184 REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



AN EXPERIMENT TO INFECT LAMBS WITH T^ENIA FIMBRIATA. 



No. 3. May 23, 1887, placed fifteen ewes with unborn lanibs in three box stalls. 

 They were fed on alfalfa, hay, corn, and bran. Their water was drawn from a hy- 

 drant near by. The ewes being poor, and taken from the prairie grass and placed 

 upon dry feed, thrived but poorly. Between May 23 and May 29 eleven lambs were 

 born, which lived until the close of the experiment. Five of the largest and oldest 

 were placed with their mothers in stall No. 1. The remaining were divided between 

 two stalls, Nos, 2 and 3. 



These animals were removed from all sources of infection through 

 food and water, and the lambs had never been exposed. The ewes 

 were suspected of being infected with T. fimbriala. If the lambs 

 became infected they would either take them of their mothers or 

 from their feed. Between May 26 and June 15 I fed the lambs in 

 stall A several times each with* a number of ripe proglottides from 

 adult teenise. An interval was left between each feeding, and each 

 lamb was fed at least three times. The other lambs were not fed. 

 All but two of the ewes were found to contain adult teenies when 

 examined later. 



The lambs and ewes were killed in nearly equal lots on June 25, 

 July 15, and August 1. 



June 25, killed one ewe and one lamb from pen No. 1, two ewes and one lamb 

 from No. 2, and three dry ewes from No. 3, Lambs uninfected. One ewe had 

 taenia 2 cm long. 



July 15, killed two ewes and two lanibs from No. 1, two ewes and two lambs 

 from No. 2. Lambs uninfected. 



August 1, killed two ewes and two lambs from No. 1, and two ewes and 2 lambs 

 from No. 2. Lambs uninfected. 



The lambs were kept immune for two months. The fed lambs 

 were not infected in this time. This experiment shows that either 

 a longer time is necessary for infection or that the embryo has to 

 undergo some development or preparation that I did not allow, and 

 of which I am ignorant. The specimens fed were taken from slaugh- 

 tered sheep, examined with a microscope, and fed by placing the pro- 

 glottides which contained moving embryos in the lambs' mouths and 

 waiting until they had been swallowed. 



The lambs while living with their infected mothers should have 

 been infected, providing infection by embryos fresh from the host be 

 possible. As this was not the case further preparation and develop- 

 ment of the embryos outside of the ovine host seems necessary. 



