ON THE BREECH PRESENTATION OF THE FCETUS. 
By John Barlow, V.S. 
In the last Veterinarian there is a paper, evidently emanating 
from a practical man, giving some cases of difficult parturition in 
cows, and containing hints useful to be borne in mind by those 
called on to render assistance on these occasions. I feel disposed 
to offer a remark or two, in addition to those given by your cor- 
respondent, confining myself to that part of the subject relating to 
breech presentations. 
I have frequently, and without much difficulty, rectified a breech 
presentation, somewhat in the way your correspondent describes : 
in other instances, however, where the calf was large and the 
mother young, or the organs of generation naturally small, I have 
been obliged to adopt another course, which I will explain : — 
Whether the cow will stand or not, her hind parts should be con- 
siderably elevated, and all the other precautions usual on these 
occasions should be observed. The hock of the foetus is sought 
for, and secured in the way adopted by your correspondent; the 
foetus is then pushed forward into the uterus by an assistant ; the 
os calcis of the hock, secured by the rope, is grasped by the hand 
of the surgeon, and pushed forcibly forwards. In this way, the 
traction of the cord back wards and the force applied to the os calcis 
in the contrary direction, will bring the lower part of the limb 
towards the vagina, without necessarily reaching the foot with the 
hand, which, ordinarily, in consequence of the pressure of the foetus 
against the brim of the pelvis, is frequently a difficult task. The 
surgeon can rarely introduce both hands and arms far into the vagina 
with advantage, but another person may easily introduce an arm 
its entire length by placing himself back to back with the surgeon. 
The benumbing feeling which so unpleasantly affects the arms and 
hands of operators on these occasions may, in the presentation 
under consideration, be much obviated by a simple mechanical 
contrivance of the following construction : — 
A piece of round polished half-inch iron, two feet or more in 
length, which may consist of separate pieces screwing into each 
other, is smoothly rounded off at one extremity ; three inches from 
the rounded end there is a mortise, say an inch long, into which 
on each side is received the flattened end of another piece of round 
half-inch iron, two inches in length ; the ends of the last-mentioned 
