Quarter Evil. 



525 



character. The first indication is lameness, but the swelling is 

 not so observable in sheep as in cattle, being hidden to a great 

 extent in the case of the former by the fleece. 



There is no doubt that the disease exists to a greater extent 

 among sheep in certain counties in England than has been 

 generally known, and from the rapidity with which sheep fre- 

 quently die it is often locally called " strike." 



Should any doubt exist in the mind of an owner as to whether 

 his sheep have died from quarter ill, the difficulty can easily be 

 solved by making an incision through the skin of one of the 

 dead animals into the tumour or swelling, when he will find it 

 contains a large quantity of dark coloured fluid, which emits a 

 very strong and peculiarly offensive odour. Any fluid that may 

 thus escape should be carefully collected and destroyed. The 

 organism causing the disease, like that of anthrax, is believed to 

 exist in the soil ; it has not yet, however, been determined how 

 it finds its way into the system of the affected animals, but the 

 probabilities are that it is through the digestive system. 



No form of medical treatment has been discovered which can 

 be relied upon as a cure for quarter evil, but it has been claimed 

 by veterinarians residing on the Continent of Europe and in 

 America, in which countries the disease appears to be more 

 prevalent than it is in Great Britain, that certain vaccines which 

 have been prepared from the organism of quarter evil give pro- 

 tection to the animals inoculated. Some of the authorities 

 regard one vaccination sufficient, while others advocate two, 

 after an interval of eight days, but the length of period for 

 which immunity can thus be obtained has not yet been satis- 

 factorily determined. Another most important fact, which must 

 not be overlooked, is that sometimes the inoculation is followed 

 by the death of the animal which it was intended to protect. 



Since quarter ill and anthrax are both due to specific bacilli 

 which, although different in form, have equally fatal results, 

 similar steps in the mode of disinfection should be adopted. 

 There is little hope that any attempt to destroy the spores of 

 the disease in the soil can be followed by any good result, but 

 measures of a preventive nature can be adopted by everyone 

 who has the misfortune to have the disease in his sheds, yards, 

 or other enclosed places. 



