RETENTIO SECUNDINARUM IN THE COW. 
91 
there is but little certainty either in the treatment or its 
results. 
Let us observe, however, that in our days, canker has become 
comparatively a rare disease, especially in cities, which, doubtless, 
is because of the cleanliness of the streets. In the beginning of 
this century, canker and grease—closely related diseases—were 
frequent in Paris ; then horses were obliged to travel through deep 
gutters of mud, while to-day these affections are exceptional oc¬ 
currences (H. Bouley). The same thing has been observed by 
Percival in England. When hygienic precautions were not as 
well understood as they are to-day, in establishments employing 
large numbers of horses, when the stables of mail and stage 
coaches, and even those of military garrisons, were small, ill-ven¬ 
tilated an d dirty, among horses standing in filth and soiled 
manure, these affections were relatively common ; with hygienic 
improvements, they have almost disappeared. In the army, can¬ 
ker was the cause of considerable annual losses, almost as serious 
as those from glanders; to-day it is rare and almost unknown. 
Improvements in the different breeds of horses, either by 
better choice of reproducers, or by changes in the mode of feed¬ 
ing, resulting from the progress of agricultural processes, the sup¬ 
pression of common pastures, etc., etc., have contributed to render 
the disease less common. 
{To be continued .) 
RETENTIO SECUNDINARUM IN THE COW. 
By Dr. N. H. Paaren. 
In cattle practice, the veterinarian is not unfrequently called 
upon to attend to irregularities in the expulsion of the afterbirth. 
Depending upon the cause of the retention, its removal may be 
effected with or without manual assistance. In our own practice 
we have found, that in almost two-thirds of the cases, the removal 
of the afterbirth was effected by internal treatment alone. 
Ordinarily, soon after the cow has calved, the so-called after- 
