136 LOUPING-ILL AND BrAXY. [JUNE, 



rise. The appetite may not fail entirely, and ultimate recovery, 

 though very rare, is possible, but one or more of the limbs, it is 

 said, may be permanently crippled, and the sheep may have to 

 be killed in consequence. In acute cases the disease runs its 

 course to a fatal issue in a few hours, with symptoms of blood- 

 poisoning. 



Braxy. — Braxy is found over a wide area of country. It is 

 said to exist in Cornwall, and to a lesser extent in the West of 

 England. It is more prevalent again in the South of Scotland, 

 and is endemic throughout the most of the West Highlands, its 

 area of greatest intensity. It is the most terrible scourge among 

 sheep in this country, and at its chief centres, the West and South 

 of Scotland, the death-rate is often 20 per cent, among the first 

 year's sheep,and may at times amount to almost total annihilation. 



The disease runs its course with remarkable rapidity, and, in 

 fact, the first intimation is generally the finding of the dead 

 animal. Putrefaction appears to set in immediately after death. 

 Under natural conditions, therefore, opportunity is seldom 

 afforded of studying its symptoms, but all accounts seem to 

 agree in describing the first symptoms to be a short, quick step, 

 followed by unsteady gait, and a tendency to lie down and get 

 up suddenly. 



Bacterial Origin of Louping-ilL — At the commencem^ent of 

 the investigation nothing was known of the cause of louping- 

 ill, and the symptoms were so similar to several other diseases 

 that it was next to impossible to distinguish them. After the 

 examination of a very large number of cases, the existence of 

 a specific bacillus in liquid found in the peritoneal cavity was 

 ascertained, and the result of subsequent experiments definitely 

 established the bacterial character of the disease. 



Following this discovery, it was made out by a long series ot 

 experiments that the bacteria or their spores, which latter are 

 almost indestructible by natural influences, are taken up by the 

 mouth when feeding, and thus pass into the alimentary canal. 

 Here they remain and multiply, being evacuated in quantities 

 with the dejecta, but not necessarily injuring the animal. 



A very remarkable discovery was subsequently made with 

 regard to susceptibility and immunity. It was found that if the 

 blood of a healthy sheep were placed in a test tube, a culture 



