370 FCETAL DYSTOKIA. 



number of foetuses is smaller than usual — as with the Bitch which has only 

 one or two, instead of five or six — the excess of nutriment they receive 

 increases their bulk to an abnormal degree ; and as almost every breeder 

 of dogs knows, this often leads to serious results in parturition. 



Disproportion i?i Size Between the Male and Female. — There can be no 

 doubt that a disproportion in size between the male and female, in many 

 instances, exerts a marked influence in this direction. More especially is 

 this the case in crossingwith different breeds^ or in attempting to breed from 

 too young females. 



Delorme, quoted by Rainard(vol. i., p. 474), says that he has known a 

 certain number of Camargue Ewes die every year through non -delivery, 

 they having been put to Dishley Rams, which were much larger than 

 the native Sheep. 



The case of' small Bitches crossed by larger dogs is familiar to all 

 dog-breeders. There appears, indeed, to be a natural tendency in some 

 small-sized Bitches to seek intercourse with dogs much larger than them- 

 selves, and this preference not unfrequently leads to fatal consequences in 

 parturition. 



But in many instances dystokia is due to exaggerated development of 

 some particular region of the foetus, and more especially of the head — a 

 peculiarity derived from crossing, or breeding from a male possessing 

 this character. Indeed, some authorities deny that crossing small female 

 animals with males which are generally larger is likely to prove a source 

 of difficult parturition, provided there is nothing unusual in the proportion 

 of any region of the latter. It is pointed out that, in the human species, 

 small women are very often married to very large men, and yet their 

 accouchments are more or less easy. It has also been remarked that 

 Melingie, in order to form the breed of Sheep known in France as the 

 race de la Charmoise. coupled the small Berrichonne Sheep with the great 

 New Kent Rams ; and yet in two thousand births only one was difficult. 



A German veterinarian surgeon, Nathusius, mentioned by Rueff and 

 Baumeister, asserts that in the cross between the small Merino Sheep with 

 the huge English Rams, he has observed fewer difficult births than in 

 flocks composed solely of Merinos. And Saint-Cyr states that he has 

 often seen little " Bressanne " Mares, which were put to big Percheron or 

 Anglo-Norman Stallions, foal without difficulty at the ordinary period. 

 We might also adduce the small female Ass coupled with the Horse- 

 Stallion, and which rarely suffers during birth. Abortion or premature 

 birth may be more frequently the consequence of such " mesalliances." 



Though certain facts could be opposed to the above conclusions, yet it 

 must be admitted that the wiiformly exaggerated development of the 

 foetus is not a very common cause of dystokia, and is, as a rule, only so 

 when the pelvis of the female is smaller than usual. So that we must 

 look rather to special conformation than exaggerated development. And 

 so far as conformation is concerned, we find that excessive development 

 of the croup, chest, or head, have the principal influence. 



With regard to the head., it is indisputable that of the three regions this 

 most frequently proves an obstacle to parturition. In the Bitch this is 

 more particularly remarked. But it is also noted in other animals. 



Price, in his book on Sheep, mentions that a grazier in Appledore em- 

 ployed Leicester Rams for several years, and obtained a breed with very 

 small heads and " kindly disposition ; " but he did not approve of them, 

 because they were not sufficiently large, and did not fetch a good price in 



