DISEASES OF THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 879 



Unaided by the maternal instinct in this manner, the calf would be a 

 much longer time in drying off, and in cold weather would become seri- 

 ously chilled. The foregoing, as before intimated, is an outline of a 

 natural case of labor, when "everything is right." 



If the labor is severe and is prolonged more than half an hour, the cow 

 should have help. The assistant should be the man whom the cow is 

 accustomed to see ; he should be very quiet and gentle in his movements, and 

 have no spectators, neither human nor cattle. If in any case, a sec- 

 ond person is present, there should be as little talking as possible. 

 When the feet are properly presented, catch hold of them, one in each 

 hand, and pull — not with anything approaching a jerk, but with a firm, 

 even traction — at exactly the same time that the cow strains, and only 

 at that time, relaxing the traction entirely during the intervals of quiet 

 between the throes. Judgment and good common sense are required to 

 manage a case well, and these must be the operator's main reliance ; no 

 printed directions can take their place. 



In a case of malpresentation, the first thing to be done is to push the 

 foetus back out of the passage, in order to introduce the hand and arm 



1= 



JOINTED HOOKS, 



far enough to get hold of the parts that ought to come first, and so 

 bring about a natural presentation. This is always a difficult task. If 

 the cow is standing, the calf can be push d back readily, but if she is 

 lying down, the more fussing there is done the more the womb contracts, 

 and the more difficult it becomes to i)ush the foetus in against the throws. 

 The simplest, quickest, and easiest way is to fix a pulley and tackle around 

 the cow's legs above the hocks and to something overhead, and by these 



STRAIGHT HOOK. 



means to elevate the hind parts so that the operator can get at the case, 

 and push back and "turn" the calf. When all the arrangements for 

 delivery have been completed, let her down, and she will soon return tc 



