s of
pregnancy. From the same increasing weight of the abdomen the spine in the
region of the loins sinks so that the bones of the croup seem to rise,
especially back toward the root of the tail. In the early stages of
pregnancy the udder develops slowly, and toward its completion quite
rapidly. For a long time there is merely a sense of greater fullness when
handled; the wrinkles in the skin become shallower and are effaced, and the
teats are materially enlarged. Beginning a few weeks after conception, this
tends to a steady development, though slight alternations in the sense of
successive growth and shrinkage are not uncommon. In milking cows this does
not hold, as the milk usually tends to a steady diminution and the udder
shrinks slowly until near the completion of the period, when it undergoes
its sudden, remarkable development, and yields at first a serous liquid and
then the yellow colostrum, which coagulates when heated. As pregnancy
advances the mucous membrane lining the vulva becomes swollen and of a
darker, bluish-red hue; the mucous secretion also increases, becoming very
abundant just before calving. When the feeding has not been altered or
restricted, a steady diminution of the salts of lime excreted in the urine
is an attendant on pregnancy, the lime being demanded for the growing body
of the fetus.

After the fifth month the movements of the calf may often be observed in
the right flank, nearly in front of the stifle, when the cow is drinking
cold water. The sensation of cold on the side of the first stomach, which
lies to the left and directly below the womb (Pl. I), stimulates the calf
to active movements, which are detected on the sudden jerking outward of
the abdominal wall as if from blows delivered from within. In a loose,
pendent abdomen in the latter months of gestation the skin may often be
seen pushed out at a sharp angle, irrespective of the period of drinking.

Another mode of examination through the flank is by touch. The palm of the
hand is pressed strongly inward, about 8 inches in front of the stifle and
a little below, several times in succession, and is then brought to rest
with the pressure maintained. Presently there are felt distinct and
characteristic movements of the fetus, which has been disturbed and roused
to action. Another mode is to press the closed fist strongly inward in the
same situation and hold it so, forming a deep indentation in the abdominal
wall. Presently the knu