• The Question Box. 377 



condition. It is, therefore, our study to determine what those con- 

 ditions are, and what will overcome them. First, the cow may 

 have a protracted labor and there is exhaustion of the uterus and 

 total lack of after or secondary labor pain, and the placenta re- 

 mains in the uterus simply because the uterus has not the power 

 to expel it. The veterinarian would in that case give a dose of 

 ergot; but a farmer had better use a more safe and just as ef- 

 fectual a stimulent, that is a gill of whiskey and a tablespoonful 

 of good ginger mixed in a pint of warm water (being sure to give 

 the whiskey to the cow as well as the ginger). This can be re- 

 peated in from four to six hours. If labor pains are produced 

 and the placenta is not expelled, there are good reasons for 

 believing that the adhesions have not separated and no uterine 

 stimulant will cause expulsion. In cases of that kind I have ob- 

 served that there is always present a dry and fevered condition 

 of the uterine membranes. It is largely through aluminous 

 mucus that these adhesions are broken loose, and when there is 

 a lack of this mucus (due to a fevered condition), the remedy 

 should be to supply it as far as possible, and that can best be done 

 by giving the cow laxative drinks and mashes, like flaxseed tea; 

 an ounce of gum arabic can be dissolved in two quarts of warm 

 water and injected into the uterus with a proper syringe. But the 

 question calls for a preventive; yes, that can be furnished by 

 keeping the cow in a normal condition during the year, or rather 

 year in and year out. One abnormality calls for and produces 

 another. When the cow is allowed to become abnormally weak 

 or abnormally fat, she becomes abnormal in her uterus and a 

 fevered condition locally, if not in general, takes place in her 

 uterus, and there is no mucus to separate the adhesions after the 

 calf is born. The question involves an answer for something to 

 give in order ta prevent. The answer is, give the cow good care 

 which means also feeding a balanced ration w^hen dry as well as 

 when in milk, and during the last month of pregnancy a quart of 

 oat chop and a tablespoonful of ground flaxseed (I don't mean 

 linseed-oil meal), but the whole flaxseed ground. This can be 

 given two or even three times daily, and will in most cases pre- 

 vent the retention of the placenta. If the cow is on pasture the 



