expel the afterbirth, and if this
remains hanging in a putrid condition it is most injurious to pregnant cows
in the near vicinity. So with retained afterbirth in other cows after
calving. That some cows kept in filthy stables or with slaughterhouses near
by may become inured to the odors and escape the evil results is no
disproof of the injurious effects so often seen in such cases.

The excitement, jarring, and jolting of a railroad journey often cause
abortion, especially as the cow nears the period of calving, and the terror
or injury of railway or other accidents proves incomparably worse.

All irritant poisons cause abortions by the disorder and inflammation of
the digestive organs, and if such agents act also on the kidneys or womb,
the effect is materially enhanced. Powerful purgatives or diuretics should
never be administered to the pregnant cow.

Among other causes of abortion must be named the death or the various
illnesses of the fetus, which are about as numerous as those of the adult;
the slipping of a young fetus through a loop in the navel string so as to
tie a knot which will tighten later and interrupt the flow of blood with
fatal effect, and the twisting of the navel string by the turning of the
fetus until little or no blood can flow through the contorted cord. There
is in addition a series of diseases of the mucous membrane of the womb, and
of the fetal membranes (inflammation, effusion of blood, detachment of the
membranes from the womb, fatty or other degenerations, etc.), which
interfere with the supply of blood to the fetus or change its quality so
that death is the natural result, followed by abortion.

_Treatment._--Although the first symptoms of abortion have appeared, it
does not follow that it will go on to completion. So long as the fetus has
not perished, if the waters have not been discharged, nor the water bags
presented, attempts should be made to check its progress. Every appreciable
and removable cause should be done away with, the cow should be placed in a
quiet stall alone, and agents given to check the excitement of the labor
pains. Laudanum in doses of 1 ounce for a small cow or 2 ounces for a large
one should be promptly administered, and repeated in three or four hours
should the labor pains recur. This may be kept up for days or even weeks if
necessary, though that is rarely required, as the trouble either subsides
or abortion occurs. If the laudanum seems to lack permanency