GESTATION 493 



may perish. Even in the finest weather it will be 

 prudent to take the cow and calf into the house at 

 night, for a week or two. 



During the time of gestation, cows are liable to 

 several complaints, such as costiveness and strangury, 

 or a difficulty in voiding urine. These must be care- 

 fully attended to, otherwise they may cause the cow to 

 slip her calf 



Strangury will be known by the animal making 

 frequent painful attempts to stale, and by her voiding 

 only a small quantity of urine at a time, and frequently 

 none at all. The following must be administered until 

 the complaint is removed : — 



When strangury is accompanied by costiveness, 

 which is frequently the case, immediate recourse should 

 be had to laxatives. A pound of Epsom salts, dissolved 

 in half-a-gallon of warm gruel, may be given ; and the 

 discharge assisted by administering clysters at the 

 same time, consisting of four ounces of linseed-oil, and 

 a quart of thin warm gruel, with half-an-ounce of salt 

 of tartar to make them incorporate. If an evacuation 

 does not speedily take place, the clyster must be re- 

 peated in half-an-hour afterwards, and continue every 

 twenty minutes, until it has the desired effect. 



It will be injudicious to feed a cow too much, 

 previous to calving, as in that event they may be 

 attacked with what is termed the milk-fever. If it is 

 found that cows have too great a tendency to fatten 

 previous to calving, they must be removed to a less 

 nutritious pasture, or stinted in their diet, which is 



