i6: 



CATTLE— DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 



saving of the lives of both the mother 

 and the young one, and that, conse- 

 quently, the means at first employed 

 should be gentle. The hand should be 

 introduced, and the fore-legs of the calf 

 laid hold of and drawn down, the efforts 

 of the operator being employed at the 

 moment of the throes of the mother. If 

 the legs are brought forward a little way, 

 care should be taken that the head is ac- 

 companying them. The hand will some- 

 times be sufficient for this purpose. It 

 the head cannot be moved by the hand, 

 a cord must be procured with a slip knot 

 at the end, which is to be passed carefully 

 into the passage, and, the mouth of the 

 young animal being opened, fastened 

 Tound his lower jaw. The end of this 

 must be given to an assistant, who should 

 be instructed to pull gently, but firmly, 

 ;at the moment of the throes, while the 

 principal operator is endeavoring to draw 

 on the feet. 



Should not this succeed, it will appear 

 that, either from the narrowness of the 

 pelvis, or the size of the foetus, there will 

 be difficulty and danger in accomplishing 

 its extraction. The operator must then 

 begin to think less of the safety of the 

 calf, and endeavor to secure that of the 

 mother. Two other large cords or ropes 

 must be procured, and one fastened round 

 each leg. The service of two assistants 

 will now be required. One should pull 

 at the head, and the other the feet, while 

 the operator ascertains the progress that 

 is made ; too much force, however, should 

 not immediately be used, for the chance 

 •of saving the young one must not yet be 

 ;given up. This not succeeding, greater 

 power must be applied, until the assist- 

 ants begin to use their full strength, pull- 

 ing steadily, and with the pains of the 

 cow, if they still continue. 



In the natural position of the calf, the 

 young one is almost uniformly extracted 

 by these means, and its life is preserved ; 

 for both the mother and her progeny will, 

 without serious injury, bear the employ- 

 ment of more force than would by some 

 l>e thought credible. When the womb is 

 unable to discharge its contents, and the 

 throes are diminishing, or perhaps ceasing, 

 much benefit may be derived from the 

 administration of the ergot of rye, which 

 appears to act as a stimulus specifically 

 >on the uterus ; two drachms of this med- 



icine, finely powdered, may be given in a. 

 pint of ale, and repeated several times, if 

 required, with intervals from half an hour 

 to an hour. 



The foetus is not, however, always pre- 

 sented naturally, and it is the duty of the 

 operator to ascertain its exact position in 

 the womb. This he will not find much 

 difficulty in accomplishing. 



The most usual false position is the pre- 

 sentation of the head, while the feet 

 of the calf are bent and doubled down 

 under his belly, and remain in the 

 womb. A cord must be passed as 

 before around the lower jaw, which is 

 then pushed back into the womb. The 

 operator now introduces his hand, and 

 endeavors to feel the situation of the feet. 

 He is generally able to find them out, 

 and to fix a cord round each pastern, or 

 at least about the knee, and then he can 

 usually bring them into the passage. The 

 head is next to be brought forward again 

 by means of the cord; and, the three 

 cords being afterwards pulled together, 

 the foetus is extracted. Should the calf 

 have been long fixed in the passage, and 

 be evidently much swelled, it is certainly 

 dead ; the head may then be opened in 

 order to lessen its bulk, and the extrac- 

 tion accomplished as before. 



When the feet present, and the head 

 is doubled under the rim of the passage, 

 the case is more difficult, and the calf is 

 very rarely saved : indeed it may be reck- 

 oned to be dead if it has remained in this 

 position for any considerable time. Cords 

 are first to be placed round the feet ; the 

 hand must be afterwards passed into the 

 womb, and the situation of the head ex- 

 actly ascertained, and the cord passed 

 round the lower jaw. The calf being 

 then pushed farther back into the womb, 

 the head must be brought into the pas- 

 sage, and, the three ropes being pulled 

 together, the delivery effected as quickly 

 as may be, without the exertion of more 

 force than is necessary. 



The last false presentation we shall 

 mention is that of the breech, the tail ap- 

 pearing at the mouth of the shape. The 

 hand is to be passed into the uterus, and 

 the cords fastened round each hock. The 

 calf is then to be pushed as far back as 

 possible into the womb, and the hocks, 

 one after the other, brought into the pas- 

 sage, the ropes being shifted as soon as 



