PARASITES OP ANIMALS. 107 



really unfit for food, though it is to be feared that farmers, as 

 well as butchers, are not always over scrupulous in such. cases. 



Symptoms. 



In severe cases any one at all familiar with sheep can 

 readily detect the disease even by the general looks of the 

 animal. They also show a peculiar weakness in the loins 

 when the hand is pressed along the back over that region. , 

 In very bad cases the back becomes hollow and the belly 

 hangs down, while the sheep become more and more 

 emaciated and weak, dull, and dejected, with a feeble gait. 

 The skin loses its natural color and becomes dry, while the 

 wool is also harsh and dry, and comes off easily. 



The skin on the inner parts of the thigh, especially where it 

 is naked, becomes dry or scaly early in the progress of the dis- 

 ease. The eye affords very certain evidence, even at an early 

 stage, so that even shepherd boys are able to select from a 

 flock those that are diseased, by this symptom alone. If the 

 lids be turned back and the membrane at the corner of the eye 

 be pushed away, the conjunctiva and other parts will present 

 an unnatural watery appearance, the vessels being swollen 

 and filled with pale or yellowish colored blood. When the 

 disease is farther advanced the blood-vessels lose their color 

 and are scarcely distinguishable, though a few of them may 

 be swollen and filled with dark, unhealthy looking blood. 



Remedies. 



It can be safely stated that when these parasites have once 

 entered the liver in considerable numbers there is no known 

 specific remedy. All that can be done is to keep up the 

 general health and strength of the animal until nature effects 

 a cure, or until the parasites complete the natural course of 

 their lives and voluntarily leave the sheep. To this end the 

 afflicted animals should be removed to a dry pasture or good 

 shelter, and be liberally fed with a variety of nutritious and 

 palatable food, while they should be freely supplied with salt. 



This is another of those instances where prevention is far 

 easier and better than cure. From what we already know of 

 the history of the parasite it is evident that sheep will be 



