FAl.'MKnS INSTITUTES. < ,).» 



Diseases of the Geuerative Organs. Sttnilitj'. Barreuuess.-- Sterility 

 may exist in tlio male or female and may be temporary or permanent. 



Causes.--In the male impotenoy may be a functional trouble, due to 

 improper development of the sexual organs or a broken copulatory organ, 

 to fatty degeneration or infiltration of the teslicles, lack of physical or 

 functional exercise and old age. 



In the female sterility may result from a greater variety of condi- 

 tions than in the male. Excessive fattening as is sometimes seen in 

 sows fitted for exhibition purposes will cause it. This may be due to 

 the ovaries becoming so infiltrated with fat as to cease being functional 

 or to an occlusion of the passages with fat. In tlie former case the 

 change is so gi-eat that nothing will insure a complete return to the 

 normal, in the latter the function can be restored by I'educiug the con- 

 dition of the sow. Sometimes a rigid os prevents the entrance of the 

 seminal ttuid into the womb. Sucli a condition may occur in yoimg sows 

 or w-hen they become old. Inflammation of the lining membrane of the 

 uterus or vagina may also cause it. In this condition a discharge is 

 sometimes seen, but usually is so slight as to escape notice. The vitality 

 of the male element is destroyed during its passage by the abnormal 

 secretions. In old age bai'renness occurs. Faultj' development of the 

 generative organs is not uncommon in soavs. The uterus may be abnor- 

 mally small, the ovaries rudimentary and the vagina and os imperforated. 

 In these cases the sow may never come in heat and never conceives. 



Treatment.— Excessive fat is a frequent cause of sterility in both the 

 male and the female and must be overcome by dieting and exercise. 

 The male should not be tised to excess and should be kept in a healthy 

 \igorous condition. If the os is rigid and closed, preventing the entrance 

 of the seminal fluid into the wonilt. ii should be dilated. Closure of the 

 matex'rtal passages by far can be overcome by a proper diet and pleutj- 

 of exercise. 



Abortion.— -Vbortion or slipping of i»igs is sometimes a troublesome 

 problem with which to deal. There seems to be two varieties in these 

 animals, the same as in other domestic animals, sporadic and infectious. 

 The sporadic form is the variety most often met with and is due to acci- 

 dents, as slipping, falls, being kicked by a hor.se or hooked by a cow. by 

 being run by dogs, or worried by other sows in heat, or by a boar, to 

 spoiled or musty food, to "piling up" in bed, to sudden exposure to cold 

 and to the effects of some other disease, as cholera. It can readily be 

 observed that these causes will not as a rule act upon many sows in 

 the same herd Mith .sufficient violence to cause almrtion, as the sow does 

 not abort easily. After an outbreaTc of cholera we expect a considerable 

 percentage of abortion. While an infections abortion of the sow has not 

 been described, the Station has been the recipient of several accounts of 

 such troubles that could not be accounted for upon any other h.vpothesis 

 In these cases a greater or less i>ercentage of the hei"d would be affected. 



