SKINS OF I'RKGNA NC Y. HI 



Mare thuy are irrej^ular in tlieir appearance, commencing three or four 

 months after conception, and do not possess the same value in every 

 instance ; for there are some animals in which the ahdomen is scarcely 

 at all unusually developed, and particularly the Mure — which is uni- 

 parous — until n(;ar parturition ; and others, generally those at j)asture, 

 or which have had a numher of fuals, that always have the helly coii- 

 siderahly developed and pendulous, and in which it is diflicult to per- 

 ceive any increase, even when they are in foal. 



Jk'sides, some diseased conditions — as ovarian dropsy, uterine poly- 

 pus, hydrometra, ascites, impervious vagina, etc. — may give rise to 

 amplification of the abdomen ; and it must not be forgotten that Marcs 

 fed on poor fibrous forage not unfrequently have the belly enlarged. 

 So that of itself this is not at all a sure criterion of pregnancy. 



Taken in connection with the other signs, however, the increase in 

 the abdomen — most marked towards its inferior third, and becoming 

 evident toward the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy — has a certain 

 value. It is most noticeable, perhaps, in looking at the animal from 

 behind ; though repeated examinations at various intervals may be 

 necessary to ensure certainty, and in important cases it may even bo 

 necessary to have recourse to measurement of the abdomen. 



The cnlanjcvient of the mainvue is a sign which varies considerably in 

 different species, according to the condition of the females. In pri- 

 miparous animals, as the Mare and Cow, they begin to increase soon 

 after conception— towards the second or third month. The udder is 

 more prominent and firm to the touch, loses its wrinkles, and the teats 

 are more visible. This appearance is generally only ephemeral and 

 partially disappears, to reappear again more markedly after some 

 weeks ; then to subside and show itself several times during the period 

 of gestation. 



Besides this mammary enlargement in the primipara, and which may 

 be accepted as a certain indication, these glands furnisli, towards the 

 last third of the period of gestation, a yellow, viscid, transparent liquid 

 — the colostrum— similar to white of egg, and wiiicli can be easily 

 extracted from the teats by milking. In those which have never con- 

 ceived, manipulation of the teat may furnish a drop or two of a watery- 

 like fluid, but in two or three months after fecundation it becomes 

 slightly increased in quantity, and is now viscid in consistency. It 

 gradually increases in quantity and quality, and about the period men- 

 tioned it has changed into colostrum. In the last weeks of })regnancy 

 this liquid sometimes Vjccome white and opaque, as well as less viscid, 

 and is then proper milk. When the animals have bred several times, 

 the increase in the size of the udder is only remarked in the last days 

 of gestation. In milch Cows, and particularly in those wliich are not 

 good " milkers," another sign is to be found in the diminution of 

 the lacteal secretion, and the shrinking of the gland some time after 

 conception — usually about the twentieth day. 



In the pregnant Mare which still has a Foal running with her, the 

 secretion of milk also ceases some time before parturition ; and the 

 animal appears to be aware of this, for it weans the Foal generally 

 between the sixth and eighth month. 



In the smaller animals the enlargement of the mamma; and the 

 appearance of the milk are usually remarked earlier, and more regularly, 

 than in the larger creatures. 



In animals which have borne young, similar changes to those 



