38o 



'The Country Gentleman's Magazine 



or imperfect growth takes place under the 

 operation of surrounding influences, which 

 favours the development of the diseased state 

 within the seed. Pastures mown or grazed 

 early and imperfectly, and allowed to rest up 

 to wet seasons, are prolific sources of ergotized 

 grass, but others well grazed up to the end of 

 the dry season are safe. When difficulty 

 occurs in providing safe pastures for chang- 

 ing pregnant stock, it is a certain precaution, 

 first, to mow down the grass, so as to pre- 

 vent a second crop being matured to seed. 

 Land that is mown early, and forced by 

 genial sho'wers, is also apt to possess ergotized 

 grass later in the year, and we would advise 

 the breeder to guard against the serious 

 results by timely cutting down all seeding 

 grass before the effects of the humid season 

 are brought to bear upon the vegetation ot 

 his pastures. The power of ergotized grass 

 is known to be such, that abortion will seize 

 the pregnant members of the whole herds of 

 cattle and other animals feeding upon it, and 

 nothing less than attention to the system 

 proposed will ensure entire freedom from its 

 action. 



The consequence of acute indigestion, such 

 as impaction of the stomach or intestines, 

 ■obstinate constipation, diarrhoea, dysentery, 

 hoven, &c., giving rise to mechanical causes 

 of abortion, are only to be avoided by a 

 thorough observance of the rules of hygiene. 

 Among sound and healthy animals, treated 

 upon rational principles of dieting, such 

 affections as colic, staggers, tympanitis, im- 

 paction of the stomach ought to occur very 

 seldom, or we may confidently state, never ; 

 they are the offspring of some neglect or mal- 

 practice, and therefore, to avoid them, is to 

 successfully prevent many causes of abortion. 

 "When pregnant mares return from their work, 

 especially when somewhat heated, the harness 

 should be quickly removed, and after being 

 led to the stall and properly secured, the 

 body should be rubbed down. It is a wrong 

 proceeding to turn them loose immediately 

 into pastures, straw yards, boxes, etc. The 

 parts covered by closely-fitting harness, par- 

 ticularly about the back and withers, tem- 

 porarily suffer from a harassing irritation or 



itchiness, and nothing soothes and satisfies 

 the animal so nmch, as the pleasure of a roll 

 on the ground, " heels in air," but, at the 

 same time, no act proves so likely to en- 

 danger both foal and mother. If mere dis- 

 placement occurs with rupture of attachments 

 of the foetal membranes, the owner may 

 escape with a loss of the foal only ; but in 

 numerous cases these results are accompanied 

 by false presentation of the foetus, and during 

 premature labour, in which the usual natural 

 preparations are not made for delivery, the 

 mother sustains irreparable damage, or de- 

 livery is impossible, from both of which she 

 dies. 



Although laxative medicines in judicious 

 doses, and under certain circumstances, are 

 admissible, and even called for, during 

 pregnancy, it is desirable to limit the ad- 

 ministration as far as possible to those of gentle 

 nature. Undue purgation and saturation of 

 the system with certain drugs prove highly 

 obnoxious; rather follow plain and simple 

 rules of diet, and allow food and exercise to 

 effect their proper end, and the necessity for 

 powerful medicines will be almost entirely 

 removed.. Purgatives, as adjuncts to bleed- 

 ing, for the purpose of avertmg plethora, are 

 to be discountenanced for the same reasons 

 as already given in reference to bleeding. 



Lastly, cleanliness is of vital importance. 

 The effect of bad smells has no direct in- 

 fluence upon the uterus causing abortion, but 

 by continuance, and in connexion with an 

 amount of nervous excitement, great inter- 

 ference with digestion and the purity of the 

 blood arises, and these lead to the dis- 

 turbance in the vascular parts of the 

 placental structures, which seldom fails to 

 produce that end. It is therefore highly 

 important that houses should be well venti- 

 lated and scrupulously clean, and pas- 

 tures, folds, yards, and other places assigned 

 to the breeding females of all animals, quite 

 free from accumulations of putrefying animal 

 and vegetable matter. The character of 

 water also requires attention. The farm 

 pond is not the proper receptacle for the 

 drainage of stables, cow-houses, and yards 

 containing live stock; nor should the filth 



