204 



Others fall away in flesh to a serious extent and the growth of the fleece 

 is retarded. 



Occurrence. — It is a usual thing to find lungs affected with Strongyhis 

 ovispulmonalis, and more rare to find them aft'ectod with S. filaria. 

 When the latter occurs it is ordinarily associated with the former, 

 owing to its abundance, but it is easy to separate the two diseases. In 

 the beginning of the 8. filaria disease the very posterior tip of the lung 

 is affected, turns dark red or grayish, and has a solid feeling and ap- 

 pearance. From this the disease spreads anteriorly, lobe after lobe 

 of the lung becoming involved as the bronchi choke up. These termi 

 nal, patches are very sharply separated from the adjacent portion of the 

 lung, which appears normal, except that it may be infected with *8'. ovis- 

 pulmonalis, as indeed may be the part infected by 8. filaria. The cause 

 of this solidification or hepatization (so called because it becomes solid 

 like liver) is the stoppage of the air tubes by the worms and the debris 

 they produce. When they exclude the air from the i)ai t the air cells 

 fill with d6bris and the part becomes solid. Portions of lobes elsewhere 

 may become involved, but more I'arely. The anterior lobes often ap- 

 pear red and solid, but it will generally be noticed that in these the red 

 part is thin and not as spongy and resistant as the lobes in the poste- 

 rior end. This state is due to the air being driven out of the lobes and 

 the walls coming together, producing a state of collapse (caruiflcation 

 or atelectasis). 



The solid lung produced by 8. filaria is often covered by a thickened 

 whitish membrane, the inflamed serous membrane, which often grows 

 fast to the chest or thoracic walls. After the worms disappear, either 

 having been killed by remedies or from some unknown reason, the heal- 

 ing process begins, and the lamb recovers if not too much weakened. 



Treatment of this disease is far more hopeful than that of the pneu- 

 monia due to 8trongylus ovis-pulmotialis. It may be dietetic, preventive, 

 and medicinal. In an essay on this disease Mr. Stephen Powers {The 

 American Merino, O. Judd Co., 1 887, p. 283) says : 



To sustain the strength andTitality of a sheep already affected is exceedingly diffi- 

 cult, because the appetite is feeble and capricious. The lamb can seldom be induced 

 to eat enough even of the most nutritious food, to make any cousiderable impression 

 on it in the way of betterment ; and the danger in giving it by force stimulating 

 gruels, etc., is that, owing to its bloodless condition, the process of digestion will be 

 HO illy performed that the food will do it more harm than good by cansing scours. 

 High feeding is of transcendent importance as a preventive measure ; but when the 

 lamb has reached such a pass that vermifuges have to be employed, it is necessary to 

 proceed with great caution in giving rich food. 



These remarks commend themselves tO all who have had experience 

 with afflicted sheep. Keep the lambs up to the highest point of ex- 

 cellence and health by feeding and they will the better withstand the 

 ravages of the parasites. Corn and oats, bran, chops, and oil'cake are 

 all good fatteners, and should be given in proper proportions. Salt 

 should be placed where the sheep have free access, not only as a diet- 



