PAKTUKITION. 



577 



In Dr. Fleming's admirable and exhaustive treatise on the sub- 

 ject, he says: — " Ergotised grasses and grains have often produced 

 widespread losses from this accident," a statement, presumably 

 given on good authority, but quite opposed to the experience of the 

 writer of this chapter. 



Having seen the utility of the 'forcing draught" in human 

 practice, proportionate doses of ergot were tried on mares, cows, 

 bitches, and cats, when desiring to stimulate labour, with such 

 negative results, that I afterwards tried it on my own pregnant 

 mares and cows in large doses and at difi'erent periods without 



Fig. 152. — Vertebro-sacral position. 

 (From F/eming-'s " I'derinaiy Ohslelrics,") 



producing the least disturbance. My experiments were sufficiently 

 numerous to establish, at least in my own mind, that ergot is 

 inert, 'so far as its action upon the pregnant animal is concerned. 

 I have found bad harvests the most frequent cause of barrenness 

 among farmers' mares, who must needs feed the damaged hay they 

 cannot sell, whicli is non-nutritious, but not ergotised. 



A specific microbe is now credited with causing abortion in 

 cows ; antiseptic measures, such as sponging the vulva, daily 

 Avith permanganate of potash, or other agents, are recommended, 

 but sufficient time has not elapsed to prove the correctness of the 

 theory, either as reg-ards cows or mares. Nervous sympathy can- 

 not be doubted, and a mare having aborted should certainly be 

 separated from in-foal mares. 



37 



