Care of the New-Born Animal 561 



We very greatly prefer either to allow the cord to be ruptured 

 naturally and go wholly without mechanical interference, or, in 

 case of valuable animals where interference will not harmfully 

 annoy the mother and young, to imitate and supplement nature 

 with antisepsis and artificial dessication. If the cord has not 

 ruptured spontaneously, or if the stump is too long, it is to be 

 ruptured at the proper point by linear tension. The cord is 

 grasped at the point where we desire it to be severed, with the 

 thumb and index finger of each hand and, by drawing the hands 

 apart, it is torn asunder between them. If the cord is too strong, 

 we may facilitate the rupture with the thumb nail, or by scraping 

 the cord in two with a dull scalpel. 



After the cord has been divided, the Whartonian gelatine and 

 all fluids should be pressed out of the remaining stump as com- 

 letely as possible, by grasping it close against the umbilicus, be- 

 tween the thumb and finger, and then drawing downward, forc- 

 ing the fluids out from the broken end. This operation is to be 

 carried out under strict antiseptic precautions, and as soon as 

 completed there should be applied a dessicating antiseptic powder 

 which may consist of almost any reliable antiseptic of a character 

 which will not prove caustic to the surrounding parts. We would 

 suggest, as such an antiseptic, a powder compo.sed of equal parts 

 of alum, tannin and oxide of zinc, or of equal parts of tannin and 

 iodoform. 



A variety of antiseptics may be selected, according to the 

 custom and habit of the practitioner. The essential point is 

 thorough antisepsis and prompt dessication of the stump. When 

 the navel heals under natural conditions, it dessicates and dries 

 as a hard, black eschar in 24 to 48 hours afterbirth, which brings 

 about a hermetic sealing of the wound and the vessels of the cord, 

 and renders infection thereafter impossible. We simply aim to 

 second the efforts of nature to bring about aseptic or antiseptic 

 dessication of the stump. We advise the application of the dessi- 

 cant antiseptic powder as soon as possible after birth, to be re- 

 peated every hour or two until the dessication of the stump has 

 become complete. 



Many veterinary obstetrists advise that the cord be ligated and 

 then divided beyond the ligature ; others advise that two liga- 

 tures be applied and the division be made between the two. 

 Some suggest that the ligated fetal stump should be frequently 

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