THE LIVER FLUKE. 49 



large intestine (caecum or colon) where they become mature. After 

 the female has deposited her eggs in large numbers, both sexes and 

 eggs are passed out of the animal's body with its excreta. 



PREVENTIVE AND REMEDIAL MEASURES. 



Prompt action is very necessary when an animal shows any 

 symptoms of being attacked by this parasite. 



The animal should be immediately stalled and all excreta burnt. 

 The stall should be frequently and thoroughly cleansed with Cooper's 

 Fluid. 



As regard vermifuges, Thymol given in 15 gram doses in milk 

 seems to be the only satisfactory one. A dose should be given on 

 two consecutive mornings, the last being followed in three or four 

 hours by a dose of castor oil. 



Thymol sometimes causes bleeding from the animals nose, but 

 nothing of a serious nature. More frequently when a horse is badly 

 attacked and reduced owing to the parasites, a partial collapse may 

 follow the use of this drug. A stimulant should be administered in 

 such cases. 



It is important to bear in mind that the eggs of this parasite may 

 very easily be distributed on dirt on implements, men's boots, etc. 



In pastures where affected horses have been, sheep should be 

 put. 



Care should be taken to see that only pure spring water is given 

 to the horses, and wherever an attack of "Red Worms" has prevailed, 

 all dykes, ditches, and drinking ponds should be well cleaned. 



Cleanliness, good food, and pure water are all important. 



THE LIVER FLUKE. 



Fasciola (Distonnun) hepatica (Linn.). 



The adult liver-fluke is a flat unsegmented worm, about an inch 

 and a half in length, and half an inch in breadth. It lives in the bile 

 ducts of certain animals, particularly those of the sheep, and gives rise 

 to the disease known as liver-rot. 



The liver-fluke, like many parasitic worms, is hermaphrodite, i.e., 

 contains the two sets of reproductive organs in the one animal. 



The eggs are deposited in large numbers in the bile ducts, and pass 

 with the bile into the intestine, and ultimately escape with the faeces. 



If these eggs are deposited in damp places or in water, they give 

 rise to a free-swimming larva, which after a time (which must be within 

 8 hours of hatching) bores its way into the body of a small freshwater 

 snail Limnaea tnincatula. Within the body of the snail, generally in 

 the pulmonary chamber, the larva develops into an elongated sac -the 



