XIIl] 



FEMALE GENERATIVE ORGANS 



187 



become quiet and tractable. The abrlomen becomes visibly en- 

 larged as may be most easily seen from behind and undergoes an 

 alteration in shape, the flanks tending to become hollow, while 

 the belly sinks. These changes in the mare are noticeable after 

 about four months. In the meanwhile the foetus is developing in 

 the uterus, and by the end of the fourth month may be seen to 

 resjjond to stimuli; thus a bucket of cold water given to the 

 mother on an empty stomach will cause the young foal to make a 

 sudden t\A'itching movement which can be seen externally on the 

 left side of the mare. The enlargement of the mammary glands 

 may ]>e seen most easily in animals prep-nant for the first time. 



^Ml 



Fig. 97. Normal position of foal before parturition (after Franck, from Fleming, 

 Messrs Bailliere, Tindall and Cos). 



It begins almost immediately after conception but is not jjro- 

 nounced until after two or three months in the mare or cow. In 

 animals which have previously been pregnant the change is not 

 very apparent until shortly before parturition. In the last weeks 

 a serous fluid can 1)e expressed from the teats and as parturition 

 approaches this fluid becomes more and more opaque and milk- 

 like. In lactating mares and cows the milk supply diminishes and 

 the animal 'dries off' as a new pregnancy proceeds, there being 

 little or no secretion from about the seventh or eighth month 

 in the mare or the sixth or seventh month in the milch cow 

 until the new supply begins in the final stages of pregnancy. 

 Parturition. During uterine life the young foal, calf or laml) 



