530 OBSTETRIC OPERATIONS. 



keeps the machine in equilibrium by placing one of his hands on one of 

 the forked handles of the flange, while the other handle rests firmly on, 

 the ground. Another assistant, the cords attached to the foetus being 

 fixed in the hook at the end of the chain (K), slowly turns the windlass 

 in such a direction as will bring the extremity of the stalk (I) towards the 

 flange, while the operator superintends the extraction. It will thus be 

 seen that a strong traction is exerted on the foetus, while a proportionate 

 pressure is transmitted to the croup of the parent through the three long 

 rods — the machine producing extension and counter-extension at the 

 same time, while it also allows a sustained traction to be obtained — 

 without jerks or checks, and as powerful as may be desired. 



This machine has been well tested in France, and has received the 

 highest praise. 



Comparison between Ma7iual and Mechanical Force. 



The employment of machines which multiply force, for artificial ex- 

 traction of the foetus, can be traced to a somewhat distant period ; and 

 the use of the windlass, the wheel, and the cart, by rude Empirics is of 

 ancient date. 



Resorted to byignor.ant people destitute of that knowledge which alone 

 can ensure safety and success, these appliances must have been produc- 

 tive of great injury and loss. It "was probably from witnessing these re- 

 sults that the early French veterinarians were almost unanimous in their 

 condemnation of their use, and designated them as " ciliel " and "mur- 

 derous." "It is cruel," says Fromage de Feugre, " to tie a cord to a 

 calf, and pull at it by the windlass or capstan, or by horses attached to it. 

 It is much better, the Cow being tied by its horns, to make men pull at 

 the cord, so that force may be employed with more precaution and man- 

 agement." Hurtrel d'Arboval remarks : " There are people who would 

 go so far as to pull at the cord wWch is attached to the foal or the calf 

 by the windlass, the capstan, or pulleys ; this procedure is not only cruel, 

 but its violence usually kills the foetus, and often causes lacerations, 

 serious injury, and displacement of the uterus." Other writers have 

 written in equally strong terms against the use of traction machines, and 

 in favor of manual force — which, they argue, is an intelligent force, may 

 be graduated at will, and its direction modified according to circumstances, 

 so as always to act in the most favorable way — i.e., in the axis of the 

 pelvis. 



Nevertheless, since 1838, when Lecoq spoke out in favor of mechanical 

 appliances, many of the most experienced practitioners have expressed them- 

 selves in their favor. " I propose the pully," says Lecoq, " because it 

 afifords much more gentle and steady traction than that obtained by strength 

 of arm. . . . This opinion is shared by the majority of the veterinarian sur- 

 geons in our part of the world." " The employment of the moulinet,'" writes 

 Darreau in 1852, "gives a more regular and sustained traction than that 

 of assistants, no matter how vigorous and intelligent these may be ; in 

 turning it slowly, we obtain a gradual and continuous traction ; the 

 shoulders and the body of the foetus are elongated, the sides are flattened 

 by the pressure, and delivery is effected in the majority of cases without an 

 accident. ... By this procedure, we succeed in eight cases out of ten." 

 Ayrault writes {Recueil de Med Veterinaire, 1857) : "I have decided to 

 employ a means which \ have often very severely qualified when in the 



