36 AMCEBA PARASITICA. A NEW PROTOZOAN INFESTING SHEEP, 



These traumatic influences are not, however, the actual cause of 

 the disease. It is produced by an Amosba which enters the 

 wounds and multiplies rapidly in the Epithelium causing very 

 strong irritation. 



On the one hand the sheep are continually i-ubbing the diseased 

 parts, and on the other, the microscopic investigation shows, that 

 the Rete Malpighi in those places is highly inflamed, extending 

 centrifugally so as to form large protruberances and x-apidly 

 producing Epithel-cells, between the successive layers of which the 

 parasite is imbedded and so rendered harmless. The disease is 

 very infectious. Burning out the affected places and dipping in 

 poisonous solutions have been found in some cases reported to me 

 to yield good results and to accelerate the healing process, at the 

 same time diminishing the percentage of deaths. This treatment 

 I had previously recommended in my report to the department. 



Between the layers of horny substance which are either concentric 

 and thimble-shaped (fig. 1), or show an alveolar reticulate structure 

 (fig, 2.), I discovered granular masses with a nucleus in each, and 

 of course was inclined to consider them as the eggs of some parasitic 

 insect, particularly inconsequence of their large size 0*05 — O'l mm. 

 On examining extensive series of sections I found, however, that 

 they never developed into insects, and further that they evidently 

 multiplied. I found (fig. 3) on several occasions the granular 

 mass divided into two portions, with a nucleus in each part. Never 

 were there more than two nuclei in one and the same granular mass. 



In the cases where the small wart-shaped excrescences of the 

 skin, with which the disease always begins, had a reticulate 

 structure (at Young) (fig. 2), the granular masses were found in 

 several layers in the proximal part only, whilst the meshes of the 

 distal part of the network (fig. 3) were empty. 



In the cases where the protruberances consisted of concentric 

 layers (at Quirindi) (fig. 1), there existed occasionally also in the 

 distal part some small empty spaces, but mostly the granular 

 bodies filled all the spaces between the horny layers. Here however, 



