312 
VETERINARY OBSTETRICS. 
imbs were removed, the sternum severed from its connexions, the thoracic 
and abdominal viscera pulled out, the neck amputated, the vertebral 
column and ribs cut off in portions, and at last the hind legs drawn out. 
T he whole operation took nearly two hours. The vagina and womb were 
well washed out, and the mare supported by stimulants, but in vain; she 
Sunk in the middle of the succeeding night. 
“There have been many cases recorded in the annals of our science for 
the last century, in which veterinary surgeons have been perfectly suc¬ 
cessful in delivering mares when the presentation was similar to that I had 
to overcome. In all, the same plan of pushing back the foetus by the limbs, 
and drawing in the head which is within reach, so as to be tied, hooked, or 
grasped, have been adopted; and when Mr. Balfour and others write as if 
they gave evidence of great ingenuity by adopting this very ancient plan, 
they were only trusting to the ignorance of the uninformed for praise, 
which they certainly are not entitled to, and cannot obtain from pro¬ 
fessional men. 
“ My experience, borne out by that of many more, is that, by the use ot 
judicious means early, and by that I mean within the first hour or two of 
labour, many cases of malpresentation in the mare are overcome, but in 
protracted cases the difficulties are incomparably greater than in any other 
domestic animals, and embryotomy alone can be relied on. I shall have 
occasion to say more regarding this operation, meanwhile I may be permitted 
to refer to letters I have received from practical veterinarians, whose expe¬ 
rience has been great with this particular class of cases. 
“ The person that has contributed most to our knowledge in Great Britain, 
on questions of veterinary obstetrics, has been that once constaut con¬ 
tributor to the Veterinarian , Mr. W. A. Cartwright, of Whitchurch, Salop. 
I have not the pleasure of Mr. Cartwright’s personal acquaintance, and 
am indebted to him for his valuable letter, from which I extract the 
following: 
“ ‘My experience, after thirty-five years’ practice, has taught me that, when 
the head lies back in the position you mention, it is one of the most difficult 
positions we have to deal with, and I can call to mind that I have lost at 
least a dozen cows in getting the calves away in such a position, and in a 
case or two (when I was a younger hand) I have actually not been able to 
extract the calf, and had the cows destroved. 
“ ‘ I cannot say that I ever lost a mare from the foal being in this position, 
but I candidly admit that I have been fortunate enough not to meet with 
many of these presentations. 
“ ‘ A case of the kind occurred last year to a veterinary surgeon in this 
neighbourhood. It was a cart-mare, with the foal presenting by one fore 
leg, the head and other fore leg lying back. The leg was got up and 
cut away, but after many ineffectual attempts to get the head up, the 
foal was pulled away by one leg, the head being on its side. The marc 
died. 
“ ‘ Such a position of the foetus in the cow is common, and even in her 
difficult enough, but there is a wide difference between a cow and a marc. 
In the latter the pains come on suddenly, are most violent, and repeated 
quickly. I perfectly recollect a case in a mare, where I had to put hobbles 
on, and pull the fore legs of the foal away, and cut all the ribs off one by 
one, before I could get at the head, and was obliged to pull the foetus out 
backwards. The mare did well. 
“ ‘ The obstacles to reaching the head are the length of a foal’s neck, and 
the excessive straining of the mare. We must also consider the great dis¬ 
tance to the fundus of the uterus in the large blood- or cart-mare. No 
person tan reach the head in many cases, and the only method left is 
