Failure to Breed. 237 



results from abortion, as its originating and abnormal 

 cause ; and the chief matter for surprise is that any abort- 

 ing cows should be able to breed during such a greatly dis- 

 ordered condition of the breeding organs, in the midst of 

 an unexpired breeding term. 



A probable reason why some aborting cows breed, is 

 their aborting early in pregnancy, and then sustaining less 

 injury, because their embryos are small, and there is less 

 engorgement in the uterine and ovarian blood-vessels from 

 a lesser degree of distention. Some cows, from weak di- 

 gestive power, produce only a light supply of blood at any 

 time ; others have strong constitutions, and can bear much 

 derangement of their breeding organs, with less injury than 

 weaker cows sustain. Whatever the minor differences in 

 degree of injury or in the exact locality of its occurrence 

 may be, it is certain that great disorder and injury in the 

 uterine and ovarian organs results from abortion, and the 

 relaxing engorgement it leads to in the uterine region. 



This secondary engorgement is itself abnormal and ac- 

 cidental, the coupling fever arising from it being also ab- 

 normal and out of season. And, whatever particular dis- 

 placement, lesion, or degree of disorder, or combined in- 

 fluences may prevent impregnation in such cases, the fail- 

 ure to breed is due to one or several of the greatly deranged 

 and unhealthy conditions, into which the uterine parts 

 and blood-vessels are precipitated by the severe disorder 

 resulting in the uterus from abortment, and in the ovarian 

 organs from the engorgement, of which unseasonable de- 

 livery by aborting cows is the immediate cause. So that 

 abortion itself, in many cases, apparently suspends, im- 

 pairs, or destroys the breeding power, and the future use- 

 fulness of cows that are much injured by prematurely and 

 abruptly aborting their embryos. 



