AND ITS RELATION TO ANIMAL LIFE 87 



would improve the quality of the blood ; so if 

 improving the blood cures lambs of wire- worms, 

 I fail to see how the worms can produce anaemia ; 

 In fact, I should say anaemia is the predis- 

 posing cause that brings about the existence 

 of the parasite. Remove the cause, poor 

 blood, and you remove the parasite. In the 

 same way I would say the predisposing 

 cause in heartwater is anaemia. Remove this, 

 and you remove the predisposition to the 

 disease. 



I have previously mentioned that Drs. 

 Edington and Soga say there is something 

 deficient in the pasture, and it is reasonable 

 to think this deficiency is the origin of the 

 anaemia. Heartwater varies in duration from 

 a few hours to days, and in some cases weeks, 

 but the average time in which it is fatal would 

 be from thirty to forty hours. In acute cases 

 I have noticed the blood is very thin, with little 

 or no coagulation, while in cases of a lingering 

 nature a much higher percentage of the blood 

 coagulates, and in all cases noticed the blood 

 is either very dark or very pale, but never of the 

 bright red colour common to blood which 

 coagulates readily. There are those who will 



