606 ECZEMA. 



the thighs, and if removed, an operation of some difficulty, leave ex- 

 posed a bleeding, sanious, or purulent wound. The animals lose | 

 condition and appetite, cease to grow, seem as though attacked with | 

 rachitis, and may die if the general conditions of their maintenance 1 

 are not improved. % 



The diagnosis is not difficult, but the prognosis depends on how t^ 



long the disease has existed and the bodily condition of the patients. S 



The treatment consists entirely in improving the hygienic condi- | 



tions and the feeding. The patients must be repeatedly washed or | 

 bathed and carefully disinfected, and they must have better food. 



The crusts should be softened before the animals are washed, so 



that bleeding may be avoided and the affected areas not be trans- | 



formed into suj^purating wounds. By applying oil or some fatty | 



matter to the crusts it is possible to cleanse the parts with bran I 



water. If considered necessary, this cleansing can be followed by | 



dressing with boric or weak creolin solution. Open-air life and good 1 



food soon relieve the principal symptoms. ^ 



ACNE IN SHEEP. I 



'f. 



Acne, that is to say, localised inflammation of the sebaceous glands | 



and hair follicles, sometimes occurs in sheep apart from any parasitic rj 



invasion. The eruption is particularly seen after shearing, and it is | 



probable that, as in the horse, irritation produced by the machine, ^ 



and possibly by accidental infection, constitute the principal determining | 



causes. | 



Symptoms. The disease is indicated by the appearance of cuta- | 



neous pustules, which are only slightly painful on pressure and which p 



involve the entire thickness of the skin. The dermis is hardly 1 

 congested, and no constitutional disturbance occurs. 



Acne lesions may be more or less confluent, and may attain the I 

 size of a small hazel-nut. 



The diagnosis presents no difficulty. Puncture or incision reveals j 



the fact that the abscesses are filled with white sebaceous material and | 



are quite free from parasites. J 



The prognosis is not grave. Recovery occurs spontaneously in a ] 



few weeks. j 



Treatment. Liquid emollient applications and the opening of the :, 



small follicular abscesses appear to represent the only means of / 



hastening recovery. .| 



FAGOPYRISM (BUCKWHEAT POISONING). A 



Fagopyrism is a disease of toxic origin in sheep, and is due to ; 

 eating buckwheat (Polygonum fagopyrum). '}. 



I 

 J 



