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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



canal, and as it is now clianged in its character it will act 

 8s an irritant to the mucnus membrane of the intestine. The 

 flukes frequently form mechauical impediments to the free 

 flow of the bile, wheu they have so comported them- 

 selves, as to crowd into the passage, but when the im- 

 pediment is overcome, there is a great flow of bile, end 

 the contents of the intestines are necessarily carried .off ia 

 the form of iluid feces. Of course, such animals lose their 

 strength very quickly. They are dull, dispirited, and often 

 found lying down. As the disease advances, the breathing be- 

 comes somewhat difficult; the wool is easily removed; cedema- 

 tous swellings, as they are called, begin to show themselves and 

 to accumulate in different parts of the body, more particularly 

 under the lower jiw. These are nothing more nor less than 

 dropsical effusions , the animal is ancenaiated ; the blood ia 

 surcharged with serum, and then you have these effusions 

 finding their way into the areolar tissue in different parts of 

 the body, passing freely through it, and accumulating particu- 

 larly, as just obaerveG',uniler the lowerjaw. Why is this? Be- 

 cause the animal frequently has its head pendant, and iu the 

 act of feeding gravitation of fluid takes place. This anasarcous 

 condition marks a similar state of the internal organs : thus you 

 get effusions icto the cavity of the abdomen, and hence many 

 a rotten sheep will have an enlarged, pendulous belly. This 

 emaciation continues until it leads to the death of the animal. 

 It may die wiLhin a short time, a few weeks; but even under 

 the most favourable circumstances, it is rare that an auiuoal 

 will die in less than six weeks or two months; death, 

 however, may be protracted for a much longer period. I 

 come now to speak of the treatment of the disease. The 

 treataient, then, of rot, speaking of it as curative treatment, 

 must have for its end and object the removal of the cause, 

 and if we have these eutozoa which are the proximate cause 

 of the affection, all our efforts must be made to the displacing 

 of them from the biliary ducta. It is to be borne in mind 

 that we have to combat, not oulj' with the cause, which is a 

 contiuuous one, but with the effects, which are also continuous 

 for some considerable space of time, I make this remark for 

 the purpose of saying that I believe if wo were enabled at the 

 present moment to fake sheep iu an advanced stage of this dis- 

 ease, as they would necessarily be at this period of the year, and 

 give them any agent which should destroy or remove from the 

 biliary ducts (which I do not believe possible) every fluke con- 

 tained iu them, we should not succeed ia saving the life of the 

 sheep. Because, as I have endeavoured to show, their presence 

 produces niischief in two ways ; it leads to organic changes 

 in the structure of the liver, and the breaking up of the entire 

 organism of the animal. We cannot put a new liver into 

 the animal, and the powers of life canuot be supported by 

 us long enough to bring the system into a normal state. But, 

 although I say this, it is equsiUy true that we must look to 

 the cause, for the purpose of getting rid of the effects. I 

 repeat the remark, because it is important to remember it, 

 that there is no multiplication of these creatures in the biliary 

 ducts. If, therefore, we were to adopt treataient early in 

 the case when there are but few of these entozoa, it would 

 necessarily be attended with success. We ere to measure the 

 danger of the animal by the number of flukes esiating in the 

 biliary ducts, and by the length of time they Lave bo 

 existed. It is proved by daily experience that we can resist 

 to some considerable extent the inroad of the disease, and we 

 have, therefore, to look to the means which are at our disposal 

 for the purpose of keeping the animal body together, if I may 

 so express it, that the ultimate loss ishaU not be very great. 

 Now, how is this to be done ? It is to be done in the first place, 

 wherever it is practicable (but it is not always so), by protecting 

 sheep from the inclemency of the weather; and in the next place, 

 by abstaining as much as possible from all succulent vegetable 

 food, all food which has an excess of moisture. We should 

 give the animals as much nitrogenous food as we possibly can, 

 so as to lay the foundation for pure healthy blood, and we 

 want at the same time to throw tonics into the system, with a 

 view of medicinally strengthening it. What should these con- 

 sist of? It is rather diilicult when a man has 500 or 600 sheep 

 to be giving them tonic agents iu the form of draughts, and we 

 are obliged to choose something which will of itself be unob- 

 jectionable to the animal. Sulphate of iron is an excellent 

 tonic for purposes of this kind. Not only is it a good in- 

 vigorator of the system, and an agent which sheep will take 

 readily J but it is to be borne in mind, that it ia ia itself a 



very excellent anthelmintic, and may do much good in that way, 

 So that if in December or January I had taken a number of 

 sheep affected with this disease, but not the subjects of struc- 

 tural change in the liver, and given them nitrogenous food, pro- 

 tecting them as much as po35ible|from the weather, and exhibited 

 to them sulphate of iron; if I had husbanded the animals' powers 

 to the greatest possible extent, and added also, from time to 

 time, some salt to their food (which I shall have occasion to 

 say a word upon preseutlj'), I have no doubt I should not only 

 have kept them alive, but been able to sell them as fair food 

 at a small cost iu the market. If, however, I neglect all 

 these things, then I have to deal with the ultimate conse- 

 quences of the malady. I may just say, that experiments have 

 borne out what I have now stated. You will be aware that 

 this Society has lately voted a certain sum of money (or new 

 experiments to be made with regard to the treatment or cure 

 of rot. We are indebted to a gentleman present, M. Trehon- 

 nais, for directing the attention of the agricultural community 

 to this supposed means of curing the disease. He has also 

 kindly forwarded to the institution a quantity of medicine, with 

 which experiments will be begun immediately. Nosi', with- 

 out any analysis of the medicine, I am well aware of 

 the principles that have guided the individual who has 

 sent it to us. He looks upon the disease as one producing 

 perfect prostratioa of the vital powers, aud he attempts to 

 throw tonici into the system, especially giving iustructions 

 that the sheep should be kept as much as possible from 

 wet and cold, and have the most generous diet. I was 

 about to say, that very frequently where you have only a 

 limited number of these entozoa, as they do not increase in 

 the liver, if the simple plan of protection with nitrogenous 

 food, and so forth, is persevered in for some time, you may 

 often save your animals. I did that many years ago. I pur- 

 chased a lot of rotten sheep ; I gave them no physic of any 

 kiud, but merely kept them in sheds during the winter time, 

 feeding thsm with coru and cake, and giving them the most 

 generous diet I could ; and I not only prevented the further 

 progress of the disease in several of these cases, but I even 

 made the animaU accumulate flesh, aud they went into the 

 market ia the following Spring, as fair meat for the 

 people. This shows what can be done by generous diet and 

 protection of the animals. These remarks may cause a smile, 

 but it is not to be presumed we are desirous as farmers of 

 sending rotten sheep into the market, especially when we re- 

 member that a man has been sentenced to six months' impri- 

 sonment in Newgate for the offence. Nevertheless, we must 

 secure as much food for the people as we possibly can. When we 

 have animals iu this condition, there will be a great advantage 

 arising from the employment of diffusible stimuiaQts, and such, 

 which to some extent, are powerful anthelmintics. For 

 example, we may use turpentine (which the animals must 

 of course be doscJ with) in conjunction with sulphuric either 

 as an invigorating agent, and at the same time as good anthel- 

 mintics. If I were to take bslf-a-dozea sheep, and simply give 

 them sulphuric ether with oil of turpentine day by day, attend- 

 ing to the other things that I have mentioned, not neglecting 

 salt as a stimulant to the digestive organs, I thick it very 

 likely that t5*'0 or three of them (according to the stage of the 

 disease) would be greatlj' benefited by treatment of this kind. 

 But that is really not the great question fcr us to consider. We 

 are not to become advocates for the curing- of rot in sheep ; 

 but we are to become advocates for preventing the disease, and 

 that is the reason why, as bearing upon this point, I detained 

 the meeting to long with regard to the natural history of 

 the fluke. It is well known that sheep do not rot on salt 

 marshes : no matter how wet they may be, no rot takes place 

 on theaa. But if sheep are affected with rot upon marshes 

 whi:h are not salt, it is of very little use sending them to 

 salt marshes, for you cannot in that way cure the disease. 

 Now, what is the explanation of that fact? It is simply this. 

 The infusorial creatures that we have been speaking so 

 much of, are creatures belougiiig to fresh-water and not to 

 salt-water. If therefore wa were enabled to take a quantity of 

 salt sufficient to render all these damp swampy places ia our 

 meadows or pools completely salt, we should destroy the 

 whole of these creatures, and so get rid of the cause of this 

 aff.3Ctio;i. But we cannot do that. Some persons, bciusr only 

 partially informed on this subject, have been talking of late of 

 strewing salt over the meadows and letting the sheep go upon 

 thera. That would be of no adantage, for you could uot use a 



