a 
ABORTION. 
my will regard them as unnecessary to the re- 
munerative working of his dairy. 
The abortion of the cow takes place at various 
stages of pregnancy, from the half of the usual 
period of gestation to the end of the sixth, and 
even the end of the seventh month. The symp- 
toms of its approach bear some resemblance to 
the indications of approaching parturition; but 
as they are often much feebler than these, and 
are usually not expected, and sometimes occur 
only under the observation of the cow-herd or 
‘other parties who may be implicated in causing 
them, they are exceedingly liable to escape the 
notice of the proprietor till they have become 
greatly aggravated, and gone quite beyond the 
reach of remedy. In its earlier stages, the cow 
loses appetite, ceases rumination, becomes dull 
and oppressed, suffers a slight enlargement of 
the abdomen, staggers a little in her walk, pro- 
longs the periods of reclining, and stands a com- 
_ paratively long time motionless after rising ; and 
in its later stages, she loses the natural round- 
ness of the abdomen, begins to express pain by 
moaning, exhibits a small, wiry, and intermit- 
tent pulse, shows laboriousness and slight con- 
vulsiveness of breathing, and discharges a yellow 
or red glairy fluid from the vagina. The last of 
these symptoms is almost always decisive. But 
in certain cases, particularly when the abortion 
is caused by violence or extreme fatigue, the 
| animal evinces such severity of suffering as can- 
not be mistaken,—she ceases not only to rumi- 
nate but to eat, paws the ground, rests her head 
on the manger while she is standing or on her 
flank when she is lying, suffers either uterine 
hemorrhage or a spasmodic contraction of the 
uterus, and endures a succession of very violent 
throes for the expulsion of the foetus. 
The calf or foetus, in the majority of cases, is 
expelled dead or putrid ; and in other cases is so 
imperfect and feeble, that it very rarely lives. 
When an oc¢asional case does occur of the expul- 
sion of a well-formed living foetus, or of delivery 
at a comparatively advanced stage of pregnancy, 
a doubt might probably arise as to whether it is 
properly an abortion or a parturition ; for so 
considerable a variation exists in the actual pe- 
riod of healthy gestation among cows, that M. 
Tessier observed, in 1,131 instances, a minimum 
of 240 days, a maximum of 321 days, and a con- 
sequent extreme difference of no less than 81 
days. The effects of abortion upon the cow, 
even in their mildest form, but especially in bad 
cases, are often very serious, When the foetus 
has been several days dead, and the uterus ex- 
periences considerable spasmodic action, and the 
labour is difficult, prolonged, and very painful, 
the cow is much more exhausted than in natural 
parturition,—she acquires little or no appetite, 
and yields no milk,—she appears feeble, wasted, 
and as if shrivelling into meagreness of bulk,— 
she probably contracts some internal chronic 
disorder, or the elements of consumption;—and 
she either drops away into death, or recovers 
with slowness and difficulty. Even when the 
abortion is of mild form, and entails no seemingly 
disastrous consequences, the cow loses much of 
her strength and character as a breeder,—she 
will almost certainly not become pregnant on the 
next occasion of being in season,—she may ac- 
quire a kind of nymphomania, and become a nui- 
sance among a herd,—and, as already stated, 
when she does again become pregnant, she is al- 
most certain to have another abortion. Some 
persons assert, indeed, that the enfeeblement 
of the system is only temporary,—that each 
succeeding abortion occurs at a later and later 
period of gestation,—and that inthe course 
of three or four years, the cow, if properly treat- | 
ed, will overcome her habit of abortion, and be- | 
come a tolerably safe breeder. But no farmer, 
who has a due regard to his own interest, will 
keep an unprofitable animal for so long a period 
upon his premises; nor, for the sake of remote 
and contingent good, will he incur the serious 
hazard of spreading the abortive disorder among | 
the rest of his breeding stock. The aborted cow, 
whenever she begins to recover, ought to be fat- 
tened and sold; and in any case in which there 
is an unconquerable reluctance to part with her, 
she ought, at all events, to be kept separate from 
her companions for at least two months, and if 
possible for ever. 
If abortion be suspected, and the earlier symp- 
toms of it be observed, the evil may, in many 
cases, be averted. A cow which seems to be 
menaced with it ought to be instantly removed 
from the field to a comfortable shed or cow-house, | 
away from the other cattle. Ifthe fluid she dis- 
charges be only glairy but not offensively smelled, 
and especially if any motion of the foetus can be 
observed, the threatened abortion may possibly 
be averted. “The farmer,” says Mr. Youatt, 
“should hasten to bleed her, and that copiously, 
in proportion to her age, size, and condition, and 
the state of excitation in which he may find her; 
and he should give a dose of physic immediately 
after the bleeding. The physic beginning to | 
operate, he should administer half a drachm of 
opium and half an ounce of sweet spirit of nitre. 
Unless she is in a state of great debility, he 
should avoid above all things ‘the comfortable 
drink,’ which some persons so strangely recom- 
mend, and which the cowleech would be almost 
sure to administer. He should allow nothing 
but gruel, and he should keep his patient as 
quiet as he can.” The quantity of blood proper 
to be drawn from a cow in good condition may 
probably be five or six quarts; and the dose of 
‘physic suitable after bleeding may be either half 
a pound of Epsom salts, or three or four drachms 
of powdered aloes, or three or four ounces of 
castor oil, administered in a quart of gruel. But 
should the animal be in very poor condition, and 
her bad symptoms have been induced by expo- 
sure to cold, bleeding ought to be dispensed with, 
a 
