a struggle on the part of the animal; while,on the other hand, there may be much struggling, and even distortions, without pain orsensations of any kind, as is often made evident in cases of decapitation where, as we havejust remarked, all connection with the brain has been removed. Thus we see that the movements of an animal in the act of being killed are not at all tobe relied upon as evidences of pain. Pithing. — The term pithing is applied to two methods of inflicting injury to thenervous system, and thereby producing death. By one method, that most commonly invogue, the spinal cord is severed or punctured between the first and second bones of the II.—39 730 THE AJIERICAN FARMER. SITUATION OF THE BRAIN. (fIG. 1.) where the peculiarity of the articulation leaves an opening. This is done by a variety ofinstruments. Although the animal drops immediately, life continues for some seconds, andeven minutes, the heart continues to beat, and the brain to live and act. By the othermethod, a small spot situated in the lower and posterior portion of the brain is reached andbroken up by the introduction of a narrow, sharp instrument. Death is almost instantaneous. No attempt is made at inspiration, there is no struggle, and no appearance of animal dies simply by a want of aeration of the blood, which leads in a few moments toan arrest of the circulation.—(Daltons Physiology.) Both of these modes of slaughtering,especially the last, require an anatomical knowledge as well as a practical dexterity that butfew would
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectagriculture, bookyear
