324 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA 



ened barn basement, conduces to the general comfort 

 and thrift of the sheep. 



LIVER FLUKE. "THE EOT." 



This terrible disease has caused in the past great 

 havoc in the old world. It is less prevalent there 

 since men underdrained their lands. It is a para- 

 sitic disease; the parasite passing one stage of its 

 life in the liver of the sheep, the other in the body 

 of a snail. If there is no water for the snail (a 

 water species is chosen) the flukes cannot propa- 

 gate. There is very little if any of the disease in 

 America. 



NODULAR DISEASE. 



This is the disease commonly called by butchers 

 "knotty guts." It is characterized by small tu- 

 mors on the intestines, the tumors filled with a 

 greenish cheesy substance. The disease is caused 

 by a small worm about an inch long, called oesoph- 

 agostoma columbianum. The worm thrives in spite 

 of its name. This worm seems a distinctly Ameri- 

 can species, inhabiting deer, goats and sheep, possi- 

 bly rabbits. What it does to the sheep is to interfere 

 with the digestion and assimilation of food. It 

 works its way gradually into a flock and brings 

 ruin to it. There is said to be no cure. Its prog- 

 ress is usually slow and it takes as a rule years to 

 kill a sheep. The way of spreading is by infecting 

 the soil and grass through the excrements of the 

 afflicted sheep. Therefore when sheep are so man- 

 aged that lambs do not graze much behind their 



