DYSTOKIA DEPENDING ON ANTERIOR PRESENTATION 461 



fortunate. For instance, Lecoq gives the following testimony of his expe- 

 rience to Saint-Cyr : " During my sojourn at Solre-le-Chateau, I was 

 called one morning to a Cow which had been in labor since the previous 

 evening, and which had passed the night in futile 

 efforts, notwithstanding the more than probable 

 intervention of the owner and his neighbors. I 

 recognized immediately the position of the head, 

 which was turned towards the flank, and so far 

 round that my fingers could not seize the nose 

 with sufficient firmness to bring it into its normal 

 position. I, however, soon succeeded in doing 

 so by a very simple procedure. I passed from 

 above to below, in the concavity formed by the 

 bend of the neck, a cord, the end of which, passed 

 under the neck, was drawn outwards, and, with 

 the other end, placed in the hands of an assistant. 

 A moderate effort by the latter drew the fcetus 

 backwards, and I was then able, with the great- 

 est ease, to straighten the neck by getting hold ot 

 the jaw. Birth took place immediately." 



One of the long bent porte-cords, such as is rep- 

 resented by Fig. 120, that of Binz (Fig. 125), or 

 those to be hereafter described, might be most 

 usefully employed not only in carrying the cord 

 or sling round the neck, but also in pulling at 

 this part. 



In all these manceuvres, should the " waters " 



Fig. 

 BiNz's Porte-Cord. 



time, and the genital canal and uterus be dry and ho 



have escaped for some 

 frequent injections 

 of warm water should be applied to them. In certain cases, when the 

 head is adjusted, or even to aid in its adjustment. Nelson's blunt forceps 

 (Fig. 126) will be found of great service in seizing the nasal septum. 



With regard to embryotomy, though instances are recorded in which 

 forced extraction in the Cow has been successful,* yet it should never be 

 resorted to by the humane practitioner (and we earnestly hope veterinary 

 obstetrists are, above all things, humane). The great length and essen- 

 tially bony structure of the Cow's pelvis, and the large volume and shape 

 of the calf's head, prove such an obstacle to forced extraction in this 

 lateral deviation, that, if persisted in, it will not only cause the death of 

 the young creature in all probability, but also that of the mother, unless 

 the fcetus is unusually small and the pelvis of the Cow very wide. In fact, 

 those who have attempted it testify to its barbarity and fatality. 



With the Mare, the case is somewhat different. When the head of the 

 foal is deeply buried towards its flank or croup, reduction is most difficult, 

 and requires long and laborious manipulations, which so irritate the 

 organs and exhaust the strength of the mother, that it not unfrequently 

 dies from their effects. 



In most cases, too, the obstetrist is called in when the foal is dead, so 

 that there is no necessity for scruples with regard to it. On the other 



* Franck {Op. cit., p. 373) gives an instance in which two empirics attempted to deliver a Cow that could 

 not calve. They mistook this deviation for a breech presentation, as they could not find the head, and 

 they thought the fore-feet in the vagina were hind ones. They consequently, other means failing, set 

 about extracting the calf per force, and eight men pulled at the cords attached to the feet ; the young 

 creature was removed, but it was dead. The Cow was unable to get up for eight days, but eventually 

 recovered. 



