364 



DISEASES OF THE SHEEP. 



gins to spread — the muzzle and the tongue are stained^ — the 

 animal is more dull and dispirited — his false condition rap- 

 idly disappears — -the membrane of the nose becomes livid— 

 the tongue gradually assumes the same character — the eyes 

 are dull, and their vessels charged with a yellow-brov^n 

 fluid. The breath novir becorae_s fetid — ^the bowels variable 

 — sometimes costive, and at other times loose to a degree 

 that defies the power of medicine. The skin often becomes 

 "spotted with yellow or black — ^the emaciation is more and 

 more rapid — the general fever increases — the vessels of the 

 eye are more distended and red — the skin becomes loose 

 and flabby, and if it is pressed upon, a peculiar crackling 

 sound is heard — ^the wool comes oiF when pulled with the 

 slightest force — ;the appetite entirely fails — the belly begins 

 to enlarge — on pressure fluid is easily recognized within it, 

 and hence one of its names ' the hydropic' or dropsical rot. 

 The animal is weak in every limb^a violent purging is now 

 very frequently present-^the sheep wastes away to a mere 

 skeleton, and at length he dies— the duration of the disease 

 being from two to four or six months. 



" When a rotted sheep is examined after death, the whole 

 cellular tissue is found to be infiltrated, and a yellow serous 

 fluid everywhere follows the knife. The muscles are soft 

 and flabby ; they have the appearance of being macerated. 

 The kidneys are pale, flaccid, and infiltrated. The belly is 

 frequently filled with water, or purulent matter ; the perito- 

 neum is everywhere thickened', and the bowels adhere to- 

 gether by means of an unnatural growth. The heart is en- 

 larged and softened, and the lungs are filled with tubercles. 

 The principal alterations of structure are in the liver. It is 

 pale, livid, and broken down with the slightest pressure ; 

 and on being boiled it will almost dissolve away. When 

 the liver is not pale, it is often curiously spotted. In some 

 cases it is speckled like the back of a toad. Nevertheless, 

 some parts of it are hard and scirrhous ; others are ulcer- 

 ated, and the biliary ducts are filled viiHa. jlukes. Here is 

 the decided seat of the disease, and it is here that the na- 

 ture of the malady may be learned. It is inflammation of 

 ths liver. In consequence of this the secretion from the 

 liver is increased — at first scarcely vitiated, and the diges- 

 tive powers are rendered more energetic ; but soon the bile 

 flows so abundantly thit it is taken into the systejn, and the " 

 eye, the brisket, the mouth, become yellow. As the disease 



