DIFFICULT PARTURITION IN THE MARE AND COW. 605 
returned, which, I was told, was about ten minutes, and it was 
forcibly held back by a stout fellow every time these labour pains 
came on. 
I got the mare on her feet the better to make my examination, 
and found a firm hard body beyond this substance, which I had 
no doubt was the head of the foal. A pain coming on, I had no 
hesitation in cautiously making an incision through what I found 
to be a substance resembling coagulable lymph, firmly organized. 
On enlarging my incision, the head presented itself, covered with 
the placental membrane ; and I had the pleasure of extracting a 
fine foal, alive. 
In a few minutes I removed the placenta, and had then an 
opportunity of more particularly examining the nature of the 
obstruction. I found this substance firmly adhering to the os 
uteri, about two inches in thickness, and, when dissected away, 
it was nearly eight pounds in weight. I afterwards understood 
that it had appeared a little at the last parturition, about a year 
before. The mare, with proper medicine, nursing, &c. did well. 
I consider this case as being analogous to some in the cow, 
which much oftener occur, and in which the os uteri is closed 
with a substance that attains a cartiliginous firmness, and does 
not yield when parturition begins. I have met with cases in which 
I could introduce the hand, and sometimes only the fingers. In 
other cases there was no opening at all, after, perhaps, the animal 
had been twelve hours in labour; for, as you well know, our 
assistance is never required in these cases until all the owner’s re- 
sources are completely exhausted. I never hesitate to use the 
knife as already described in The Veterinarian, and with 
almost uniform success ; however, a case came in my way lately, 
in which I could be of no service ; but l had an opportunity, for 
the first time, of examining the parts after death, and, though 
at the risk of making my letter rather long and tedious, I will 
relate it. 
The cow t belonged to a farmer about five miles distant. I met 
one of his servants at another farm, at which I had been visit- 
ing, who told me that the cow had been very ill for two days, — 
that Mr. S. had had Willie Menros, an old shepherd, and one of 
those wiseacres reputed to have meikle skeel amang kye , to see 
her, who had said she might calve and might not , as the calf was 
lying the wrong way; and so, without putting himself to any 
further trouble, he left the poor animal to her fate. 
The servant urged on me the propriety of going and trying to 
relieve her ; but not being called in, and well knowing that it was 
no desirable case, I at first declined : however, as I had been 
attending a horse at the same place but a few days before, we 
