The Digestive Organs in Young Sheep. 649 



that at night, giving them a free range for a few hours in the day on 

 the layers, which had already been folded over once. As they 

 chiefly ate the rape they did perfectly well so long as it lasted. 

 Then, when the rape was gone, his next green crop in snccession 

 would be early Pomeranian turnips. He had tried pulling some of 

 these and feeding upon the old depastured layer, but diarrhoea set 

 in almost immediately. He wished to ask the Professsor to what 

 cause he would attribute this disease, seeing that in his case it had 

 occm-red within a few days of the lambs being made to depend on 

 the foul layer, and that the malady abated directly they were taken 

 off it. Perhaps he might be disposed to attribute it to some form 

 of worms ; but the objection to that solution is that the space of 

 time during which the lambs were on the layer was so short, that 

 there was no symptom whatever of any mischief brewing before they 

 went upon it, and that the malady ceased within a day or two after 

 they were taken off. The layer was Dutch clover and trefoil ; the 

 time was the month of July last, prior to the heavy falls of rain. 



Professor Sdioxds : The fact was pretty well known that in practice 

 it was not judicious to allow lambs to follow ewes, as it was termed. 



If lambs were constrained to partake of food where ewes had been 

 before them, injmy might result to their young organisms from the 

 quantity of feculent matter which would be lying about, and in pro- 

 cess of undergoing chemical changes. That would be a source of 

 mischief; but it was further inferred that the land having been 

 manui'ed on the surface, the young herbage would grow up very 

 quickly, particularly in showery weather. Thus they got an unripe 

 leaf of plant, and this he should consider the chief cause in operation. 

 Indeed, he should look to the manuring on the surface, the rapid 

 gK)wth of the vegetable matter, and its immature condition, as ex|jla- 

 natory of the fact, rather than to anything else. 



Mr. FixLAT DrxxE said the same rajnd growth, with the like effect 

 produced on the bowels of sheep, occui-red on the richer lands during 

 the spring months. On the better grazing lands of the midland 

 counties they could not keep their lambs without experiencing a good 

 deal of trouble from scour. Very often they died off in large nimibers, 

 as described by Professor Simonds, when apparently strong, hearty, 

 and thi'iving rapidly, from ten days to a fortnight old ; and he be- 

 lieved the cause to be that the land was really too strong and the 

 grass too good for them : it was in a rapidly gi-owing state : it was 

 undergoing changes ; probably it was more easily fermented, and so 

 gave rise to a disturbance of the delicate digestive organs of the young 

 animal. He had been very much gi-atiiied and instructed by the able 

 and most useful lecture of Professor Simonds. Every year a large 

 number of animals were foimd to be infested with these creatures, 

 and the great difficulty was to cope with the malady when the flock 

 was being increased. The only way, as it appeared to him. of materially 

 lessening it, was by varying the food, and giving a larger quantity of 

 diy food. He might remark, that he had found great advantage, not 

 only in cases of scom'iug. but also in connection with worms, in giving 

 sheep a small quantity of lime-water with turpentine. Others who 



