148 
Report on Liver-Rot. 
condition. About December 15tli I found, however, that 
they showed symptoms of rot, or cothe as we call it ; their time 
was up for lambing in about three weeks, but they all dropped 
their lambs nearly a fortnight before their time. I have always 
found sheep that are badly cothed do this. Not a ewe was lost, 
or scarcely any lambs, but the ewes, although I kept them well, 
got very weak and gave little milk. Both ewes and lambs soon 
began to die, till I had lost nearly half the ewes. Selecting two 
ewes that we thought would die in about two days, I gave them 
some medicine to see what effect it would have on the liver. 
Both agreeably disappointed me ; they gradually got over it, and 
I have them now. As soon as I could get the lambs away from 
the others they all had some of the medicine, and I lost no more, 
but shall fat them out this autumn. I had 100 young sheep 
feeding all the summer on some very wet and unhealthy pasture 
joining the meadow that rotted the ewes, but not one of them 
was cothed, although they had no hay in the autumn. Hay 
given on land liable to rot sheep frequently saves them ; those 
that do not get it, or will not eat it, always die first." 
Wiltshire. — In the lower parts of Wiltshire many flocks 
suffered from rot in the autumn of 1879 and subsequent winter ; 
great mortality occurred amongst sheep on the flooded meadows 
around Salisbury ; Messrs. Rawlence and Squarey state (Novem- 
ber 1st, 1 880) " that in some of the grazing districts on estates 
managed by them scarcely a bullock is killed that has not 
flukes in the liver; but Mr. Thomas Aubrey, M.R.C. V.S., 
of Salisbury, informs me that there are now (February 19th, 
1881) in his district fewer cases of rot in sheep and none in 
cattle. 
Mr. James Rawlence (a Member of the Council) has brought 
under the notice of the Veterinary Committee several unique and 
interesting cases of house-fed calves, suckled by their dams or 
receiving only milk, killed for veal when under three months, and 
found to have flukes in the liver. Mr. Frederick Best, butcher, 
Andover, describes his discovery of flukes in a calf killed by him 
early in May 1880. It was bred by Mr. John Read, of New Court, 
who declares that he sold it to Best when nine weeks old, that it 
was fed only on milk, and, until it went to the butcher, that it 
had never left the house. When killed, Mr. Best states that " he 
took out of its liver fifteen to twenty flukes about the size which 
we find in sheep, not being so large as those in a bullock, and of 
a much lighter colour ; they were in the ordinary pipes of the 
liver, not having worked through them enough to make the 
liver knotty, as in cases of longer standing. The fat round the 
kidneys was dull and shrunk, as if the animal had been going 
back in condition ; the veal generally was of a brown colour 
