TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 45 



while this parasite in other ani- 

 mals invades nearly all the inter- 

 nal organs, the echinococcus tu- 

 mors in rabbits, with but a few 

 exceptional instances, have been 

 found with particular preference 

 in the muscular system, especially 

 in the muscles of the lumbar re- 

 gion and the muscles of the thighs 

 and ribs. A common idea prevails 

 among the laity that these tumors 



from which they generally start 

 to develop and multiply or mi- 

 grate to other parts of the body. 



During their growth the cyst 

 sacs protude below the skin and 

 they can easily be felt in the shape 

 of roundish, oval or flat, single or 

 conglomorated, and elastic tu- 

 mors, from the size of a marble 

 up to a child's head, thereby givj 

 ing the different parts of the rab- 



The Author (At time of writing of the article some fifteen years ago ) 



are some sort of "venereal dis- 

 ease, " " ulcerations, " " grub- 

 worm," etc. I had occasion to ex- 

 amine a great number of cystic 

 diseased rabbits, some of which, 

 in rare instances, showed over one 

 half of the entire body covered 

 with cysts, reaching along and be- 

 tween the muscles of the lumbar 

 and thoracic region down to the 

 abdominal and thoracic cavities, 



rabit's anatomy a very deformed 

 appearance. On dissecting these tu 

 mors, in advanced eases, a firm 

 fibro-cystic membrane with the in- 

 ner or endocyst, similar to the py- 

 ogenic membrane of some abcess 

 cavities is noticed which is filled 

 with some albuminous like or gela- 

 tinnous fluid, and each separate 

 cyst and even surrounJing parts 

 of such, contain myriads of small, 



