BRAXY IN SHEEP. 297 



and is drowned, or it rolls over on its back, and, with ex- 

 tended head, gasping for air, it soon dies. We cannot enter 

 into the many peculiarities of different cases. In some there 

 is decided pain, in others total unconsciousness and insensi- 

 bility, from the commencement of the attack, and in a few 

 we observe a lingering hot fever, which makes them stand 

 sequestered from the rest of the flock, and dying more slowly, 

 with symptoms similar to those of any ordinary febrile attack. 



A very marked feature of the disease is the way putrefac- 

 tion sets in, even before death. The animal swells, and the 

 swelling is peculiar to different forms of braxy. Thus, in 

 the common variety there is gas formed in the tissue beneath 

 the skin, and this is elevated along the back and sides, so 

 that a crackling sensation is observed in pressing the back 

 and loins. In the forms of braxy, associated with derangement 

 of the stomach and intestines, abdominal swelling is observed, 

 particularly on the left side, produced by the distended 

 paunch. In either case, immediately after death, the whole 

 of the skin is puffed out by fetid gas, which is the result of 

 decomposition in the structures beneath. 



Post-mortem Appearances. The lesions in the body, re- 

 sulting from this disease, have been mistaken by the common 

 observers, viz., shepherds and sheep-owners. Any redness 

 has been ascribed to inflammation, but very erroneously. 

 There is bloody frothy mucus about the nose. On sepa- 

 rating the skin, we find the foetor intolerable, the blood-vessels 

 filled with black blood, and often a yellowish-red stained 

 appearance of the superficial structures. On cutting into 

 the belly, a little straw-coloured or reddish fluid often 

 escapes, the intestines and paunch being enormously inflated 

 by gas. The whole surface of the organs is red and con- 

 gested. The third stomach is usually filled with solid 

 food. Here and there a darker hue is observed, and, on 



