QUINTUPLE GESTATION IN THE COW. 285 
had got several twins in the locality. Its mother had actually 
reared twins—males—at the same time as this bull. 
The five calves just produced weighed about 37^1bs. each, 
and were lively and perfectly developed. They only lived 
eight days, however; for, either in consequence of having 
calved before its time, or through age, the mammae of the 
cow were dry; so they had to be put to another cow, whose 
milk disagreed with them, and they died of indigestion. 
Lessona saw in this case, beyond the multiple gestation, 
two interesting peculiarities. The first was the development of 
five foetuses of the same vigour and volume. He believed that 
two had occupied the same envelope, and another two another 
envelope, and that these were lodged in the right and left 
cornua of the uterus; while the fifth foetus had a whole 
placenta and occupied the body of the organ. The last should 
therefore have been larger, and have offered a serious obstacle 
to the development of the others, though in reality there 
was no difference between them. The second peculiarity, 
which is the most surprising, was the normal anterior pre¬ 
sentation of five foetuses at one birth; experience having 
demonstrated that, where there are more than two, they are 
nearly always in a bad position for delivery, or at any rate 
manifest a tendency to posterior presentation. 
With regard to the question so long discussed as to whether 
the male or female exercised most influence in these multiple 
conceptions in uniparous animals, Lessona did not think that 
his own observations were of any great value, as they had 
been made on animals breeding in a state of liberty, with 
which even twins are extremely rare; besides, he had lived 
in a country where it was customary to introduce several 
bulls into the same herd. It was therefore impossible to 
state, even approximately, which of these animals was the 
parent of twins. Nevertheless, the instances he had noted 
authorised him to assert, so far, that it is to the male that 
must be attributed the largest share in double conceptions; 
whether these were due to one or several copulations he 
could not affirm, though he was convinced that one might 
fecundate several ova. It would therefore appear that the 
aptitude to produce the impregnation of more than one ovum 
is due to the youth and good condition of the male, the 
female being by parity of circumstances in the same state. 
However this may be, it is evident that the cases of twin 
or multiple gestation in the females of the domesticated 
animals which are ordinarily uniparous, are so rare as to be 
only noted in a state of domesticity; the influence of food, 
shelter, and care increasing the procreative faculties. 
