itonitis; the other, which I attended to yesterday, was
alive when I last saw it; but I am of opinion its hours are
numbered. The pulse is hard, but not quick--the animal
restless--and the eye dull: worse symptoms can hardly be
present. The poor beast had been left too long unassisted
for help of any kind to be of much avail.

"Of the pups brought forth by the aid of the crotchet, the
majority were dead; indeed, though safe to the mother, the
instrument is apt to be fatal to the offspring. The numbers
stand thus:--Dead when extracted, 7; mutilated when brought
forth, and immediately destroyed, 1; alive, 1. Thus the
proportions are as 8 to 1 against the probability of saving
the pups; but it must be remembered that the calculation is
made from the cases of which the majority were, by previous
delay, rendered hopeless, and under fairer circumstances the
result might have been different.

"I will now proceed to describe the crotchet, and explain
the manner in which I have employed that instrument. It has
been long known to the human accoucheur, but by him is not
employed save under certain conditions. A piece of stout
steel wire constitutes its substance. The wire, about twelve
inches long, is flattened at one extremity, and both ends
crooked and made perfectly smooth or blunt, the flattened
hook being the larger of the two. For the dog, the
instrument must, of course, be proportioned to the passage
into which it is to be introduced; and as the pup, in
consequence of the weakness of the abdominal parietes in the
bitch, often is felt lying below the level of the symphysis,
a dip or lateral bend is given to the hooks.

"So simple is the crotchet, which ought to be highly
polished, in order to secure its being perfectly smooth. It
is first warmed and greased, then introduced with the index
finger of one hand, while the other guides the instrument
into the womb. The foetus is to be first felt, and this is
the more readily done if an assistant supports and
compresses the abdomen. When the finger has ascertained that
the pup is favorably placed, the hook (and I generally use
the flattened extremity of the instrument) is to be pushed
forward and then retracted, until the operator is aware
that a firm hold has been obtained. The purchase being
secure, the finger is to