394 THE IMPROVED ART OF FARRIERY. 



water is frequently found in the belly. It is very pro- 

 bable that consumption of the lun^s is a common 

 disease among sheep ; and that it has in many in- 

 stances been mistaken for rot. Mr. Stevenson, indeed, 

 has considered the lungs to be its chief seat. Cold is 

 the most frequent cause of consumption, although in- 

 flammation may be excited by other means. 



Sheep are sometimes born with little tumours, called 

 tubercles, on their lungs ; and these appear to be the 

 original seat of the disease in them as in the human 

 subject. These tubercles being inflamed by cold, or 

 other means, swell, and become filled with matter. 

 Sometimes they are coughed up in this state ; but 

 most frequently they degenerate into ulcers, which 

 spread and consume the substance of the lungs. When 

 the lungs are affected in any case of rot, it is a hope- 

 less business to attempt a cure, especially if they are 

 suspected to be ulcerated. But as it may often happen 

 that such tubercles as have filled with matter may be 

 coughed up, mere difficulty of breathing need not 

 deter us from attempting a cure. But the liver must 

 be considered as the principal seat of the disease ; and 

 as it is the organ which prepares the bile, which assists 

 digestion, we ought by all means to endeavour to 

 restore it to a sound state. With respect to the fluke- 

 worms formed in the livers of rotten sheep, their pro- 

 duction cannot be fully explained ; but it is sufficient 

 that we know they do exist in diseased livers to be con- 

 vinced of the propriety of destroying them if possible. 



Causes. — ^This disease never attacks sheep on dry 

 lands, and it has been observed to affect sheep which 

 were before healthy almost immediately on their being 

 sent to feed on soft wet pastures. Mr. James Hogg 

 thinks that it proceeds from a sudden fall in condition; 



