REPRODUCTION

73

every cow which does not conceive after the second or third
service at separate periods should receive expert attention.

Much might be done to prevent uterine infections. During
parturition in any handling required every attention should
be given to surgical cleanliness. In retention of the foetal
membranes after parturition the appropriate treatment should
be applied for their removal and the disinfection of the uterus.
The breeding animal should be kept under the best hygienic
conditions, and especially with a view to cleanliness, and
should be pastured as long as possible. Prior to service the
sheath and penis of the sire should be washed with an anti-

FIG. 33.—APPARATUS USED BY NIELSEN FOB STERILIZING INSTRUMENTS,
TOGETHER WITH CONTAINERS FOR ANTISEPTIC SOLUTIONS.
septic. At times contagious abortion in cattle is associated with
widespread sterility in a herd. This is not always the case.
Probably in a large proportion of such cases the condition is
due to secondary infection of the uterus by some accidental
organisms.
Artificial insemination is often practised in the mare. In
some cases it is useful to overcome some obstacle to successful
fecundation. It is of service where the os uteri is unusually
contracted, or is displaced, or the vagina ballooned, or very
small or ruptured, or there is inability to retain semen in the
vagina. Insemination consists in the artificial introduction of
the semen of the sire into the uterus of the mare for the pur-
pose of impregnating her. It is usually carried out in con-
junction with copulation, and always when the female is in a