DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 363 



putrid fermentation. This, however, is less requisite in the 

 mare than in the cow, in which the prevalent contagious 

 abortion must he counteracted by the persistent local use of 

 antiseptics. After abortion a careful hygiene is demanded, 

 especially in the matter of pure air and easily digestible 

 food. The mare should not be served again for a month or 

 longer, and in no case until after all discharge from the 

 vulva has ceased. 



SYMPTOMS OF PARTURITION. 



As the period of parturition approaches the swelling of 

 the udder bespeaks the coming event, the engorgement in 

 exceptional cases extending forward on the lower surface of 

 the abdomen and even into the hind limbs. For about a 

 week a serous fluid oozes from the teat and concretes as a 

 yellow, wax-like mass around its orifice. About twenty-four 

 hours before the birth this gives place to a whitish, milky 

 liquid, which falls upon and mats the hairs on the inner 

 sides of the legs. Another symptom is enlargement of the 

 vulva, with redness of its lining membrane and the escape 

 of glairy mucus. The belly droops, the flanks fall in, and the 

 loins may even become depressed. Finally the mare becomes 

 uneasy, stops feeding, looks anxious, whisks her tail, and may 

 lie down and rise again. In many mares this is not repeated, 

 but the mare remains down; violent contractions of the ab- 

 dominal muscles ensue; after two or three pains the water- 

 bags appear and burst, followed by the fore feet of the foal, 

 with the nose between the knees, and by a few more throes 

 the foetus is expelled. In other cases the act is accomplished 

 standing. The whole act may not occupy more than five or 

 ten minutes. This, together with the disposition of the 

 mare to avoid observation, renders the act one that is rarely 

 seen by the attendants 



The navel string, which connects the foal to the mem- 

 branes, is ruptured when the foetus falls to the ground, or 

 when the mare rises, if she has been down, and the mem- 

 branes are expelled a few minutes later. 



