ABNORMALITIES OP THE FCETUS 



187 



patience. Instances are known where eight to ten men ex- 

 tracted a calf and everything went well, but we must not set 

 such brutal examples, the results of which are usually serious. 

 Experience teaches, also, that eight to ten men do not develop 

 much more power than three men, as they cannot be stationed 

 properly to pull to advantage, and that the exerted force 

 greatly decreases after a time. 



How variable traction is, and its decrease, may be seen by 

 referring to the following table : 



FORCE EXERTED BY TRACTION (EXPRESSED IN KILOGRAMS) BY 



The feet of persons who pulled were braced, their position 

 was the same as in parturition of an animal in the recumbent 

 position. The dynamometer was employed to measure the 

 force exerted. After one minute the men showed decided 

 fatigue, from which they quickly recovered. 



"When extraction is unsuccessful in this way, the calf is 

 usually dead. Partial or total embryotomy is then indicated, 

 an operation much less dangerous, when properly executed, 

 than a forced extraction. (See p. 260.) 



A huge foetus in the posterior presentation, with its hind 

 legs in the parturient passages, when pulled at unsuccessfully 

 by three or four men, is no reason why further extraction 

 should be abandoned and embryotomy performed. The treat- 

 ment should be the following: After securing the cow and 



