On Abortion in Cows. 



79 



smelled by pregnant cows, causes tliem to abort. But surely this 

 smell cannot act directly upon the uterus, for this organ in itself 

 possesses no power of detecting varieties of odour. We do 

 know, however, that cows are especially acute in detecting, by the 

 sense of smell, when one of their companions has calved, either 

 prematurely or at the full time of gestation. If a birth take place 

 in the pasture, the cows will collect round the locality at the time, 

 and for many days even weeks subsequently will visit and smell 

 at it with a degree of apparent curiosity and pleasure. If a cow 

 calve in the house, other cows are at once aware of the fact, as 

 is shown by their looking about them, snuffing their noses, and 

 by making the fondling noise usually uttered towards their 

 young. It is also interesting to notice that if a cow at or near 

 her full time of gestation calve among a number of her pregnant 

 companions, several of them will usually bring forth their young 

 very soon afterwards, although appearances and record might 

 have led us to suppose that their times of parturition would have 

 been deferred, instead of so closely corresponding. Seeing then 

 that cows are aware of the parturition of their companions, how 

 do they become so? From noticing them at the time, and for 

 various other reasons, we believe that the organ of smell is the 

 channel or medium through which the impression or sense is 

 communicated. 



It remains, then, to inquire whether the sensation produced 

 by a peculiar smell or odour can, by influencing the system, or a 

 part of it, act through it upon the uterus," so as to cause abortion. 

 Preparatory to this short inquiry (and as illustrating the kind 

 of action to which we would refer) we may observe, that in the 

 animal body we often find a cause of disease acts through one 

 part of the system upon another. For instance, a person with an 

 irritably constituted stomach is seized with nausea or vomiting 

 on smelling a peculiar odour or on seeing some disgusting object ; 

 here the eye becomes first cognizant of a cause which operates 

 subsequently on the stomach. A person with irritable bowels 

 becomes affected with purging on " taking cold," or from having 

 wet feet ; here cold as a cause acts first on the external surface, 

 and operates subsequently on the bowels. Almost every animal 

 has some part of the body more susceptible than the rest, and 

 especially liable on that account to become affected by the causes 

 of disease. On this depends the differences of constitution seen 

 in the human being and also in the lower animals. At the same 

 time, we must remember that the various organs of the body 

 when in a state of health act in obedience to certain stimuli; 

 air is the stimulus to part of the respiratory action, and food is 

 the stimulus to the digestive organs. If such stimuli are un- 

 natural in amount or quality, they induce disease; impure air 



