t 



INTESTINAL HELMINTHIASIS IN RUMINANTS. 



277- 



tansy, which are convenient to give, and can be added to bran, oats, or 

 beetroot. 



Adult tapeworms of oxen are of relatively minor importance, but one 

 tapeworm of sheep, viz., the fringed tapeworm {Thysanosoma actinioides), 

 also known as Tcenia Jimhriata ; Moniezia fimhrlata deserves notice. 



Fig. 119. — Ventral and apex views of the head of the fringed tapeworm 

 {Thysanosoma actinioides). x 17. (iVfter Stiles, 1893.) 



as at times it forms a veritable 'scourge to the sheep industry of 

 North America and South America. 



Disease. The disease in sheep caused by the fringed taj)eworm has 

 been studied in detail by Curtice, who considers that next to scab it is 

 the most important sheep disease of the western plains of North America. 

 The financial loss it causes is extensive, and results from the failure of 

 the lambs to fatten, the small crop of wool, and the weakening of the 

 animals, so that they cannot withstand cold winter weather. The para- 

 sites develop slowly, and are present in considerable numbers before their 



Fig. 120. —Segments of the fringed tapeworm {Thysanosoma actinioides), 

 showing canals and nerves, and (/) fringed border, {t) testicles, and {ut) 

 uterus. . Enlarged. (After Stiles, 1893.) 



presence is suspected. Toward September the lambs fail to grow as they 

 should ; in November the symptoms are marked. First, the worms pro- 

 duce local irritation of the intestine, which finally develops into a chronic 

 catarrhal inflammation ; their presence in the gall-ducts produces similar 

 results, and obstructs the flow^ of bile ; infected lambs are large-headed, 

 under-sized, and hide-bound ; their gait is rheumatic, and they appear 

 more erratic than the other sheep, standing oftener to stamp at the 

 sheep-dogs or herds, and lagging behind the flock when driven ; the 



