THE DISEASES OP CATTLE. 197 



I shall now, in a brief manner, throw out a few hints for the 

 consideration of dairymen and breeders, in view of the adop- 

 tion of preventative measures, for since neither " medicine nor 

 medical treatment " can arrest the plague, our only hopes of 

 stopping abortions, which in this country are alarmingly on the 

 increase, lies in the practice of preventative measures. 



A very objectionable, and, I may add ruinous practice per- 

 vails at some milking establishments, of keeping the cows impreg- 

 nated all the time, the mother no sooner gets through the pains 

 and perils of parturition, than she is again, ofttimes, compelled 

 to submit to a re-impregnation ; this is what I call an excessive 

 use of the reproductive organs, which must eventually impair 

 their integrity. 



It is well known to all physiologists, and I presume that the 

 reader must have some knowledge of the facts ; viz., that the 

 uterine organs, like those of digestion and respiration, can be 

 overtaxed, and disease in some form or other is very apt to 

 occur in overworked organs. If actual disease does not set in, 

 debiHty of function, or organ, must eventually ensue. 



The uterus, like various other organs of the animal econ- 

 omy, must have periods of rest or the day of reckoning will 

 surely arrive. 



An excessive use of the reproductive organs generally, if 

 not always, impairs the integrity of the nutritive organs, and 

 vice versa ; hence, if a cow is kept pregnant all the time for 

 the unwise purpose of making her yield a constant supply of 

 milk, it should not appear sti-ange if she fall otf in the quantity 

 of milk, appear unthrifty, be off her feed, and have a glairy 

 discharge from the vagina; these are the symptoms which 

 usually precede abortion. 



I lately visited an imported cow, the property of a gentleman 

 in this State, who informed me that she had aborted three times 

 at about the seventh month of her pregnancy, and she was gen- 

 erally put to the bull shortly after the mishap. I told him that 

 this bad practice was the sole predisposing cause of the trouble ; 

 for the short space of time which occurred between the pre- 

 mature expulsion of the foetus, and re-impregnation, was not 

 17* 



