372 FCETAL DYSTOKIA. 



this I found could only be done as far as the eyebrows the entrance into the bony canal 

 of the mother's pelvis refusing admission of the bulky parts of the foetus's head. But 

 after manipulating the head, and using gentle traction, I succeeded in getting the whole 

 of it into the passage, and ordered the men to pull simultaneously with her throes. The 

 pelvic brim and inferior surface of the vertebrae here again refused egress to the sternum 

 and anterior dorsal vertebrae of the calf; and very strong but steady force was employed 

 to move the foetus, but this failed. I therefore made an incision through the skin 

 in the calf's throat, and subdermically cut a hand-way into the thoracic cavity, which I 

 emptied of its contents. We then continued traction during her throes, and, as with the 

 head, the most bulky part of the body passed over the brim of the pelvis with a sudden 

 jerk, and entered the vagina. 



" It again stuck obstinately at the pelvis, but was overcome by perseverance — the 

 calf and placental membranes coming away in toto. It was a well-nourished and full- 

 grown calf ; and had not Nature endowed the mother's pelvis with great flexibility and 

 elasticity of its ligaments, nothing short of the Caesarean operation would have suc- 

 ceeded in delivering it. 



" I was not very much surprised at the incident, as last year I delivered some of the 

 same herd in a similar way, and these exactly one year old on the day they calved. I 

 may add that about a teacupful of 'beastings ' {Colostrum) were in the udder of each 

 Cow when parturition occurred, but no more was secreted in any of these precocious 

 creatures." 



Influence of Food. — There is no convincing proof before us that the 

 manner of feeding or kind of food has much influence on pregnant ani- 

 mals, so far as excessive volume of the foetus, and consequent difficult 

 parturition, is concerned. 



Cox ( Veterinary journal, vol. i., p. 265) says : " The size of the foetus 

 depends considerably upon the condition of the parent and the kind of 

 food given to it. Fat animals, and those emaciated from the continuous 

 use of food of a poor nature or insufficient in quantity, bring forth a small 

 foetus. Where the debility is the result of pregnancy, and food has been 

 given of a nutritious character and in sufficiency during that period, the; 

 foetus will be disproportionately large, the extra nutriment having been 

 diverted to its growth. Green food, or ' depasturing,' causes the foetus 

 to grow rapidly and attain a great size ; but Nature compensates for this 

 by giving with such diet greater relaxation of the tissues of the dam, and 

 an increase of the placental fluids to lubricate and assist at delivery." 



Diagnosis. 



The diagnosis of excessive volume of the foetus is difficult, and can 

 only be established, as a rule, at parturition ; for we do not possess any 

 certain means of appreciating the dimensions of the foetus i7t iitero before 

 its enveloping membranes have ruptured and the os is dilated. An un- 

 usual size of the maternal abdomen towards the termination of pregnancy, 

 is an uncertain and very often deceptive sign. 



Nasse, a German Veterinarian, imagined that this excess in develop- 

 ment might be ascertained by weighing the animal during gestation. With 

 regard to the Bitch, he thought there was danger when the weight was 

 increased by two-fifths during this period, the normal increase being only 

 one-third. But it is evident that an inordinate increase in weight may be 

 due to other causes than the foetus or foetuses — such as an unusual num- 

 ber of these, an excess of amniotic or allantoic fluid, greater obesity of 

 the Bitch, etc. Otherwise, if this test could be applied to the Bitch with 

 practical results, the conclusions derived from it could not be made ap- 

 plicable to the other animals. 

 N The only circumstance which might give rise to suspicion, is the pro- 



