noticeable and injurious. It may be excited by the stimulating quality of
the blood in cows fed to excess on highly nitrogenous feed, as the seeds of
the bean, pea, vetch, and tare, and as wheat bran, middlings, cotton seed,
gluten meal, etc., especially in the case of such as have no free exercise
in the fields, and are subject to constant association with a vigorous
young bull. A more frequent cause is the excitation or congestion of some
part of the genital organs. Disease of the ovaries is preeminently the
cause, and this may be by the formation of cysts (sacs containing liquid)
or of solid tumors or degenerations, or, more commonly than all, the
formation of tubercle. Indeed, in case of tuberculosis attacking the
abdominal organs of cows, the ovaries or the serous membranes that support
and cover them (the broad ligaments of the womb) are peculiarly subject to
attack, and the animal has constant sexual excitement, incessantly riding
or being ridden by other cattle, having no leisure to eat or chew the cud,
but moving restlessly, wearing the flesh off its bones, and gradually
wasting. In some localities these cows are known as "bullers," because they
are nearly always disposed to take the bull, but they do not conceive, or,
if they do, they are subject to early abortions. They are, therefore,
useless alike for the dairy and for the feeder, unless the removal of the
ovaries subdues the sexual excitement, when, in the absence of tuberculous
disease elsewhere, they may be fattened for the butcher.
Among the other sources of irritation charged with causing nymphomania are
tumors and cancers of the womb, rigid closure of the neck of the womb so
that conception can not occur and the frequent services by the male which
stimulate the unsatisfied appetite, inflammation, and a purulent discharge
from the womb or vagina.
_Treatment._--The treatment in each case will vary with the cause and is
most satisfactory when that cause is a removable one. Overfeeding on richly
nitrogenous feed can be stopped, exercise in the open field given, diseased
ovaries may be removed (see "Castration," p. 299), catarrhs of the womb and
passages overcome by antiseptic, astringent injections (see "Leucorrhea,"
p. 224), and tumors of the womb may often be detached and extracted, the
mouth of that organ having been first dilated by sponge tents or otherwise.
The rubber dilator (impregnator), sometimes helpful in the mare, is rarely
available for the cow, owing to the different condition of the mouth of the
womb.
DIMINUTION OR LOSS OF VENEREAL DESIRE (ANAPHRODISIA).
This occurs in either sex from low condition and ill health. Longstanding,
chronic diseases of important internal organs, leading to emaciation and
weakness, or a prolonged semistarvation in winter may be sufficient cause.
It is, however, much more common as the result of degeneration or extensive
and destructive disease of the secreting organs (testicles, ovaries) which
elaborate the male and female sexual products, respectively. Such diseases
are, therefore, a common cause of sterility in both sexes. The old bull,
fat and lazy, becomes sluggish and unreliable in serving, and finally gets
to be useless for breeding purposes. This is not attributable to his weight
and clumsiness alone, but largely to the fatty degeneration of his
testicles and their excretory ducts, which prevents the due formation and
maturation of the semen. If he has been kept in extra high condition for
exhibition in the show ring, this disqualification comes upon him sooner
and becomes more irremediable.
Similarly the overfed, inactive cow, and above all the show cow, fails to
come in heat at the usual times, shows little disposition to take the bull,
and fails to conceive when served. Her trouble is the same in kind, namely,
fatty degeneration of the ovaries and of their excretory ducts (Fallopian
tubes), which prevents the formation or maturation of the ovum or, when it
has formed, hinders its passage into the womb. Another common defect in
such old, fat cows is a rigid closure of the mouth of the womb, which
prevents conception, even if the ovum reaches the interior of that organ
and even if the semen is discharged into the vagina.
_Preventive._--The true preventive of such conditions is to be found in a
sound hygiene. The breeding animal should be of adult age, neither overfed
nor underfed, but well fed and moderately exercised; in other words, the
most vigorous health should be sought, not only that a strong race may be
propagated, but that the whole herd, or nearly so, may breed with
certainty. Fleming gives 79 per cent as the general average of cows that
are found to breed in one year. Here more than a fifth of the progeny is
sacrificed and a fifth of the product of the dairy. With careful management
the proportion of breeders should approach 100 per cent. The various local
and general obstacles to conception should be carefully investigated and
removed. The vigorous health which comes from a sufficiently liberal diet
and abundant exercise should be solicited, and the comparative
bloodlessness and weakness which advance with undue fattening should be
sedulously avoided. In bull or cow which is becoming unduly fat and showing
indications of sexual indifference, the treatment must be active. Turning
out on a short pasture where it must work hard for a living will often
suffice. The bull which can not be turned out to pasture may sometimes be
utilized in the yoke or tread power, or he may be kept a part of his time
in a field or paddock chained by the ring in his nose to a strong wire
extending from one side of the lot to the other and attached securely to
two trees or posts. The wire should be higher than the back of the bull,
which will move frequently from end to end. If he is indisposed to take
sufficient exercise in this way he may be safely driven. An instance of the
value of the exercise in these incipient cases of fatty degeneration is
often quoted. The cow Dodona, condemned as barren at Earl Spencer's, was
sold cheap to Jonas Webb, who had her driven by a road a distance of 120
miles to his farm at Wilbraham, soon after which she became pregnant. In
advanced cases, however, in which the fatty degeneration is complete,
recovery is impossible.
In case of rigid closure of the mouth of the womb the only resort is
dilatation. This is far more difficult and uncertain in the cow than in the
mare. The neck of the womb is longer, is often tortuous in its course, and
its walls so approximated to each other and so rigid that it may be all but
impossible to follow it, and there is always danger of perforating its
walls and opening into the cavity of the abdomen, or, short of that, of
causing inflammation and a new, rigid, fibrous formation which on healing
leaves matters worse than before. The opening must be carefully made with
the finger, and when that has entered the womb further dilatation may be
effected by inserting a sponge tent or by careful stretching with a
mechanical dilator. (Pl. XX, fig. 6.)
STERILITY FROM OTHER CAUSES.
The questions as to whether a bull is a sure stock getter and whether a cow
is a breeder are so important that it would be wrong to pass over other
prominent causes of sterility. Breeding at too early an age is a common
source of increasing weakness of constitution which has existed in certain
breeds. Jerseys have especially been made the victims of this mistake, the
object being to establish the highest milking powers in the smallest
obtainable body which will demand the least material and outlay for its
constant repair of waste. With success in this line there has been the
counterbalancing disadvantage of impaired vigor, with too often lessened
fertility as well as increased predisposition to disease. When the heifers
of the race have for generation after generation been bred under a year
old, the demand for the nourishment of the fetus is too great a drain on
the immature animal, which accordingly remains small and stunted. As it
fails to develop in size, so every organ fails to be nourished to
perfection. Similarly with the immature bull put to too many cows; he fails
to develop his full size, vigor, or stamina, and transfers his acquired
weakness to his progeny. An increasing number of barren females and an
increasing proclivity to abortions are the necessary results of both
courses. When this early breeding has occurred accidentally it is well to
dry up the dam just after calving, and to avoid having her served again
until full grown.
Some highly fed and plethoric females seem to escape conception by the very
intensity of the generative ardor. The frequent passage of urine,
accompanied by contractions of the womb and vagina and a profuse secretion
from their surfaces, leads to the expulsion of the semen after it has been
lodged in the genital passages. This may be remedied somewhat by giving
1-1/2 pounds of Epsom salt a day or two before she comes in heat, and
subjecting her at the same time to a spare diet. Should the excessive ardor
of the cow not be controllable in this way, she may be shut up for a day or
two, until the heat is passing off, when under the lessened excitement the
semen is more likely to be retained.
The various diseases of the ovaries, their tubes, the womb, the testicles
and their excretory ducts, as referred to under "Excess of venereal
desire," are causes of barrenness. In this connection it may be said that
the discharges consequent on calving are fatal to the vitality of semen
introduced before these have ceased to flow; hence service too soon after
calving, or that of a cow which has had the womb or genital passages
injured so as to keep up a mucopurulent flow until the animal comes in
heat, is liable to fail of conception. Any such discharge should be first
arrested by repeated injections as for leucorrhea, after which the male may
be admitted.
Feeding on a very saccharine diet, which greatly favors the deposition of
fat, seems to have an even more direct effect in preventing conception
during such regimen. Among other causes of barrenness are all those that
favor abortion, ergoted grasses, smutty wheat or corn, laxative or diuretic
drinking water, and any improper or musty feed that causes indigestions,
colics, and diseases of the urinary organs, notably gravel; also savin,
rue, cantharides, and all other irritants of the bowels or kidneys.
Hermaphrodites are barren, of course, as their sexual organs are not
distinctively either male or female. The heifer born as a twin with a bull
is usually hermaphrodite and barren, but the animals of either sex in which
development of the organs is arrested before they are fully matured remain
as in the male or female prior to puberty, and are barren. Bulls with both
testicles retained within the abdomen may go through the form of serving a
cow, but the service is unfruitful; the spermatozoa are not fully
elaborated. So I have examined a heifer with a properly formed but very
small womb and an extremely narrow vagina and vulva, the walls of which
were very muscular, that could never be made to conceive. A post-mortem
examination would probably have disclosed an imperfectly formed ovary
incapable of bringing ova to maturity.
A bull and cow that have been too closely inbred in the same line for
generations may prove sexually incompatible and unable to generate
together, though both are abundantly prolific when coupled with animals of
other strains.
Finally, a bull may prove unable to get stock, not from any lack of sexual
development, but from disease of other organs (back, loins, hind limbs),
which renders him unable to mount with the energy requisite to the perfect
service.
CONGESTION AND INFLAMMATION OF THE TESTICLES (ORCHITIS).
This visually results from blows or other direct injuries, but may be the
result of excessive service or of the formation of some new growth (tumor)
in the gland tissue. The bull moves stiffly, with straddling gait, and the
right or left half of the scrotum in which the affected testicle lies is
swollen, red, and tender, and the gland is drawn up within the sac and
dropped again at frequent intervals. It may be treated by rest; by 1-1/2
pounds Epsom salt given in 4 quarts of water; by a restricted diet of some
succulent feed; by continued fomentations with warm water by means of
sponges or rags sustained by a sling passed around the loins and back
between the hind legs. The pain may be allayed by smearing with a solution
of opium or of extract of belladonna. Should a soft point appear,
indicating the formation of matter, it may be opened with a sharp lancet
and the wound treated daily with a solution of a teaspoonful of carbolic
acid in a half pint of water. Usually, however, when the inflammation has
proceeded to this extent, the gland will be ruined for purposes of
procreation and must be cut out. (See "Castration," p. 299.)
INFLAMMATION OF THE SHEATH.
While this may occur in bulls from infection during copulation and from
bruises, blows, and other mechanical injuries, the condition is more common
in the ox in connection with the comparative inactivity of the parts. The
sheath has a very small external opening, the mucous membrane of which is
studded with sebaceous glands secreting a thick, unctuous matter of a
strong, heavy odor. Behind this orifice is a distinct pouch, in which this
unctuous matter is liable to accumulate when the penis is habitually drawn
back. Moreover, the sheath has two muscles (protractors) which lengthen it,
passing into it from the region of the navel, and two (retractors) that
shorten it, passing into it from the lower surface of the pelvic bones
above. (Pl. IX, fig. 2.) The protractors keep the sheath stretched, so that
it habitually covers the penis, while the retractors shorten it up in the
act of service, so that the penis can project to its full extent. In stud
bulls the frequent protrusion of the erect and enlarged penis and the
retraction and dilation of the opening of the sheath serve to empty the
pouch and prevent any accumulation of sebaceous matter or urine. In the ox,
on the other hand, the undeveloped and inactive penis is usually drawn back
so as to leave the anterior preputial pouch empty, so that the sebaceous
matter has space to accumulate and is never expelled by the active
retraction of the sheath and protrusion of the erect penis in service.
Again, the ox rarely protrudes the tip of the penis in urination, the urine
is discharged into the preputial pouch and lodges and decomposes there, so
that there is a great liability to the precipitation of its earthy salts in
the form of gravel. The decomposing ammoniacal urine, the gritty crystals
precipitated from it, and the fetid, rancid, sebaceous matter set up
inflammation in the delicate mucous membrane lining the passage. The
membrane is thickened, reddened, rendered friable, and ultimately
ulcerated, and the now narrowed sheath is blocked by the increasing mass of
sebaceous and urinous material and the decomposing mucus and pus. The penis
can no longer be protruded, the urine escapes in a small stream through the
narrowing sheath, and finally the outlet is completely blocked and the
urine distends the back part of the sheath. This will fluctuate on being
handled, and soon the unhealthy inflammation extends on each side of it,
causing a thick, doughy, tender swelling under the belly and between the
thighs. The next step in the morbid course is overdistention of the
bladder, with the occurrence of colicky pains, looking at the flanks,
uneasy movements of the hind limbs, raising or twisting of the tail,
pulsatory contractions of the urethra under the anus, and finally a false
appearance of relief, which is caused by rupture of the bladder. Before
rupture takes place the distended bladder may press on the rectum and
obstruct the passage of the bowel dejections. Two mistakes are therefore
probable--first, that the bowels alone are to be relieved, and, second,
that the trouble is obstruction of the urethra by a stone. Hence the need
of examining the sheath and pushing the finger into its opening to see that
there is no obstruction there, in all cases of retention of urine,
overdistended bladder, or blocked rectum in the ox. The disease may be
acute or chronic--the first by reason of acute, adhesive inflammation
blocking the outlet, the second by gradual thickening and ulceration of the
sheath and blocking by the sebaceous and calculous accretion.
_Treatment._--The treatment of this affection depends on the stage. If
recent and without instant danger of rupture of the bladder, the narrow
opening of the sheath should be freely cut open in the median line below,
and the sac emptied out with a finger or spoon, after which it should be
thoroughly washed with tepid water. To make the cleansing more thorough a
catheter or a small, rubber tube may be inserted well back into the sheath,
and water may be forced through it from a syringe or a funnel inserted into
the other end of the tube and considerably elevated. A fountain syringe,
which should be in every house, answers admirably. The sheath may be daily
washed out with tepid water, with a suds made with Castile soap, or with a
weak solution of sulphate of zinc (one-half dram to a quart of water). If
these attentions are impossible, most cases, after cleansing, will do well
if merely driven through clean water up to the belly once a day.
In case the disease has progressed to absolute obstruction, with the
bladder ready to rupture any moment, no time must be lost in opening into
the urethra with a sharp knife over the bony arch under the anus, where the
pulsations are seen in urinating. This incision is best made in the median
line from above downward, but in the absence of a skillful operator a
transverse incision with a sharp knife over the bone in the median line
until the urine flows with a gush is better than to let the patient die.
Considerable blood will be lost and the wound will heal tardily, but the ox
will be preserved. Then the slitting and cleansing of the sheath can be
done at leisure, as described above. If the bladder is ruptured, the case
is hopeless.
INFLAMMATION OF THE SHEATH AND PENIS FROM BRUISING.
This also is an affection of work oxen, caused by the pressure and friction
of the sling when the animals are held in stocks for shoeing. This crushing
of both sheath and penis for half an hour or more leads to the development,
some hours later, of a hard, hot, and painful swelling, extending from the
scrotum as far as the opening of the sheath. Fever sets in, with dry
muzzle, red eyes, hard, full, rapid pulse, accelerated breathing, and
elevated temperature. The ox stands obstinately with his hind legs drawn
apart and urine falling drop by drop from the sheath. Appetite and
rumination are suspended. In twenty-four hours there may be indications of
advancing gangrene (mortification), the swelling becomes cold, soft, and
doughy; it may even crack slightly from the presence of gas; a reddish
brown, fetid liquid oozes from the swelling, especially around the edges,
and if the animal survives it is only with a great loss of substance of the
sheath and penis.
_Prevention._--The prevention of such an injury is easy. It is only
necessary to see that the slings do not press upon the posterior part of
the abdomen. They must be kept in front of the sheath.
_Treatment._--Treatment, to be effective, must be prompt and judicious. Put
around the patient a strap with soft pads in contact with the affected
parts, constantly soaked in cold water for at least 24 hours. A pound or
two of Epsom salt in 4 quarts of hot water should also be given. The second
day the parts may be washed with 1 quart of witch-hazel (extract), 2 drams
sugar of lead, and 1 ounce laudanum, or the cold-water irrigations may be
continued if the active inflammation persists. In case the swelling
continues hard and resistant, it may be pricked at the most prominent
points to the depth of one-third of an inch with a lancet first dipped in
dilute carbolic acid, and the whole surface should be washed frequently
with some antiseptic solution.
When softening occurs in the center of a hard mass and fluctuation can be
felt between two fingers pressed on different parts of such softening, it
should be freely opened to let out the putrid pus, and the cavity should be
syringed often with antiseptic solution.
In bad cases extensive sloughs of dead skin, of the whole wall of the
sheath, and even of the penis, may take place, which will require careful
antiseptic treatment. The soaking of the urine into the inflamed and
softened tissue and the setting up of putrefactive action not only endanger
great destruction of the tissues from putrid inflammation, but even
threaten life itself from a general blood poisoning (septicemia). Every
case should have skillful treatment to meet its various phases, but in the
severe ones this is most urgently demanded.
INFLAMMATION OF THE URETHRA.
Like other males, the bull sometimes suffers from inflammation of the canal
which conveys the urine through the penis, and a whitish mucopurulent
discharge forms in consequence. It may have originated in gravel, the
excitement of too frequent service, infection from a cow with leucorrhea,
or from extension of inflammation from the sheath. Besides the oozing of
the whitish liquid from the end of the penis and sheath, there is
tenderness and pain when handled, and while there is no actual arrest of
the urine, its flow is subject to frequent voluntary checks, as the
scalding liquid irritates the tender surface.
_Treatment._--If recognized before the discharge sets in, a dose of 1-1/2
pounds of Epsom salt and local, warm fomentations would be appropriate.
After the onset of the whitish discharge a daily injection of a solution of
20 grains of permanganate of potassium in a pint of water into the penis
will be beneficial.
WARTS AND PAPILLARY GROWTHS ON THE PENIS.
These are not frequent in bull or ox. They may interfere with the
protrusion of the organ from its sheath or with service, and always give
rise to a bad-smelling discharge.
_Treatment._--They may be twisted off with a pair of small tweezers or cut
off with a pair of scissors, and the seat burned with a pencil of lunar
caustic. To get hold of the penis in the bull, bring him up to a cow. In
the ox it will be necessary to push it out by manipulation through the
sheath. In difficult cases the narrow opening of the sheath may be slit
open.
WOUNDS OF THE PENIS.
The most common wounds are those sustained by blows of horns, sticks, etc.
The blood vessels and sacs are ruptured to a greater or less extent and
considerable swellings filled with coagulated blood and inflammatory
products occur, leading to distortion of the organ, and it may be to the
impossibility of protruding it.
_Treatment._--A lotion of a dram of alum in a quart of water may be applied
(injected into the sheath, if necessary), and a large sponge constantly
irrigated by a stream of cold water may be kept applied by means of a
surcingle to the outer side of the sheath. Incisions are rarely applicable
to an organ of this kind, but in case of the existence of an extensive clot
which is unlikely to be absorbed the lancet may be resorted to. If the
injury leads to paralysis of the penis and hanging out of its sheath, it
should be supported in a sling and astringents used freely until
inflammation subsides. Then the restoration of power may be sought by a
blister between the thighs, by the use of electricity, or by the careful
use of nerve stimulants, such as strychnin, 1 grain twice daily.
ULCERS ON THE PENIS.
Sores on the penis of the bull may result from gravel or sebaceous masses
in the sheath or from having served a cow having leucorrhea.
_Treatment._--These may be treated by frequent injections into the sheath
of a lotion made with 1 dram sugar of lead, 60 drops carbolic acid, and 1
quart water.
POLYPUS OF THE VAGINA OR UTERUS.
A polypus is a tumor growing from the mucous membrane, and often connected
to it by a narrow neck. A definite cause can not always be assigned. If
growing in the vagina, a polypus may project as a reddish, rounded tumor
from the vulva, especially during the act of passing water. It can be
distinguished from descent of the womb by the absence of the orifice of
that cavity, which can be felt by the oiled hand beyond the tumor in the
depth of the vagina. From a vaginal hernia caused by the protrusion of some
abdominal organ enveloped by the relaxed wall of the vagina it may be
distinguished by its persistence, its firm substance, and the impossibility
of returning it into the abdomen by pressure. A hernia containing a portion
of bowel gurgles when handled and can be completely effaced by pressure,
the gut passing into the abdomen.