DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 
164 
mechanical help. It often happens, that cows which calve unobserved, 
do the best, and we know a very careful and successful grazier who 
makes a point of never interfering in ordinary cases. There is certainly 
more danger from premature assistance than from delay. Usually the 
waters are the first symptoms of decided labor. A thin filmy bag first 
breaks, and after this the cow will sometimes eat, and seem comfortable 
for an hour. The second is larger and thicker, and envelops the feet 
of the calf. When the feet are there, or one begins to protrude, the 
other may be sought for, and when both are brought forward, mechan- 
ical assistance may safely be rendered, if the head is found between and 
above them. A cow-tie may be strung round each foot, and certainty 
of the head being between them is a signal for a slow and gentle pull, 
avoiding any thing like force, and the pulling being downward towards 
the udder. But above all things, give time. The muscles relax and give 
way for the calf, if proper time is allowed. When calving is over, fol- 
low the directions formerly given in regard to the management of the 
mother and produce, — the latter should suck, and the mother lick the calf. 
False Presentations will sometimes take place ; — a single foot, or the 
head, or the hind legs. In either of these cases, the operator must wait 
for one of the throes being over, and then gently put back the calf, and 
introduce his hand, which has been previously oiled, and bring forward 
the legs which are wanting. If this cannot easily be done, a veterinary 
surgeon will be necessary. When the hind legs alone are presented, it 
is only necessary to proceed in the usual way. In cases of difficulty, of 
malformation in the mother, of water in the head, or monstrosity in the 
calf, it is always best to call in a veterinary surgeon. 
Some parties have a practice of giving every cow a calving drink. 
We uniformly prefer, as we said, nature's medicine, the licking of the 
calf, to any and all others which can be given. If it has been a long and 
protracted labor, a drink of warm gruel will be useful. If the cow refuses 
to lick the calf, which heifers of their first calves will sometimes do, it is 
seldom necessary to do more than run the hand over the newly dropped 
calf, and then pass it across the mouth and lips of the mother. 
Abortion is a habit with some individual cows, and is often the result 
of the presence of blood, or bad smells, arising from putrid matter 
decaying near the cow-houses or yards ; and once introduced into a cow- 
house, it often so affects the imaginations of the rest, as to become 
epidemic. Let the cow and the remains of the calf be instantly removed 
from the rest, and kept alone and quiet. Chloride of lime should be 
plentifully sprinkled near the stall where she was, and the whole of the 
herd should have their noses besmeared with tar. 
Retention of the Placenta, or failing to cleanse, after calving, sometimes 
occurs ; and it requires great care to prevent its retention, when the 
expulsion docs not take place in a few hours after calving. It indicates 
weakness, and want of tone in the uterus. A mild stimulant may be 
given — nothing better than an infusion of chamomile flowers, say two 
handfuls in a quart of water, added to a quart of good boiled ale, and 
if necessary, an injection of soap-suds, to keep open the bowels and pre- 
vent inflammatory action. If it resists all efforts, and begins to putrefy, 
it will be necessary to consult a veterinary surgeon. 
