Affections of the Bladder amongst fattening Sheep and Lambs. 495 



7. That the cost or profit to a town of arrangements for the 

 removal and utilization of its sewage must vary very greatly, 

 according to its position, and to the character and levels of the 

 land to be irrigated. Where the sewage can be conveyed by 

 gravitation, and a sufficient tract of suitable land is available, 

 the town may realise a profit ; but, under contrary conditions, 

 it may have to submit to a pecuniary sacrifice to secure the 

 necessary sanitary advantages. 



XI. — Affections of the Bladder amongst fattening Sheep and 

 Lambs. By W. E. Litt, M'.R.C.V.S. 



Prize Essay. 



In asking myself, at the outset, " what are the peculiar affections 

 of the bladder amongst fattening sheep and lambs, to which the 

 Royal Agricultural Society wish to call particular attention ? " I 

 confess to a feeling of some little difficulty. I have had very 

 considerable experience in the diseases of sheep, and many 

 opportunities of observation, and I know only of one such 

 affection. It may be that other parts of the country furnish a 

 different class of maladies to that over which my own practice 

 has ranged — for such things are by no means uncommon amongst 

 domestic animals — and that I have partially mistaken the 

 intended subject. Whether this is so or not, however, is perhaps 

 of little consequence, as the particular disease to which I allude 

 is of sufficient importance to demand the most earnest attention 

 of all who are interested in the pursuits of agriculture. 



If the urine of sheep during the process of fattening be 

 subjected to the ordinary simple test of litmus paper, it will 

 generally be found to afford some indications of the presence of 

 an acid. This must be looked upon as altogether an abnormal 

 condition of things, as, under ordinary circumstances, the urine 

 of herbivorous animals will always be found to exhibit an 

 alkaline reaction. The effect of high feeding, therefore, appears 

 to be to assimilate in some measure this particular secretion 

 to that of the carnivora. The exact nature and character of the 

 acid in question is a matter which demands a greater amount of 

 consideration at the hands of the chemist than it has hitherto 

 received ; but, though differing somewhat in composition, it 

 appears to bear a considerable analogy to that which is known 

 to the physiologist as uric^ or lithic acid, and when it is present 

 in excess, the urine, generally scanty under these circumstances, 

 will always be found to deposit a sediment more or less abundant, 

 and differing somewhat in character and appearance according 



