REPORTS OF CASES. 
99 
it a dose of castor oil, which had no effect. He then reported 
it to me, and also stated that the calf seemed to be crippled. 
In looking at the calf I observed that it had a curved spine, 
and further examination revealed that there was no rectal 
opening. 
I had the calf sent over to the veterinary hospital, and on 
February 2, 1891, examined it. An incision was made where 
the natural opening should be, but after perforating the skin 
no rectum was found, but a direct entrance into the abdomen. 
The intestines that lodged in the pelvic cavity apparently 
were the colon or ccecum. I tried hard to find the rectum, 
but did not succeed. On February 3d the calf, which was 
greatly emaciated, died. The post-mortem examination 
showed the following : 
On opening the abdomen an irregular situs of the intes¬ 
tines was first to be noticed. In removing the intestines I 
found the rectum near the liver, ending in a blind sack, 
curved and possessing a kind of nodule, resembling somewhat 
a cicatrix. After the removal of the intestines the curve of 
the spine to the left was very apparent, and the left kidney 
was very small and situated on top of the right kidney. The 
other organs were normal. The calf certainly could not have 
lived. , 
The practical conclusion that must be drawn from this 
ease is that the abnormalities which the calf presented were 
produced by external injuries. Critics may object and say 
that the skin and the membranes of the uterus are so thick 
that a cow’s horn cannot touch the foetus. This may be tiue 
as a rule, but by any one that had examined this case, to¬ 
gether with its history, no other conclusion could be leached 
than to ascribe the cause of the abnormalities of the calf to 
the blow which its mother received four months previous to 
the birth. 
I am not at all blindly devoted to dehorning cattle; on 
the contrary, being a lover of pure types and natuial forms, 
I have always maintained that it is a violation of the laws of 
ethics and aesthetics to disfigure a beautiful Jersey cow by 
dehorning. But the principles of ethics are often violated in 
