ON ABORTION IN CATTLE. 
sional, such as wounds, blows, falls,—the fearful pressure on the 
uterus when the cow is hurried through a narrow passage or gate— 
the large size of the male relative to that of the female—hard work 
—sudden muscular efforts—long, rapid, and violent driving—heavy 
weights, and carelessly placed on those that are used as beasts of 
burden—the deficiency of work, or the want of it, or the excess of 
condition—frights—too cold drinks at certain periods of gestation— 
indigestion, attended by inflation of the paunch—colic—inflamma¬ 
tion, or a state of permanent excitation of the uterus—stimulating 
medicines, particularly those that have a special action on the womb, 
as rue and savine—in fine, every thing that can disturb the animal 
economy, or determine a sudden change in it, or impress a violent 
shock, or in any way compromise the safety of the foetus or inter¬ 
fere with the full and perfect connexion of the mother with it—may 
produce abortion. 
Reiterated copulation during the period of pregnancy will often 
cause the mare to abort, but has not this effect on the sow. 
Independent of these common and general causes, which are fol¬ 
lowed by abortion after a greater or smaller length of time, there 
are some which are peculiar to cows. Those that are excessively 
poor, or old, or phthisical—that have been over or under fed—or 
kept constantly in hot and moist dairy houses—or in places where 
the air is seldom renewed—or where the atmosphere is empoisoned 
by emanations arising from the transpiration of the animals, or the 
vapours from their dejections, and especially from dung-heaps that 
have been suffered to remain too long in these places—in such 
situations the cows and sheep are exceedingly liable to abortion. 
In many places cows are constantly kept in the house, and nothing 
is given to them during eight or nine months in the year but dry 
food, and that principally consisting of straw, and as much as they 
will eat of it—this kind of nourishment fills and distends the cae¬ 
cum, and causes it to occupy an unnatural space in the abdomen, 
pushes upon the uterus, and opposes the growth of the foetus. In 
addition to this, cows that are always kept on dry fodder void their 
excrement with difficulty—their faeces are hard and black, and only 
expelled by violent contractions of the abdominal muscles, and this 
still more annoys and injures the foetus, already enfeebled by the 
causes just stated. 
The cow which, during the greater part of the day, pastures in 
the field, or on the side of the road, is not so subject to abortion, 
for it respires a wholesome air, and is free from all the nuisances 
that have just been referred to. The cows that are out at pasture 
almost the whole of the year, if they are otherwise properly at¬ 
tended to rarelv abort, unless it is forgotten to drive them home 
VOL. XIIJ. \ z 
