296 Disease among Lambs. 



advance in size and strength. I have never heard or known of a 

 flock of lambs being attacked with the disease in question when 

 they have had a supply of beans or peas, whether combined or 

 not with other articles of food. This fact I consider very greatly 

 favours my theory ; for by reference to the table given below it 

 will be seen that beans and peas contain a greater percentage of 

 albuminous or nutritive material, in proportion to hydro-carbon- 

 aceous matter, than any other article of food usually given to stock.* 

 But further, chemists tell us that the seeds of leguminous plants, 

 such as beans, peas, and lentils, contain a nutritive material called 

 vegetable caseine, which, although it has the same composition as 

 vegetable albumen and gluten obtained from the cereal grains, 

 grasses, &c., differs from those substances in chemical properties. 

 Vegetable caseine is so called because of its analogy to the 

 caseine of milk, from which the sucking animal has to derive 

 the whole of its flesh-forming nourishment, and the existence of 

 such analogy obviously points to such seeds as proper food for 

 animals when first weaned. 



I have stated that if there is a greater preponderance of the fat, 

 over the flesh-forming constituents in the food than is compatible 

 with the age and strength, it tends to tlie production of disease. 

 Many farmers in this neighbourhood, though their land is com- 

 paratively poor, do not force their lambs by giving any dry nutri- 

 ment until they are put upon turnips, and their flocks are not so 

 liable to this disease as those of their neighbours, who are better 

 keepers. It may be argued that this makes against my theory, 

 since a small quantity of dry nitrogenous food must be better than 

 none at all. In answer I must say that, as a rule, those same 

 small farmers who do not force their lambs, keep flocks which 

 are not of so improved a breed, and therefore do not require the 

 same amount of nutriment for their proper growth and develop- 

 ment ; that moreover their lambs will probably have not been run 

 so thickly together, and thereby will have had a better chance of 

 obtaining nutriment from the herbage, besides other advantages 

 consequent on a less artificial mode of life. 



Whenever lambs kept in a more artificial state are supplied 



* Table showing the quantity of nitrogenous and heat-producing matters in 

 several articles of food : — 



Parts per cent, of Dry Parts per cent of Heat- 

 Albuminous Substances. producing Substances. 



Lentils 25-00 46-75 



Beans 23-30 .... 48*48 



Peas 23-40 .... 50-07 



Linseed cake 51-40 .... 66*00 



Oats 13*60 55*48 



Barley 13*21 56-14 



Eye 13-81 .. .. 61'03 



Meadow Hay 8*01 .... 66-48 



Swede turnips 1'62 .... 10*35 



