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manded, I laid myfelf out to procure the firfl dung 
of calves after they are brought forth j which always 
can be nothing but meconium. This was attended 
with fome difficulty and delay, as cows in this neigh- 
bourhood mofily calve in the fields. After fome 
months, by the good offices of a fenfible acquaint- 
ance in this place, I obtained what I wanted. He 
was fo obliging as to watch his own cov/’s calving, 
and before he ftirred from her, to catch the calf’s 
firfi; dung, and fend it me forthwith. Some weeks 
after another parcel of the fame kind was fent me 
from another quarter. In both which I found a great 
number of ftrong hairs all over ; fo as to leave no 
room for doubting but that this appearance is general 
in the meconium of calves, in a natural way. 
The reader will pleafe to obferve, that in neither 
of thefe infiances I could be deceived, if I had ever 
fo little reafon to trufi: to the judgment and fidelity of 
thofe, who fupplied me with what I wanted. The 
colour and confiftence of the meconium of a foetus 
is fo veiy peculiar, and fo widely different from that 
of fieces formed out of ingefted aliments, that none, 
who have any knowlege in thefe matters, can mif- 
take the one for the other. 
In the mean time I omitted not to open the em- 
bryo’s of the cow-kind, fuch as I could procure in the 
Ihambles of the market-town I live in, and to examine 
their meconium. The two mofi: advanced towards 
maturity, which I met with, had flHf long hairs 
about the mouth, the eye-brows, the ears, and na- 
vel, and a good many on the end of the tail ; but 
none on their fkins. In neither of thefe, any more 
than in the younger embryo’s, which I examined, 
L 1 2 was 
