

AMer 



ICAN HERD-BOOIV. 



DEVOTED TO 

 AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, AND RURAL AND DOMESTIC AFFAIRS. 



Perfect Agriculture ig the true foundation of all trade and industry. — Liebio. 



Vol. IX No. 7. 



2ud mo. (February) 15th, 1845. 



[Whole No. 121. 



PCBLISHED MONTHLY, 



BY J O S I A H T A T U M, 



EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR, 



No. 50 North Fourth Street, 



PHILADELPHIA. 



Price one dollar per year. — For conditions sec last page. 



The Gad-fly— Sheep-nose Worms. 



Editor of the Farmers' Cabinet, — Un- 

 der the above head, in the third No. of the 

 current volume of the Cabinet, I observed 

 an article which attracted my attention with 

 peculiar interest at the time, inasmuch as a 

 disease to which sheep are incident, some- 

 times called the "mad staggers," had a few 

 years ago come under my observation, and 

 which was at the time, as I believed, suc- 

 cessfully treated, and which I have now no 

 doubt, was occasioned by the sheep-nose 

 worms, described by the above article. I 

 had often thought of giving to the public the 

 result of my experiment, but was as often 

 deterred from the fear that I should be lay- 

 ing a tax upon the credulity of my readers, 

 for I had never before heard of worms being 

 found in the cavity of a sheep's head; and 

 when I have mentioned the fact of my ob- 

 servation, I conceited that I was looked at 



CAa— Vol. IX.— No. 7. 



very fine sheep; some time in the first 

 month I discovered one of them lying down, 

 while the rest of the flock were at some 

 distance oif feeding. I went to see what 

 was the matter; when I had got nearly up 

 to her, she jumped up and ran, as if to join 

 the flock — but she appeared to be irresisti- 

 bly impelled in a circular direction : this 

 was continued as often as I attempted to ap- 

 proach her, until her strength was exhausted, 

 and then I was permitted to get as close to 

 her as I wished. I noticed that she kept 

 her head inclined to one side, exhibiting a 

 constant twitching of the eyes, witii a strong 

 convulsive, spasmodic affection of the mus- 

 cles of the nose and face. I several times 

 raised her upon her feet, and let her go — 

 she would invariably run around and around, 

 and at length tall to the ground. I had wit- 

 nessed the same disease in sheep before, but 

 knowing no remedy, I left her to take her 

 chance: she continued growing gradually 

 worse, for nearly a week; and moreover 

 never knowing one to recover, I concluded, 

 as it was evident the se^t of the disease 

 was in the head, that I would cut it oft', and 

 make an examination of it. I commenced 

 by cutting across just above the nose — but 

 there was nothing to remark. ,J then cut 

 a cross immediately below the eyes; there 

 was still nothing to arrest the attention — 

 |the next cut was just above the eyes; the 

 linstant the lower part of the skull fell ofl^, I 

 saw something like worms, receding further 



rather doubtingly. 



A few years ago, I had a small flock ofyback into the cavity of the skull— the next 



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