DISEASES OF THE OX AND SHEEP. 461 



vermilion to pale red. The wool is easily separable, and the 

 skin becomes dry and dappled with yellow or black spots. The 

 eyes lack lustre, the animal eats irregularly, grows gradually 

 more and more thirsty, is irregular in regard to the action of the 

 bowels, and may occasionally suffer from diarrhoea. The pen- 

 dulous belly, the ** razor back,^' the ** hollow back," and a 

 tottering gait, mark the later stages of the disease. The respira- 

 tions are short and quick, and sometimes accompanied by a 

 slight cough. The approach of death is heralded by dropsical 

 swellings in different parts, as for instance under the chin. The 

 pulse becomes quick and wavering, the animal lies down, 

 refuses food, and dies from exhaustion brought on by general 

 anaemia. 



In sheep-rot, then, three stages are to be distinguished. In 

 the early stage the affected animal is sluggish and averse to 

 movement, when walking it walks slowly and with a measured 

 tread, is thirsty and exhibits a voracious appetite, whereby flesh 

 is gained and the sheep fattens. All these signs may con- 

 tinue for three or four weeks, and at the end of this period the 

 skin becomes paler, and the mucous membranes also lose their 

 natural colour. In the second or advanced stage the appetite 

 fails, the gait is feeble, and the animals are unsteady and 

 awkward in their movements. Moreover, pressure applied to 

 the back causes pain. The skin and mucous membranes are 

 blanched, and indeed present a deadly blanched hue. The con- 

 junctival membrane becomes yellow, and the wool is capable of 

 being easily torn off by the fingers. The third or final stage is. 

 characterised by a swelling under the jaw (whence the appella- 

 tion *' bottle-jaw "), by the belly being protuberant, the spinal 

 column arched (whence the appellation "razor-backed"), by 

 extreme emaciation, by diarrhoea, by the wool falling off, and at 

 length by complete prostration, sinking, and death. 



If the carcase be examined after death, it will be found that 

 the liver is knotty and hard, and has a grating feel, which is due 

 to the presence of calcareous particles and flukes* eggs. Here- 

 and there light yellow patches may be seen. The bile is thick,, 

 ropy, glutinous, and dark in colour, and it contains eggs. 

 There may be present usually about sixty flukes, but even a» 

 many as 1,000 may be found. A sharp winter is injurious ta 

 the formation of slugs, and therefore to that of cercarise and 



