DISEASES OF THE OX AND SHKEP. 315 



dangerous even to drive a healthy flock on a road over which 

 diseased sheep have travelled a short time before, and there is 

 especially great risk of the malady being transmitted by means 

 of the wool. Young sheep are more likely to be attacked 

 than older animals, but when infected they do not suffer so 

 markedly. 



The symptoms of the malady first manifest themselves in 

 sheep about ten days after they have been subjected to the 

 poison, provided the weather be warm; but in cold weather 

 twice that period may elapse, and, moreover, the malady will 

 then be less destructive than it is when the outside air is warm 

 and humid. The next stage, that of papulation, occupies about 

 six days. The sheep become dull, and lose their appetite; they 

 like to take water and to lick earth ; they cease to chew the cud, 

 have a staggering gait, slight fever, and a mucous discharge from 

 the nostrils, which becomes thicker and even bloody as the disease 

 advances. The respirations are quick and short, the mucous 

 membranes are inflamed, and the conjunctival lining of the eye- 

 lids is red or scarlet. The eye-lids themselves are swollen, tears 

 flow in profusion down the face, the ears are pendent or lopped, 

 the head is held low. The infected animals separate themselves 

 from the herd, and keep apart ; some stand looking dejected, while 

 others lie down in a remote corner of the field. 



At first the bowels may be torpid, but afterwards diarrhoea may 

 come on. The pulse is quick, and may number as many as ninety- 

 five beats per minute, and be almost imperceptible. About three 

 and a half days after the onset, both in the case of the natural 

 disease and also when it has resulted from inoculation, there may 

 be a diffused redness of the integument a day or two before the 

 spots appear. This redness is very similar to the one which breaks 

 out in human beings suffering from small-pox. As this redness 

 subsides, small red or purple points appear, and gradually attain 

 to about the size of a lentil. These deeply embedded spots are 

 best seen in places where the covering is hairy rather than 

 woolly, on the inside of the arms and thighs, especially between 

 the inside of the shoulder and the breast, on the face and hips, 

 the under surface of the tail, and so forth. These spots or 

 papules are under |-inch in diameter, they are flattened in the 

 centre, and surrounded by a red ring. 



In the papular stage of the disease the wool may become 



