150 
Report on Liver-Rot. 
the same being grown on peculiarly dry pasture-land just 
adjoining my rose-garden. Judge my surprise to find when he 
was slaughtered (June 18th, 1880) that he had a considerable 
number of flukes in his liver. I may add that the mother is my 
best roan cow, and took the first prize at this year's Marlborough 
show." 
An analogous case of flukes occurring in a house-fed calf 
is communicated by 3Ir. George Lcpper, of Aylesbury. Two 
similar cases in the spring of 1880 were met with near Strat- 
ford-on-Avon. The calves, under ten weeks old, were from two 
different farms, and are stated not to have been out of the pens, 
and to have been kept entirely on milk, with latterly a little 
flour. A still more extraordinary case is communicated to 
Mr. Rawlence by Mr. T. Munckton, Petersham Farm, Wim- 
borne, who states : " In May 1880 I had a heifer-calf which 
w^hen born was very weak, and after a few hours died. Having 
had it opened, I found two flukes in the liver. It never stood or 
sucked at all." Such a remarkable case demands, however, 
corroboration. Not all the creatures hastily or ignorantly set 
down as flukes are so in reality. Cestoid worms, and even 
flakes of lymph or mucus, have not infrequently been mistaken 
for flukes. In Leicestershire the other day I saw some cestoid 
worms erroneously labelled " flukes from the liver of a horse." 
There is no sufficient evidence of tapeworms or other parasites 
being congenital. 
A still better authenticated case of flukes discovered in the 
foetus has been recorded by Mr. George Evans, M.R.C.V.S., 
Wells. Replying to inquiries made by Mr. Rawlence, he wrote 
to him (November 8th, 1880) :— " I have found flukes in 
several instances in the livers of calves and lambs at birth 
and immediately alter. I was called to examine a flock of 
ewes in dispute sold with a warranty, several of which died, 
I made a post-mortem examination of three, two of which 
I had slaughtered for the purpose ; their livers were literally 
crammed with flukes. Opening the lambs, I found the livers 
much enlarged, and several perfectly formed flukes — I cannot 
say how many, but numbers of them. I have also found them 
in calves that have died a few days after birth, and it is not 
uncommon to see them in the livers of calves killed for veal 
that liave been fed on the stage and never been to grass. In 
one particular case the cow was down for some weeks before 
calving, evidently suffering from liver-disease ; she produced 
a dead calf, very emaciated, and in its liver I found flukes. 
The cow died, and her liver contained a quantity of flukes. 
I shall make further observations and report to you regarding 
such cases. Hundreds of sheep are dying from rot in my 
