VETERINARY OBSTETRICS. 
141 
to say all sorts of pleasing things of the veterinary surgeon, 
and, “on hospitable thoughts intent/ 5 places before him, 
ungrudgingly, an abundance of the best things her cupboard 
affords, to which, after his arduous task—if like me—he will 
do ample justice. 
I consider the removal of the legs by the knees to be worse 
than useless, as thereby the pasterns are lost as attachments for 
the cords, and no additional facilities are given for getting 
the head into position, which is the great desideratum. To 
remove the legs by the shoulder-blades is far better, but this 
is often easier said than done. I prefer persevering in the 
search after the head. 
To insert a hook at the back of the neck of the foal and 
apply force, you might pull the mare out of the stable, or tear 
the parts to which the hook was attached, but would never bring 
away the foal. So much pulling, when you find all resist¬ 
ance and no yielding, can be productive of nothing but 
injury. With the head in a proper position, you may still 
require a considerable amount of force to extract the foetus, 
but you will find a gradual yielding at nearly every pull which 
is made. 
I have not seen, or heard of any “instruments for dimi¬ 
nishing the capacity of the head.” There may be such. 
My great difficulty has always been in placing the head right, 
not in getting it through the pelvis. 
If the uterine action is so strong as to interfere with the 
manipulations of the operator, one to two ounces of Tinct. 
Opii may be administered. 
The saving of the parent is the great object, the foal, or 
calf, as the case may be, being, in a majority of cases, dead 
before delivery. I have, however, removed a calf, which 
lived and did well, by placing hooks in the orbits, and with¬ 
out doing much injury to the eyes, or anything further 
of an untoward kind taking place beyond a little inflammation 
of the surrounding tissues. If, as may occasionally be the 
case, the principal value is placed upon the foal, then the 
Caesarian operation might be resorted to. 
I am, &c. 
To the Editors of the ‘ Veterinarian / 
XXXIII. 
19 
