12 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXI, No. i 
rectum, therefore, is to be preferred to the vagina as a place for inserting 
the thermometer. 
A fall in temperature invariably follows the drjnking of water. This 
fall varies with the quantity of water drunk. Consequently, the first 
two or three hours after watering do not afford a good time for compara¬ 
tive determinations of body temperature. 
After the body has overcome the effect of the water, the temperature 
appears quite uniform for about three hours, after which there is a gradual 
Tr. 
A%S 
/ o/.o 
fOO.6 
/oao 
99S 
7 
; ■ m \— 
^4 
1 \ 
\\ 
—\\ 
\ 
1 
i 
— , «- 
% 
\ 
_ 
\ 
?'3Q &\30 &30 /0-W3O //*?q (2:30 A 30 2*90 3:30 ?:30 &3Q, 
Fig. io— Variations in body temperature of cow 885 on December 5, 1919, 7.57 a. m. to 5.30 p. m. At 7.57 
a. m. immediately after defecating, standing; 8.10 a. m. drank 23 kgm. at 54° F.; 8.45 a. m. immediately 
after defecating; 9.30 a. m. lying; 10.42 a. m. immediately after defecating, standing; 5 p. m. to 5.30 
p. m. eating; 5.30 p. m. immediately after defecating. 
rise which reaches its maximum at about 5.30 p. m. The accelerated 
rise, however, from 5 p. m. to 5.30 p. m. may be due to the eating. 
Since the exact time when the animal changed its position was not 
recorded during these observations, no definite conclusions can be drawn 
as to what effect the position of the animal has on the body temperature. 
The act of defecation did not produce any noticeable effect. 
The highest rectal temperature obtained during this series of observa¬ 
tions was 102.4 0 F. at 5.30 p. m. (fig. 7). The lowest rectal temperature 
was 100.2 0 at 10.12 a. m. (fig. 6). The highest vaginal temperature 
obtained was 102° at 2.57 p. m., 5.20 p. m. (fig. 2), and 5.24 p. m. (fig. 5), 
while the lowest was 99.9 0 at 8.56 a. m. (fig. 10). 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE THERMAE GRADIENT 
Recent investigations on the body temperature of man 1 and other 
animals 2 show that variations in body temperature depend to a very 
great extent on the depth to which the thermometer is inserted, and that 
1 Benedict, Francis G., and Slack, Edgar P. a comparative study of temperature fluctuations 
ington Pub NT i 5 P S A ? TS ° F HUMAN BODY * V ’ 73 Pm illus ‘ Washin g ton . D - C., 1911. (Carnegie Inst. Wash- 
5 EipschDtz, Alexander Uber die abhangigkeit der kOrpertemperatur von der pupertats- 
DRUSE. In Arch. Gesam. Physiol., Bd. 168, Heft 1/4, p. 177-192, 1 fig. 1917. 
