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On Abortion in Cows. 



vent extension of abortion among; healthy animals. The remedial 

 treatment is to be employed in cases of actual abortion. 



1. Preventive Treatment. — If there are grounds for believing 

 that abortion is caused by mechanical injury, the owner of cattle 

 must exercise strict vigilance over those to whom he intrusts the 

 management of his stock. He must provide against them being 

 apt to suffer from leaping, as they are liable to do when mischief 

 or other inducements tempt them to break their fences. If a 

 pregnant cow has " hoove," the veterinary surgeon or person in 

 attendance must adopt the most summary way of liberating or 

 neutralizing the gas. Every cow should be separated from her 

 companions immediately after she has cast calf, and placed in 

 such a situation that all communication with them by means of 

 smell or otherwise may be prevented. She must be well supplied 

 with bedding, which is to be kept clean by frequent changing. 

 Care must be taken that the discharges do not collect about her, 

 and if the placenta is retained, means must be used to neutralize 

 the odour arising in consequence of its decomposition. The 

 animal must be kept in a cool, pure atmosphere, and supplied 

 with food and water in moderate quantity. It will be observed 

 that many of the above precautions, which are here advised as 

 means of preventing extension of smell subsequent to abortion, 

 are also highly useful as means of remedial treatment. 



Strict attention must be paid to the cows among which the 

 affected animal was kept, in order that the premonitory symptoms 

 of abortion may at once be noticed if they occur. The peculiar 

 coloured discharge, which has been before alluded to, is always 

 to be taken as an indication of danger, and if, in addition to its 

 appearance, there is a visible sudden increase in size of the outer 

 organs of generation and udder, beyond what the period of gestation 

 would warrant, we have little reason to doubt that abortion will 

 take place if means of prevention are not employed. The animal 

 must be copiously bled, placed in a situation where she can be 

 kept perfectly quiet, her diet must be moderate and of such a 

 quality as will favour an open condition of the bowels. No pur- 

 gative medicine must be given; — the irritation which this creates 

 would increase the abortive tendency. Our object here is to 

 tranquillize the system and the uterine excitement, and to attain 

 this end we may advantageously administer sedative medicine. 

 None is better than such a formula as the following : 2 oz. of 

 tincture of opium, and 2 oz. of nitrous aether, mixed in an impe- 

 rial quart of gruel, and given daily, or so long as circumstances 

 seem to require it. Cold water may be copiously applied to the 

 external parts of generation several times daily. We often find 

 that if the above simple means are timely and energetically em.- 

 ployed the symptoms of abortion entirely disappear. 



