362 DOGS : THEIR MANAGEMENT. 



mildest and best moisture the membrane can receive, and 

 its removal is not to be slightly thought of. The finger, 

 moreover, by the friction it occasions, irritates the parts ; 

 and however gently it may be introduced, it cannot 

 otherwise than in some degree have this effect. The 

 less it is used, therefore, the better; and when it is 

 inserted, the attention should be alive to note every cir- 

 cumstance the touch can acquaint us with. 



Other parties, when the labor is difficult or tedious, 

 think it advisable to place the bitch in a hot bath. All 

 the authors I know of, recommend this measure ; but I 

 must, without reservation, in the strongest possible terms, 

 condemn it. In obedience with the directions of those 

 who wrote or lectured on this subject, I originally fol- 

 lowed the practice ; but it was not long before I was 

 apprised of its evil effects ; and my wonder now is, how 

 so injurious a custom ever came into general favor. I 

 have known the bitch, when the throes were energetic, 

 to be placed in the warm bath ; and under its action to 

 have indeed been quieted, for the pains never subse- 

 quently returned. The efforts, upon the vigor of which 

 the delivery depended, have, to my knowledge, been 

 more than once, twice, or thrice, dispersed, by the 

 warmth which at such a time is a poison; for I can 

 recollect but few cases where the bitch was taken from 

 the water to survive. 



Still, as the assertions of an individual cannot be sup- 

 posed of sufficient force to overthrow an established 

 habit, let me here, at the hazard of wearying the reader, 



