ABORTION 681 



Impotency in the male, especially in an old boar, may be due to 

 disease of the prostate gland. In all cases of impotency in male 

 animals, and especially those that are due to disease of the prostate 

 gland, fluidextract of saw palmetto is the remedy par excellence. 

 Obtain about 8 ounces of a high-grade fluidextract of this drug, and 

 feed in teaspoonful doses with the slop three times a day. Keep the 

 boar away from the sows for several weeks while giving this treat- 

 ment, feed carefully with nutritious food, and allow plenty of 

 exercise in a clean, dry pasture, with plenty of sunlight. Marked 

 improvement and even complete recovery can often be secured by 

 this method of treatment. This drug is an especially valuable 

 remedy in those cases where there is lack of sexual desire, either in 

 the male or female animal. It is apparently a valuable sexual 

 tonic and restorative, and produces excellent results in both man 

 and animal. There is a proprietary form of fluidextract of saw 

 palmetto, known under the name of Sanmetto, which, while a little 

 more expensive, is in many cases more effective than the plain saw 



palmetto. 



ABORTION 



Varieties. — By the term ''abortion" is meant the expulsion of the 

 pigs from the womb of the sow before they are far enough developed 

 to be capable of life. This condition occurs with considerable fre- 

 quency in sows, but not nearly so common as in cows or in mares. 

 There is one form of abortion that occurs as a result of infection of 

 the womb and genital passages with some special germ. This form 

 is rare in swine, but when present may attack every sow in the herd. 

 The second form occurs in single cases from a variety of causes, 

 and is much the more common form in the hog. 



Causes. — Abortion may be due to a large number of causes. 

 The most common is some form of injury. The pregnant sow may 

 be injured in a number of ways, such as by a kick, or being trampled 

 upon by other animals in the feed lot. Crawling through a small 

 door in the sleeping pens, crawling under a fence, or through a gate 

 may cause sufficient injury of the pregnant uterus to result in the 

 sow slipping her litter. Where the herd is kept in crowded quarters 

 they may pile on top of each other, and in this manner cause in- 

 juries that will result in abortion. 



Exposure to cold chilling winds or sleeping in an open lot during 



