1.18 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



funnel is fitted to the other end of the tube, and when this fun- 

 nel is elevated it will force the solution well into the sheath and 

 with the right hand the operator can work the solution thoroughly 

 to all parts of the sheath. The limbs of the bull should also be 

 sponged with a good antiseptic solution. 



Sterility. — Sterility is one of the sequels of contagious 

 abortion. The reason for this is that the microbes enter the 

 Fallopian tubes and affect and eventually destroy the ovaries 

 and therefore conception cannot occur. Many treatments have 

 been used for this affection and there are a great many patent 

 medicines on the market to be used for this disease but our in- 

 vestigations have shown that medical treatment has little or no 

 effect. Out of 209 animals that were apparently sterile, 86 re- 

 mained sterile in the herd tor a year or more, 41 for eighteen 

 months or more, while conception occurred in 11 which success- 

 fully gave birth to a calf. Postmortems were held on 74 of these 

 animals and all were found to have diseased ovaries, 42 out of 

 the 74 having one ovary affected while 32 had both ovaries 

 affected. It is interesting to know that the owners of these 

 animals used the following remedies : dilatation of the os uteri, 

 irrigating with sterilized alkaline water, using yeast treatment, 

 and the various patent medicines offered for the cure of this 

 disease. We lost trace of 135 of these animals, but our investi- 

 gation shows that remedies are of little avail since 100 per cent 

 of those on which we held post-mortems had diseased ovaries. 

 This should discourage the owner from keeping cows that will 

 not conceive, especially if the animal has aborted. The animals 

 should be fattened as soon as possible and sold on the market. 



Conclusions. — Abortion in cattle is caused by a germ 

 which is found in the exudate of the female and of the bull. 

 Therefore both cows and bulls should be thoroughly disinfected 

 before and after breeding. Newly purchased cows should be 

 kept in quarantine and should be washed with an antiseptic solu- 

 tion. A cow that has aborted should be immediately placed in 

 quarantine and an attendant should take care of these animals and 

 avoid coming in contact with healthy animals. The bull should 

 be disinfected before and immediately after each service. Cows 

 should not be allowed to calve in the presence of other animals. 



