STERILITY. 153 



Treatment. — The treatment of the majority of these conditions 

 will be found dealt with in other parts of this work, so that it is only 

 necessary here to name them as causes. Some, however, must, be 

 specially referred to in this place. Stallions with undescended 

 testicles are beyond the reach of medicine, and should be castrated 

 and devoted to other uses. Indurated testicles may sometimes be 

 remedied in the early stages by smearing with a weak iodine ointment 

 daily for a length of time, and at the same time invigorating the 

 system, by liberal feeding and judicious work. Fatty degeneration 

 is best met by an albuminoid diet (wheat bran, cotton-seed meal, 

 rape cake) and constant well-regulated work. Saccharine, starchy, 

 and fatty food (potatoes, wheat, corn, etc.) are to be specially 

 avoided. In the mare one diseased and irritable ovary should be 

 removed, to do away with the resulting excitability of the remainder 

 of the generative organs. An irritable womb, with frequent strain- 

 ing and the ejection of a profuse secretion, may sometimes be cor- 

 rected by a restricted diet and full but well-regulated work. Even 

 fatigue will act beneficially in some such cases, hence the practice of 

 the Arab riding his mare to exhaustion just before service. The 

 perspiration in such a case, like the action of a purgative or the 

 abstraction of blood just before service, benefits, by rendering the 

 blood vessels less full, by lessening secretion in the womb and else- 

 where, and thus counteracting the tendency to the ejection and loss 

 of semen. If these means are ineffectual, a full dose of camphor (2 

 drams) or of salacin may at times assist. Low condition and anemia 

 demand just the opposite kind of treatment — rich, nourishing, albumi- 

 noid food, bitter tonics (gentian), sunshine, gentle exercise, liberal 

 grooming, and supporting treatment generally are here in order. 



Spasmodic closure of the neck of the womb is common and is 

 easily remedied in the mare by dilatation with the fingers. The 

 hand, smeared with belladonna ointment and with the fingers drawn 

 into the form of a cone, is introduced through the vagina until 

 the projecting, rounded neck of the womb is felt at its anterior end. 

 This is opened by the careful insertion of one finger at a time, until 

 the fingers have been passed through the constricted neck into the 

 open cavity of the womb. The introduction is made with a gentle, 

 rotary motion, and all precipitate violence is avoided, as abrasion, 

 laceration, or other cause of irritation is likely to interfere with the 

 retention of the semen and with impregnation. If the neck of the 

 womb is rigid and unyielding from the induration which follows in- 

 flammation — a rare condition in the mare, though common in the 

 cow — ^more force will be requisite, and it may even be needful to in- 

 cise the neck to the depth of one-sixth of an inch in four or more 

 opposite directions prior to forcible dilatation. The incision may be 

 made with a probe-pointed knife, and should be done by a profes- 



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