204 LABORIOUS AND DIFFICULT PARTURITION. 
extreme difficulty of extraction, and the rapid recovery of my 
patient afterwards. At the same time, it may prove a 
stimulant to some of the junior members of the profession 
who are upon the eve of their debut ; and, as Mr. Myers well 
observed, not to throw aw*ay a chance, — for “ as long as there 
is life there is hope.” 
December 20th, 1853, a friend and neighbour of mine, a 
Mr. Holmes, purchased a cow of a neighbour, the same being 
near her regular time of calving. On the 22d, he received 
w ord that the cow t w T as getting uneasy, and that he had better 
send for her home ; which was accordingly done. This 
being in the morning, and the cow now 7 ay remarkably 
uneasy, she was allow ed to remain without much notice until 
evening, w T hen she began to show signs of more acute pain ; 
at w T hich time the owner called in his father, a person who 
has had a part experience in such matters, though, since he 
became a near neighbour to me, through courtesy I believe 
to me, he has declined to act, except in cases of emergency, 
or my being from home. He attended; he examined the 
beast, and found himself at fault. From this circumstance, 
a messenger w as despatched for me. On my arrival, I found 
my patient in no very uneasy position, she being standing 
with her tail a little elevated, and at times straining a little, 
as if wishing to void something ; though, in other respects, 
she did not appear much ailing. I now* made an exploration 
of the parts of generation, and found the labia pudendi and 
os uteri well relaxed. Introducing my hand and arm still 
further, I soon found it was no ordinary case w r e had got to 
deal with. A little further examination gave proof that the 
foetus w 7 as lying upon its back, with a breech presentation ; 
the hind legs being throw n forward upon the abdomen, and 
reaching so far that the pastern-joints were flexed, and the 
fore-feet had dropped down behind each shoulder; the fore- 
legs lying towards its haunches, w-ith the head doubled back, 
and lying against, or rather behind, the shoulder. The first 
thing I attempted towards its extraction, was to reach and 
bring forward one of the hind legs and foot; but in this 
attempt I was dead beat, from, I think, a state of natural 
contraction. I then tried the other leg ; but w : ith no better 
success. In this dilemma, I advised my friend to give his 
skill another trial ; and, from my instructions, he being a 
pow erful man, I had good expectations ; but the result ended 
in nothing. There was evidently now 7 no other resource but 
to try embryotomy, which I did, and after the utmost per- 
severance I succeeded in removing and bringing forth one of 
the hind limbs ; after w hich I expected to have extracted the 
