THE COW IN HEALTH AND DISEASE 131 



In other cases the cow absorbs these septic 

 or poisonous products and this condition is 

 known as septic metritis or pyo-metra and is, 

 commonly speaking, an inflammation of the 

 uterus, due to the absorption of the poisonous 

 material within it. After several days the 

 cow loses her appetite, respiration becomes la- 

 bored, and the temperature may reach 105 or 

 106 degrees Fahrenheit. With early and per- 

 sistent treatment some of these cases recover, 

 but when they do recover they usually leave 

 the cow sterile and this is a great loss to the 

 owner. 



With any of the above conditions it is not 

 unusual to have a sterile cow after recovery, 

 but sometimes after the catarrhal symptoms 

 of which we have just spoken the cow may be 

 gotten with calf with persistent service or at 

 other times after the lapse of several months 

 up to a couple of years. If it is not possible to 

 get her with calf within two years after the 

 above condition, very little hopes should be 

 entertained of later accomplishing this. 



The practice of tying heavy o'bjects to that 

 part of the afterbirth that is usually found pro- 

 truding, in an effort to bring it away, should 

 not be allowed as it usually tears the after- 

 birth so that a part of it remains. The inex- 

 perienced can often do more harm than good 

 in these cases, and it is poor policy to allow 

 them to attempt this unless a veterinarian can 

 not be had. In our experience we find it is 



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