CAUSES OF ABORTION. 107 



authority in the world (Prof . Geo. Fleming, whose work on Veterinary 

 Obstetrics is a text book in the colleges), I find this disease has been 

 a source of trouble for many years, especially in dairies, in many 

 places the losses averaging seventeen, and even twenty-five, per cent, 

 every year, until prevented. As any one who reads the leading 

 agricultural papers may see, the losses (which, however, are not 

 published in the majority of cases, for obvious reasons) among the 

 higher classes of dairy cattle are exceedingly numerous, and, some- 

 times, are almost ruinous. It becomes, therefore, of serious import- 

 ance to know something as to how this disease occurs and how to 

 prevent its occurrence; for as to cure, any person can understand 

 that that is out of the question, because the evil is, necessarily, past cure. 



Prof. Fleming says this disease is either sporadic (or accidental) or 

 epizootic (or communicated and contagious, or due to widespread 

 causes operating over an extended space at the same time). The 

 causes are external or internal. Of external causes he enumerates, 

 atmospheric influences; irregular seasons; depressing effects of con- 

 tinuous bad weather; cold suddenly applied to the skin, as by a 

 sudden cold storm in hot weather, or exposure to rain or sleet in 

 the winter, or exposure to frosty nights after warm autumn days. 

 The food and water often cause the trouble. Frosty herbage and 

 very cold water, by suddenly chilling the stomach, affect the foetus, 

 and cause its death and premature expulsion. Indigestible food, or 

 food that is too concentrated and disturbs the digestive organs and 

 causes bloating or disorders of the blood, also endangers the foetus. 

 Foul water, which is charged with injurious germs of a fungoid char- 

 acter, is exceedingly dangerous. Some plants will produce the 

 disease ; common horse tails (equisetum), which is common in some 

 pastures and meadows, and swamp sedges, are known to be dangerous. 

 The leaves of red cedar (the savin of the druggists) surely produces 

 it, and is used medicinally as the ergot of rye is. This fungus, when 

 taken into the stomach in small quantities, produces violent contrac- 

 tions of the muscular fibre, and, when eaten in large quantities, is a 

 deadly poison. Excessive muscular action, and blows and violent 

 strains in moving in cramped positions, are also causes. Sudden 

 excitement and alarm, as an attack by dogs, or by other cows, and 

 anything which unduly excites the nerves, have been known to pro- 

 duce it. But contagion, produced by exposure to the virus from 

 aborted cows, has been considered as the most frequent cause of this 

 disease, which often runs through a whole herd, and even appears in 

 others at some distance. 



The internal causes enumerated are irregular feeding, either to 

 excess, or in the opposite direction; constitutional predisposition; 



