310 
VETERINARY OBSTETRICS, 
the profession, though the conclusions to be arrived at, from the several 
cases published, have not been fairly or satisfactorily stated. My part in 
the discussion has hitherto been very trifling, and simply because it appeared 
in its first aspect in that in which a professional man was attacked by his 
brethren, who dared not to confront him, and used an instrument, in the 
shape of a non-professional person, incapable of judging at all on the ques¬ 
tion at issue, in order, if possible, to shake his position as a practitioner. It 
is true that, in the second stage, a veterinary surgeon entered the arena, but 
equally in false colours; and it would have been as foolish in my position to 
discuss with him as with the working man whose name served the purpose 
of my foes. Some may fancy that I am placing the matter in a different light 
to the correct one. I am prepared to defend my position by most substan¬ 
tial testimony, and a few present might give me good assistance. 
“But let us turn at once to the profitable view of the whole matter, and 
I have, in the first place, to relate the case hitherto misrepresented. 
“ On the 23d of April last, a little after 5 p.m., as I arrived at the Burn¬ 
tisland Station, on my way from Kirkcaldy to Edinburgh, I was met by 
Andrew Galley, blacksmith, Kirkton, who sought my assistance in the case 
of a bay cart-mare, six years old, which had been in labour at least since 
noou. Calley stated to me that attempts had been made to deliver the mare, 
and they found the head pushed back, with the fore legs protruding; that 
though they felt the head, they could not withdraw it, and they were 
anxious to see some means tried to save the mare. I at once stated that, 
from my experience of such cases, in the absence of instruments, and consi¬ 
dering the length of time the womb had been violently contracting on a foetus 
with head and neck displaced, the chances of success were infinitesimally 
small, but that he should make as speedily as possible a pair of hooks. With 
these we proceeded to Rossend Castle, where I found the mare, as usual in 
such cases, surrounded by many individuals eager to watch her fate, and to 
assist, if possible. That they had not been inactive, was proved by the marc 
lying on her side, with the fore legs of the foetus protruding as far up as 
the middle of the arm. The throes were violent, the mare in great pain, 
sweating, with full-bouuding pulse, bloodshot eyes, and anxious coun¬ 
tenance. 
“ I caused the mare to rise, and the limbs of the foetus dropped back into 
the vagina, but only as far as the knees. The vulva was swollen, cold, and 
the vagina red, and, as usual, irritated by the explorations already made and 
the irritant discharges. I pushed steadily on the legs, and sought assist¬ 
ance in this operation, having previously placed a small rope on each fetlock, 
should I require to push the limbs into the womb again. I introduced my 
arm with very considerable difficulty, and felt the sternum and the root of 
the neck. The head had been pushed far back to the right side, but this I 
could only ascertain by the direction of the last cervical vertebra}. The 
hooks that had been made could not be fixed through the skin, and repeated 
attempts were made by me to obtain a hold. I requested Calley to lengthen 
the handle to them, and made cautious but unsuccessful efforts to transfix 
the tissues, as far forward as I could, but all in vain. The uterine con¬ 
tractions were so violent, that the foetus could not be moved, and not only 
my hand, but my arm also, were so firmly compressed as to render all 
successful manipulation impracticable. I decided on attempting to obtain 
space by removing the fore limbs which had all along served, but without 
avail, as means of pushing back the foetus. I adopted the well-known plan 
to effect this, and divided the skin on the inside of either limb, separating it 
from the subjoining tissue as far as I could reach, and from the foetus being 
turned back, and having no instrument to assist me, 1 could not detach the 
skin beyond the shoulder. Having attached ropes to the fetlock, each limb 
