STERILITY 119 



with it. It is of course not possible to determine by 

 external examination of the live animal whether failure 

 to breed in a particular case is due to mechanical obstruc- 

 tion of the Fallopian tubes or to other causes. It is often 

 possible to overcome this difficulty by dieting the animal. 

 Very fat animals which do not breed should be placed 

 upon a restricted diet which will cause them to lose weight 

 regularly until they have regained a normal breeding 

 condition. 



115. Other causes of barrenness. Other conditions 

 which may be regarded as more or less temporary causes 

 of barrenness are : (a) insufficient food supply, causing 

 emaciation and a consequent failure of the sexual organs 

 to mature ova; (6) failure of the animal to retain the 

 semen of the male, due to unusual nervous irritability 

 of the female sexual organs ; and (c) sudden and marked 

 change of condition, such as is brought about by the 

 transportation of animals from one continent to an- 

 other. (Plates V and VI.) 



Some of the causes and treatment of sterility have 

 already been somewhat fully discussed under the general 

 subject of fertility. A mere mention of some of the 

 above causes of sterility indicates the treatment. In 

 many cases of sterility all that is needed is to remove 

 the cause. The nervous irritability of the female sexual 

 organs seems to be caused by, or at least associated with, 

 an unusual flow of blood to the generative organs, causing 

 congestion. This condition can be alleviated sometimes 

 by exercising the female even to the point of exhaustion. 

 It is a well-known fact that the Arabs were in the habit 

 of riding their mares to exhaustion just before mating 

 with the stallion. This treatment brought about a 

 generally relaxed condition of the whole body and par- 



