298 VETERINARY LECTURES 



good health and free from the malady were grazing, and only sepa- 

 rated from the diseased beasts by a fence, over which the cattle 

 could smell and lick each other, and yet the complaint did not extend 

 to the cattle on the sound land. Although I have examined the 

 blood of a cow suffering from red-water through the microscope and 

 seen little micro-organisms — the Piroplasma bovis [bigeminum) — in the 

 red corpuscles of the blood, I still hold the opinion that the predis- 

 posing cause of the disease is in the nature of the soil and quality of 

 the food, inducing a condition of the blood that the micro-organism 

 finds suitable for its development. It would seem, however, that 

 red- water in cows arises under varied conditions — viz., after calving, 

 grazing on undrained pastures and mossy soils, following, in some 

 quarters, a heavy rain after a long spell of dry weather, as well as to 

 the influence of the tick. 



468. The following analysis by the late Professor Sibson, F.C.S., 

 London, was determined from a sample taken from a case I 

 had : 



469. Symptoms. — When first noticed, the animal suffering from 

 red-water is generally seen standing by itself in the field, with nose 

 extended and an anxious expression on its face ; when it moves, it is 

 in a very listless fashion. On closer examination, the breathing is 

 found to be short and quick, the pulse jerky, tremulous, and weak, and 



