DOGS I THEIR MANAGEMENT. 35*J 



but where there is only one sense to guide the know- 

 ledge, and that one is not quite unobstructed, the judg- 

 ment is liable to be mistaken with regard to particulars, 

 though it may be assured concerning the main point. 



To discover whether a bitch is in pup, let her be 

 placed upon a table, and her fears or excitability ban- 

 ished by caresses. Then lay her upon her side, and with 

 the fingers gently manipulate the intestines. If the 

 womb is impregnated, the person, directing his attention 

 first to the situation the uterus occupies, near to the rim 

 of the pelvis, and inferior to the rectum, will there detect 

 round smooth bodies, like little eggs. These may not be 

 perceptible if the bladder be loaded ; but if the catheter 

 be employed to draw off the urine, they will suiely be 

 felt. If the rectum be full of foeces, it serves as an admi- 

 rable guide to the position of the uterus ; though he who 

 is. acquainted with anatomy needs no such assistance. 



Some globular substance being detected, the fingers 

 are advanced, and if more than one pup be conceived, 

 another similar to it will speedily impinge upon the 

 touch ; then another, and so on, until the whole of the 

 promised family have been thus announced. The last is 

 the most difficult to discover : for should there be more 

 than two or three, it may, and will, generally occupy the 

 extremity of a horn ; and, in that situation, may escape 

 observation. There are to the womb of this animal a 

 pair of horns, which are long, and extend to the region of 

 the kidneys. Both cannot be traced at the same time, 

 and there is a chance of the two being confounded. 



