112 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 



a sudden change of diet during and after parturition, espe- 

 ciably if too rich food is given after keeping the ewe on 

 scanty diet. If the diet of the ewe during the last months 

 of pregnancy consists of much clover, hay, potatoes, grain 

 and drinks of groats, the lambs are very prone to palsy 

 soon after birth. Mouldy food of all kinds, mouldy oil- 

 cakes, rotten carrots, potatoes, etc., as well as putrid water, 

 are very injurious. 



The injurious influence of vitiated food in producing the 

 palsy of lambs has not only been proved by numerous 

 accidental observations, but is shown beyond a doubt by 

 interesting and striking direct experiments. The fact that 

 the milk of the mother exercises great influence in the 

 production of the disease is proved by the experiment of 

 allowing healthy lambs to suck the milk of a ewe whose 

 young perished in this way. I have tried this experiment ■ 

 more than fifty times, and the lambs were always affected 

 with the disease. The fact is therefore beyond a doubt. 



Not only vitiated or improper food, however, causes the 

 milk of the mother to become injurious, but also a diseased 

 condition of the ewe, especially if she be affected with the 

 fluke and rot. In lambs, catching cold is a source of palsy, 

 which is the more certainly produced if the above-men- 

 tioned predisposition exists. It cannot, however, be stated 

 with certainty whether catching cold is necessary, or whether 

 the disease may be produced without, nor has it been ascer- 

 tained if it can arise solely from catching cold without the 

 presence of a predisposition for the disease or of other cir- 

 cumstances. Both are probable, however. It is most com- 

 mon during the wet, cold days of March and April and 

 during bad weather, especially when the sheep are kept in 

 warm, narrow and close stables. It appears particularly in 

 weak, thin-wooled lambs whose development is retarded, 

 probably because they are most sensitive to cold. 



