22 OCTOBER 1994, Page 34

Decline and ball

Sir: I assume that Dot Wordsworth (Mind your language, 15 October) has had no lit- tle boys of her own, or else she would have known that the majority are born with their testicles having descended. In only about 4 per cent of boys does one or both of the testicles fail to descend through the abdomen and into the scrotum. Under these circumstances, it is usual to perform the operation of orchiopexy to fix them into their proper position, in order to ensure future fertility and reduce the risk of malig- nant change. Incidentally, I understand that in Spanish the word turma can be used either for a tes- ticle or a different tuber from the orchid, the potato.

Jonathan Sleath

The Villa, Kingstone, Herefordshire