EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 637 



trained man, to serious affections in which there are marked accumula- 

 tions of pus in the uterus or degeneration of the ovaries. Most of these 

 conditions are due to bacterial infections. Work at this Station indi- 

 cates that the abortion bacillus is not always the cause of these con- 

 ditions, but that several different types of micro-organisms may be the 

 active cause. There is no question but that the abortion bacillus is 

 often a predisposing factor in that it enables other micro-organisms to 

 become established. Whether the abortion bacillus or some other micro- 

 organism is the cause, the results are the same; a mild or severe inflam- 

 mation is set up causing sterility. 



Treatment of these conditions is not so satisfactory from the stand- 

 point of the average dairyman, as is prevention. There are several 

 reasons why this is true. First, treatment of these conditions requires 

 much skill on the part of the veterinarian. Few veterinarians have had 

 the necessary training and experience to acquire this skill. This is no 

 fault of theirs, since it has been only in the last few years that any 

 studies have been made of the diseases of the reproductive organs of 

 cattle. Second, to secure the services of a qualified veterinarian to ad- 

 minister treatment as frequently as is necessary requires too great an 

 expenditure, except in the case of pure bred animals. Third, treatment 

 is not always successful. There are perhaps two reasons for this. Many 

 of the animals have been affected for so long that irreparable changes 

 have occurred in the reproductive organs and it is probably a fact that 

 we have not yet learned the best methods of treating the several condi- 

 tions that are met with. This Station is now working upon this problem, 

 and it is hoped that practical, effective measures will be worked out in the 

 not distant future. 



The fundamental principles involved in the prevention of sterility are 

 the same as those in the prevention of abortion and have already been 

 discussed. They are the same because the causative micro-organisms 

 enter and leave the reproductive organs in much the same way. In 

 addition to those preventive measures there are a few other measures 

 that should be emphasized. In herds affected with contagious abortion, 

 it is not safe to defer breeding animals any considerable time after calv- 

 ing or abortion. The statement has often been made that an aborting 

 cow should not be bred for at least six to eight months after abortion. 

 There is no foundation for this statement. If an aborting cow cleans up 

 well after aborting it is better to breed her as soon as she begins to come 

 in heat regularly. Not to do so may result in her acquiring some infec- 

 tion leading to permanent or temporary sterility. Each succeeding heat 

 period affords an opportunity for infection to become established in the 

 reproductive organs as some of the changes associated with this period 

 favor infection. An aborting cow, or one that has calved normally, should 

 not be bred as long as there is any discharge from the uterus, but just as 

 soon as she is in a normal condition, she should be bred. 



Failure to breed is often the result of retention of the afterbirth or im- 

 proper methods of removal of the afterbirth. This is one of the most 

 serious affections of the uterus and one requiring great skill to properly 

 treat. It is usually due to infection in the uterus, not necessarily the 

 abortion bacillus, but other disease-producing micro-organisms as well. 



