NEAT CATTLE. 



233 



ral times, if required, with intervals from half an hour 

 to an hour. 



" The foetus is not, however, always presented natu- 

 rally, and it is the duty of the operator to ascertain its 

 exact position in the womb. This he will not find much 

 difficulty in accomplishing. 



" The most usual false position is the presentation of 

 the head, while the feet of the calf are bent and doubled 

 down under his belly, and remain in the womb. A cord 

 must be passed as before around the lower jaw, which is 

 then to be pushed back into the womb. The operator 

 now introduces his hand, and endeavors to feel the situ- 

 ation of the feet. He is generally able to find them out, 

 and to fix a cord round each pastern, or at least about the 

 knee, and then he can usually bring them into the pas- 

 sage. The head is next to be brought forward again by 

 means of the cord ; and, the three cords being afterwards 

 pulled together, the foetus is extracted. Should the calf 

 have been long fixed in the passage, and be evidently 

 much swelled, it is certainly dead ; the head may then 

 be opened, in order to lessen its bulk, and the extraction 

 accomplished as before. 



" When the feet present, and the head is doubled under 

 the rim of the passage, the case is more difficult, and 

 the calf is very rarely saved ; indeed, it may be reckoned 

 to be dead if it has remained in this position for any 

 considerable time. Cords are first to be placed round 

 the feet ; the hand must be afterwards passed into the 

 womb, and the situation of the head exactly ascertained, 

 and the cord passed round the lower jaw. The calf be- 

 ing then pushed further back into the womb, the head 

 must be brought into the passage, and, the three ropes 

 being pulled together, the delivery effected as quickly as 

 may be, without the exertion of more force ihsn is neces- 

 sary. 



" The last false presentation I shall mention is that of 

 the breech, the tail appearing at the mouth of the shape. 

 The hand is to be passed into the uterus, and the cords 

 fastened round each hock. The calf is then to be pushed 

 as far back as possible into the womb, and the hocks, 

 one after the other, brought into the passage, the ropes 

 20* 



