DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 109 



come affected from the lips of the lambs would tend to prove its 

 cortagious nature. Nocard claims that it is due to a micro- 

 organism which he has found not only in the milk but also in 

 the watery effusions present in the abdominal cavity after death. 

 Apparently the lambs first become attacked, the ewes being in- 

 oculated by their young, but as to the actual cause or source 

 from which the lambs receive infection but very little is known. 



Symptoms. 



The first apparent symptoms rre on the part of the lambs a 

 disposition to drag behind, not keeping up with the ewes, reluct- 

 ance or inability to grasp or suck the teat, taking it into the 

 mouth and letting it go quickly, the mouth when the lamb is 

 endeavoring to suck becomes filled with foam, which coats the 

 udder of the ewe, a desire to lay down and not frisk about is 

 observed, the lambs get weak, evidences of cachexia or wasting 

 away becoming apparent, they appear listless, the ears hanging 

 pendulous and the head drooping forwards. Small pimples will 

 now be observed round the mouth. These enlarge and ulcerate, 

 become confluent, forming sores which become covered with 

 scabs. Inside the mouth these pimples and sores will also be 

 found attacking the tongue, gums and lips; in severe cases the 

 gums ulcerate, the teeth even become loose, and may fall out, the 

 lower jaw bone in such cases generally being diseased. When 

 existing in this form death frequently occurs from an inability 

 on the part of the affected animal to obtain food. In these 

 severe cases there seems to arise a systemic blood-poisoning, 

 which induces inflammation of the lungs, abscesses on the course 

 of lymphatic vessels, causing prostration, rapid breathing, cough- 

 ing and inability to move. 



When the udder of the ewe is attacked the eruption is 

 similar to that found in and around the mouth of the lamb. The 

 teats are covered with sores, which become crusted over with 



