CASTRATION (Fr., Lat. from cast rare, to emasculate: Skt. knife). The removal of the essential organs of generation in animals. In males castration consists in tak ing away the testicles. In females, castration or spaying consists in removing the ovaries. The purpose of castration is. generally. to make domestic animals more docile and more valu able for meat, as well as to restrict unlimited reproduction. These advantages are counter balanced, at least in part, by the fact that cas tration diminishes the powers of endurance and the quickness of the intelligence. Castration may be performed at almost any age, but the effects of it are more pronounced if it is per formed before the age of puberty. In surgery, castration is sometime, rendered necessary by disease of the testicle. in the female, the opera tion is known as oilphoreetomy. See EUX kti-strAn', INIArriwks ALEXANDER (1813-52). An eminent Finnish philologist. Ile 'Was, born at Tortola. December 2, 1513, reeeived his earliest instruction in the town of Tornen, and afterwards studied at Ilelsingfors. About the year 183S he undertook a pedestrian excursion through Finnish Lapland. in order to extend his knowledge of the language and literature and in 1840 another through Karelia, to collect ballads, legends. etc., illustrative of Finnish mythology. On his return he published, in Swedish, a transla tion of the famous Finnish poem, "kalevala," the metre and style of NI hi•h were imitated by Longfellow in his poem of "Hiawatha." Aided
hy the Government of his native province. he eommeneed his researches among the Finnish, Norwegian, and Russian Laplanders, as also among the European and Siberian Samoyeds. Appointed linguist and ethnographer to the Saint Petersburg .Academy, CastrtIn. between the years 1845 and 1349. prosecuted his laborious investigations as far east as China. and as far north as the Arctic Ocean. On his return he was appointed first professor of the Finnish language and literature at the University of Helsingfors, and in 1851 became chancellor. 1-le employed himself in preparing for publication the vast materials which he had collected. but died May 7, 1352, from exhaustion—a martyr to science. Before his death appeared Fel-such einer osdjakischen Spraehlchrt• nebst kurzem Warie• rerzeichnis 1849), as the first instalment of his Sorthern Trarrls and Researches. He also wrote: Elemcnta Granonatico Nyrjaemr (1841), curl Elementa Orammaticrs Tscheremissw(18441; On the Influence of the Accent in the Lappish Language (1545); De .11fixis Personalihus Lingurn-um Allaicarum (1850). An edition of his works in Swedish. in five volumes, appeared 1352-5S, and a German translation was pub lished later.