DISEASES FOLLOWING PAETUEITION. 2 IT 



energy to expel the afterbirth. Hence we find the condition common 

 with insufficient or innutrious food, and in years or localities in which 

 the fodder has suffered from weather. Ergoted (PI. V), smutty, or 

 musty -fodder, by causing abortion, is a frequent cause of retention. 

 Old cows are more subject than young ones, probably because of 

 diminishing vigor. A temporary retention is sometimes due to a too 

 rapid closure of the neck of the womb after calving, causing strangu- 

 lation and imprisonment of the membranes. Conditions favoring this 

 are the drinking of cold (iced) water, the eating of cold food (frosted 

 roots), and (through sympathy between udder and womb) a too 

 prompt sucking by the calf or milking by the attendant. 



Symptoms. — The symptoms of retention of the afterbirth are usu- 

 ally only too evident, as the membranes hang from the vulva and rot 

 away gradually, causing the most offensive odor throughout the build- 

 ing. When retained within the womb by closure of its mouth and 

 similarly in cases in which the protruded part has rotted off, the 

 decomposition continues and the fetid products escaping by the vulva 

 appear in offensively smelling pools on the floor, and mat together the 

 hairs near the root of the tail. The septic materials retained in the 

 womb cause inflammation of its lining membrane, and this, together 

 with the absorption into the blood of the products of putrefaction, 

 leads to ill health, emaciation, and drying up of the milk. 



Treatment. — Treatment will vary according to the conditions. 

 When the cow is in low condition or when retention is connected 

 with drinking iced water, or eating frozen food, hot drinks and hot 

 mashes of wheat bran or other aliment may be all sufficient. If, 

 along with the above conditions, the bowels are somewhat confined, 

 an ounce of ground ginger, or half an ounce of black pepper, 

 given with a quart of sweet oil, or 1| pounds of Glauber's salts, 

 the latter in at least 4 quarts of warm water, will often prove effect- 

 ual. A bottle or two of flaxseed -tea, made by prolonged boiling, 

 should also be given at frequent intervals. Other stimulants, like 

 rue, savin, laurel, and carminifcives like anise, cumin, and coriander 

 are preferred by some, but with very questionable reason, the more 

 so that the first three are not without danger. Ergot of rye, 1 ounce, 

 or extract of the same, 1 dram, may be resorted to to induce contrac- 

 tion of the womb. The mechanical extraction of the membranes is, 

 however, often called for; of this there are several methods. The 

 simplest is to hang a weight of 1 or 2 pounds to the hanging portion, 

 and allow this, by its constant dragging and by its jerking effect 

 when the cow moves, to pull the membranes from their attachments 

 and to stimulate the womb to expulsive contractions. But in the 

 neglected cases, when the dependant mass is already badly decom- 

 posed, it is liable to tear across under the added weight, leaving a 

 portion of the offensive material imprisoned in the womb. Again, 

 this uncontrolled dragging upon a relaxed womb will (in exceptional 



