186 DISEASES OF CATTLL. 



can be brought into a line with the stem for introduction into the womb 

 and then spread to be implanted in the breast. In the absence of a 

 repeller a smooth, round fork handle maybe used, the prongs having 

 been removed from the other end. A third device is to have an assist- 

 ant strip his arm to the shoulder and, standing back to back with the 

 operator, to introduce his right arm into the passages along with the 

 operator's left (or vice versa) and push back the body of the calf while 

 the operator seeks to bring up a limb. The repeller or staff having 

 been planted safely in the breast of the calf, an assistant pushes upon 

 it in a direction either forward or slightly upward, so as not only to fol- 

 low the natural curve of the body and favor its turning in the line of 

 that curve within the womb, but also to carry the shoulders upward 

 toward the spine and secure more room for bringing up the missing 

 feet. It is good policy to first put a halter (PI. XXI, figs. 4o and 46) on 

 the head or a noose (PI. XXI, fig. 3) on the lower jaw and a rope round 

 each limb at the knee, so as to provide against the loss of any of these 

 parts when the body is pushed back into the womb. This offers the 

 further advantage that by dragging upon these ropes the body can be 

 advanced in the passage until the foot is reached, when the rope must 

 be slackened and the repeller used to secure room for bringing up the 

 foot. If the cow is lying, the operator should first secure the foot on 

 the upper side and then, if necessary, turn the cow on its opposite side 

 so as to bring up the other. 



In using the instruments some precautions are demanded. They 

 . must be invariably warmed before they are introduced, and they should 

 be smeared with lard or oil to make them pass easily and without fric- 

 tion. The assistant who is pushing on the instrument must be warned 

 to stop if at any time resistance gives way. This may mean the turn- 

 ing of the fetus, in which case the object of repulsion has been accom- 

 plished; but much more probably it implies the displacement of the 

 instrument from the body of the fetus, and unguarded pressure may 

 drive it through the walls of the womb. 



When the calf enters the passage with its back turned down toward 

 the belly and udder, the bending back of the fore limbs is rare, prob- 

 ably because the feet can find a straighter and more uniform surface 

 of resistance in the upper wall of the womb and the backbone, and 

 do not slide over a crest into an open cavity as they do over the brim 

 of the pelvis. The weight of the calf, too, gravitating downward, 

 leaves more room for the straightening of the bent limbs, so that the 

 desired relief is much more easily secured. The manipulation is the 

 same in principle, only one must add the precaution of a steady trac- 

 tion on the feet in extraction, lest, owing to the adverse curvature of 

 the fetus, the hoofs be suddenly forced through the roof of the vagina 

 and, perhaps, the rectum as well, during a specially powerful labor 

 pain. 



When the back of the calf is turned to the right side or the left the 



