SEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK-PART X. 489 



STOPPAGE OF THE BIFLEX CANAL. 



Sheep and goats are provided with a secretory gland called the inter- 

 ungulate or biflex, situated among the tegumentary tissues of the leg 

 just above the separation of the digits. The orifice of the little vessel 

 that leads from this gland may be plainly seen upon spreading the toes 

 apart. It occasionally happens that mud, sand, or some other gritty sub- 

 stance becomes forced up into the biflex canal and lodges there, not only 

 choking up the excretory passage of the gland above, but also causing in- 

 flammation of the walls of the canal, which may develop into exten- 

 sive suppuration and serious lameness. 



This affection may be distinguished from coniagious foot-rot by the 

 fact that the ulceration does not tend to Invade the tissues beneath the 

 horny covering of the foot, nor does it assume an infectious character. 



SUPPUR.\.TIVE CELLULITIS (CVTAXEGUS ABSCESSES). 



Stockmen whose sheep are obliged to pass daily through muddy yards 

 or pens sometimes notice the eruption of sores, varying in size from 

 the diameter of a millet seed to that of a silver dollar, just above the 

 hoof, farther up on the ankle, or still higher up between ankle and 

 knee. 



The first indication of the trouble will be an erection of the hair over 

 the affected area, quickly followed by swelling of the part, and accom- 

 panied with a marked rise of temperature in the animal, loss of appetite, 

 sluggishness, and rapid wasting of condition. 



As the disease advances, each of the inflamed areas develops a typical 

 abscess, containing creamy pus with a very offensive odor. Should any 

 of these find lodgment in the tissues of the foot they may be mistaken 

 at first for indications of foot-rot, but the simultaneous appearance of 

 similar abscesses beneath the skin of the leg will at once prove to the 

 owner the nature of the trouble. 



FOOT-AXI)-MOUTH DISEASE. 



This country, most fortunately, has never experienced a serious out- 

 break of foot-and-mouth disease in sections in which the sheep industry 

 forms an important factor in agricultural activities. It is one of the 

 scourges of European countries, and the annual reports of outbreaks of 

 contagious diseases in those lands show what a firm footing the disease 

 has gained among their flocks and herds. 



Should an invasion of this disease ever be mistaken for foot-rot in 

 sheep, the illusion will not be one of long duration. The eruptions which 

 appear upon the feet of sheep in an attack of foot-and-mouth disease may, 

 during the invasive period of the outbreak, bear a close resemblance to 

 those of foot-rot, but they are more superficial in their effect, being devoid 

 of the deep-seated, erosive passages which characterize the foot-rot lesion, 

 and for this reason they are far more transient, disappearing voluntarily 

 when the disease has run its course in all cases in which the attack 

 reaches a favorable termination. The lesions of foot-and-mouth disease 

 are more plainly to be seen, the destructive processes frequently extending 

 up above the cleft of the foot in front or rear into plain view of the 



