292 THE DISEASES AND DISORDERS OF THE OX. 



They strain constantly, they are weak in the loins, and palsy 

 subsequently manifests itself. An ox suffering from rabies does 

 not bite, and the sheep also very rarely displays any tendency 

 to do so. Sheep, however, when afflicted with rabies, are very 

 irritable, and if they are provided with horns, they make frequent 

 and violent use of those appendages. 



Wethers and rams especially, and occasionally ewes, when 

 affected with rabies, exhibit more or less ferocity. It is true 

 they do not try to bite ; but they will nibble at a stick pre- 

 sented to them, and they will attack one another, and rim 

 violently against anything which may be within reach, and 

 indeed, may carry this headstrong impetuosity to such an 

 extent as almost entirely to strip the skin from off their fore- 

 heads. Moreover, a raucous discharge flows from the nostrils, 

 a ropy saliva from the mouth, and froth collects at the corners 

 thereof. Sheep affected with rabies may devour a large amount 

 of dirt, nibble wood and swallow the pieces, drink very filthy 

 water ; and, in fact, they seem to be in some measure unconscious. 

 Just as a rabid dog gives utterance to a howl which is charac- 

 teristic, so, too, does the sheep, and especially the lamb, bleat 

 in a peculiar manner, i.e. they produce a higher note and a 

 more plaintive tone. Some sheep die on the second or third 

 day; more usually the fatal result occurs about the fifth day; 

 a few survive the fifth, and these few frequently exhibit symptoms 

 characteristic of inflammation of the brain. 



In this connection we may here insert the leading particulars of an account of 

 an attack of rabies in sheep as reported by Messrs. C. Gresswell and Gibbings in 

 the 22nd volume of the Veterinary Journal, 1886, page 411, It appears that these 

 veterinai'ians were asked to see some sheep which had been bitten by a dog 

 supposed to be affected with rabies. The dog had been shot previous to their 

 arrival, and they were thus enabled to make a post-mortem examination. The 

 larynx and stomach were slightly congested, and in the stomach nothing was 

 present except such foreign substances as grass and earth. The dog, strange 

 to the neighbourhood, had visited three farms in a semicircle, bit one ewe and 

 lamb on the first farm, several on the second, and several more on the third. 

 Altogether about twenty sheep were bitten. Judging from the appearance of 

 the wounds, the bites must have been short sharp snaps. It seemed that the 

 dog had no sooner bitten one sheep than he left it and attacked another, 

 evidently having tried to bite as many as he could, and he had invariably made 

 the face the point of attack. Now, it cannot for a moment be supposed that the 

 dog's object was to satisfy his appetite, for, if so, instead of worrying and biting 

 several sheep on the face alone, he would doubtless have killed a single lamb, 

 and thereupon have proceeded to satisfy his pangs of hunger. Again, having 



