FASOIOLA HEPATICA. 179 



liuman body have occurred in individuals of the lower classes, who 

 would naturally be careless as to the thorough cleansing of water- 

 cresses and other vegetables procured from the garden or the 

 field. 



In respect of the method of treatment to be adopted where the 

 parasite has gained access to our bodies, little, of course, need be 

 said. This animal's presence, indeed, could only be diagnosed by 

 the accidentally observed fact that flukes or their ova had been 

 voided ; and even then, the exhibition of a purgative would do no 

 more than relieve the intestine of the few specimens which might 

 happen to be lodged in it. Those in the liver would remain un- 

 touched; and even mercurial remedies would be of little avail, 

 except in so far as they might increase the flow of healthy bile, and 

 tend to clear the gall passages. Those found in cavities beneath 

 the skin could never be diagnosed, and if they could, would serve 

 no other indications for surgical interference than are supplied by 

 ordinary abscesses themselves. 



In like manner, when the malady has become fairly developed 

 in the sheep, internal remedies are of httle avail, at least, in view 

 of producing a thorough cure. Palliative treatment may un- 

 doubtedly do good, especially in cases where the disease is not very 

 strongly pronounced. The most important thing is the transfer- 

 ence of the rot- affected animals to dry ground and good shelter ; 

 supplying them, at the same time, with a hberal quantity of manger 

 food, such as beans, peas, and other leguminous seeds. The fodder, 

 of whatever kind, should be frequently changed, and many other 

 hygienic measures adopted, all tending to promote the appetite and 

 general health of the animal. An admixture of salines is a 

 matter of essential importance, especially in cases where the disease 

 is not far advanced. The beneficial effect of salt is one of those few 

 points on which nearly all parties are agreed, and its preservative 

 influence in the case of sheep fed upon salt-water marshland has 

 been previously explained. In regard, however, to the legion of 

 remedies which have from time to time been proposed, all I need 



