DISEASES OF THE GENEEATIVE OBGANS. 189 



an instrument with a long, straight stem, divided at the end into two 

 short branches (2 to 3 inches long) united to the stem by hinges so 

 that they can be brought into a line with the stem for introduction 

 into the womb and then spread to be implanted in the breast. In the 

 absence of a repeller a smooth, round, fork handle may be used, the 

 prongs having been removed from the other end. A third device is 

 to have an assistant strip his arm to the shoulder and, standing back 

 to back with the operator, to introduce his right arm into the passages 

 along with the operator's left (or vice versa) and push back the body 

 of the calf while the operator seeks to bring up a limb. The repeller 

 or staff having been planted safely in the breast of the calf, an assist- 

 ant pushes upon it in a direction either forward or slightly upward, 

 so as not only to follow the natural curve of the body and favor its 

 turning in the line of that curve within the womb, but also to carry 

 the shoulders upward toward the spine and obtain more room for 

 bringing up the missing feet. It is good policy, first, to put a halter 

 (PI, XXI, figs. 4a and 4&) on the head or a noose (PI. XXI, fig ^ 

 on the lower jaw and a rope round each limb at the knee, so as to 

 provide against the loss of any of these parts w^hen the body is pushed 

 back into the womb. This offers the further advantage that by drag- 

 ging upon these ropes the body can be advanced in the passage until 

 the foot is reached, when the rope must be slackened and the repeller 

 used to get room for bringing up the foot. If the cow is lying, 

 the operator should first secure the foot on the upper side and then, if 

 necessar}^, turn the cow on its opposite side so as to bring up the other. 



In using the instruments some precautions are demanded. They 

 must be invariably warmed before they are introduced, and they 

 should be smeared with lard or oil to make them pass easily and with- 

 out friction. The assistant who is pushing on the instrument must 

 be warned to stop if at any time resistance gives way. This may 

 mean the turning of the fetus, in which case the object of repulsion 

 has been accomplished, but much more probably it implies the dis- 

 placement of the instrument from the body of the fetus, and un- 

 guarded pressure may drive it through the walls of the womb. 



When the calf enters the passage with its back turned down toward 

 the belly and udder, the bending back of the fore limbs is rare, prob- 

 ably because the feet can find a straighter and more nearly uniform 

 surface of resistance in the upper wall of the womb and the backbone, 

 and do not slide over a crest into an open cavity, as they do over the 

 brim of the pelvis. The weight of the calf, too, gravitating down- 

 ward, leaves more room for the straightening of the bent limbs, so 

 that the desired relief is much more easily secured. The manipula- 

 tion is the same in principle, only one must add the precaution of a 

 steady traction on the feet in extraction, lest, owing to the adverse 



