GESTA TION. 



133 



goat which yielded milk, this strange phenomenon has been at times 

 observed ; and M. Lecoq testifies to an ox, in process of fattening, having 

 the four rudimentary mammae increased in volume and yielding milk 

 which furnished cream, and became casein when an acid was added to it. 



Certain alterations in the composition of the tcrine have been reported by 

 M. Keiner of Gunsback, which, with other circumstances, might, if found 

 to be trustworthy, be valuable as an aid to the diagonsis of pregnancy. 

 He has discovered that the salts of lime in the urine diminish in pro- 

 portion as the foetus requires these for the formation of its bones ; and 

 his discovery has been tested by a chemist whose analysis of this fluid, 

 obtained from a pregnant mare, shows that the lime lessens very much as 

 the time for parturition draws nigh. At the fifth or sixth . month it is 

 diminished fifty-five per cent., and to seventy per cent, from the sixth to 

 the ninth month. 



It has been proposed to weigh animals which are suspected to be preg- 

 nant, at certain intervals ; an increase in weight being an evident accompa- 

 niment of growth in the foetus. In this direction, Rueff has recorded 

 that Mares, towards the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy, have shown 

 an average increase in weight of more than eleven pounds in eight days, 

 and he particularly recommends this aid to diagnosis, which appears to 

 be most useful at mid-term. 



It may be noted as an additional aid to diagnosis, that with the pro- 

 gress of gestation the mucous membrane lining the vulva and vagina 

 becomes swollen, and assumes a red or bluish-red hue, instead of !ts • 

 usual pink color ; and towards the termination of pregnancy, the secre- 

 tion of vaginal mucus, particularly in the Cow, is largely increased. 



All these numerous signs are by no means to be implicitly relied upon, 

 ^however, as they are not infallible in proving the existence of pregnancy 

 fin every case ; some of them are only noticeable at a late period, while 

 [Others may be absent. It is necessary in taking them into consideration, 

 jto distinguish those animals which are kept at pasture and destined for 

 [breeding, from those which are kept in the stable and used for various 

 [purposes. With the first, the cessation of oestrum and the refusal of the 

 smale are almost certain indications of conception ; while, with the latter, 

 [the same phenomena may be the result of fatigue or bad food and man- 

 fagement. 



With regard to fattening, change of temper, etc., it is evident that they 

 ^may depend upon other causes than gestation ; and the obesity can only 

 i'be very conspicuous in primiparous animals, or those which are not 

 rearing young ; for Mares or other creatures put to the male a few days 

 Rafter parturition, are not likely to accumulate fat and rear their progeny 

 iat the same time. When, however, all the above signs are manifest in 

 an animal, they establish a very strong presumption, though not an 

 absolute certainty, as to its condition. It is not until a latter period, 

 when the abdomen begins to increase more rapidly in volume, the an- 

 [imals become sluggish, and the mammas enlarge and secrete the oleagin- 

 ous fluid just described, that the existence of pregnancy might safely be 

 [affirmed. 



The chances of error in diagnosing pregnancy in the first half of the 

 : period are numerous, and even up to a later stage — until parturition, in 

 fact — these indicative signs may be absent. I know of an instance in 



