PARTURITION. 505 



the haunches of the foetus present one after the other at the inlet; so that 

 a slight obliquity in the presentation makes a great difference; and it is 

 just possible that when birth takes place in this position without aid, this 

 obliquity may have been present. 



In the cow, the calf is more frequently born alive in this position than 

 the foal, and birth is easier; a circumstance which is, in all probability, 

 due to the smaller dimensions of the croup in the young of the bovine 

 species. 



XX. Necessary Aid in Normal Parturition. 



Although, as a rule, parturition is generally effected in animals in what 

 we have designated a "spontaneous" manner (without the intervention 

 of man), and without danger or prejudice to the mother or offspring; and 

 although these do not require that minute and scrupulous attention be- 

 stowed on woman, even when birth has been easy, yet from the nature of 

 this act and the unfavorable consequences which are sometimes noted, cer- 

 tain precautions should be observed by the owner of the animals at this 

 period, and especially if' these should happen to be valuable and very 

 artificially kept. These attentions and precautions should be entrusted 

 for their carrying out to competent persons selected by the owner, as it 

 is seldom that the veterinarian is called in unless something serious has 

 occurred. The mother, as well as the offspring, require watching and more 

 or less nursing. 



XXI. Spaying, or the Castration of the Mare. 



Spaying consists in removing the essential organs of generation — the 

 ovaries. It is the counterpart of castration in the stallion. When the 

 mare is spayed, the object, generally, is to cure nymphomania, or some 

 other disease peculiar to her sex. The effect of this operation upon a 

 ferocious animal is often very marked; she soon becomes docile and easily 

 managed. In case of the cow, if the operation is performed after the third 

 or fourth calf (the best time), both the quantity and quality of the milk is 

 improved, and the flow will continue thus from eighteen to twenty-four 

 months. Besides this, she will then readily lay on a great deal of fat; as 

 beef, her flesh is tender and juicy, and she will bring considerably more 

 money when sold to the butcher. Of course, she can never produce any 

 .more calves. 



There are two methods of operating in spaying — (1) through the flank, 

 and (2) through the vagina. The former method requires only a knife 

 and an ecraseur, or a knife and a silk thread for a ligature, and is the 

 easier one, particularly so for the inexperienced operator. The animal is 

 most easily worked on when she is in the standing position, with the feet 

 hobbled, the head held by a twitch, and the body pressed against the wall. 



