BEFORE AND DURING CALVING. 75 



of considerable force, the calf may now be (TXtracted, and sometimes 

 without serious injury. 



By studyiii^ these cases the operator will be enabled to adapt his 

 measures to every case of false presentation ; and they are numerous. 

 Great force mast sometimes be used to elfect the extraction of the 

 calf. The united efforts of five or six men have been employed, and 

 (although such practice can scarcely be defended in any case), a 

 horse has sometimes been attached to the cords. The foetus has been 

 necessarily destroyed, but the mother has survived : too often, how- 

 ever, she has evidently fallen a victim to this unnecessary violence. 

 If by the united force of two or three men the foetus cannot be brought 

 away, any ruder and more violent attempt must always be fraught 

 with danger, and will often be fatal. The safer way for the mother, — 

 yet that is attended with considerable risk, — is to cut off some of the 

 limbs of the foetus. One or possibly both shoulders may be separated, 

 slipped^ and then the head and trunk may, without much difficulty, be 

 brought away. The knife must be one that can be concealed in the 

 hand, and that is hooked at the end, and rounded and thick at the 

 back; but, notwithstanding that, there is much danger of wounding 

 the womb, which is forcibly pressing on the hand of the operator. 



Labour is not unfrequently prevented by the diseased state of the 

 entrance or neck of the womb, which becomes hard and scirrhous, 

 and thus prevents the calf escaping. When this is found by exami- 

 nation to be the case, an operation should be performed, which con- 

 sists in dividing the contracted entrance by means of a small knife 

 passed up, protected by the hand and fingers. Considerable care 

 must be exercised so as not to cut too deeply ; and it is better to divide 

 the stricture slightly in several places. 



From the violent efforts of the cow, or from unnecessary artificial 

 violence, the uterus, or caJf-hed^ may protrude, and be absolutely in- 

 verted. The case is not desperate. The part must be cleaned from 

 blood and dirt, and supported by a sheet ; then, the operator beginning 

 at the very fundus or bottom of the womb, it may be gradually re- 

 turned by the union of some little ingenuity and a great deal of 

 patience. The animal should be copiously bled before this is attempt- 

 ed, in order to relax the passage; and the application of cold water 

 for a considerable time may contract the womb itself, and render its 

 return more easy. A stitch or a couple of stitches should be passed 

 through the lips of the shape, in order to prevent a repetition of the 

 protrusion, and the following anodyne draught administered — 



RECIPE (No. 29). 

 Anodyne Drink.— Tako. powdered opiiini, half a draclim ; sv/efit spirit of nitre, two 

 ounces. Rub tJicm toecthor, aiiding the fluid by small quantities at a time, and give 

 the mixture in a pint of warm gruel. 



If the cow has calved unseen and unattended, she will, like every 

 other quadruped, set diligently to work to devour the cleansing, and 

 lick the new-born animal clean. This, however, is often carefully 

 prevented when there is the opportunity of so doing. The calf is 



