Report on Liver-Rot. 
155 
from his steward, that the " shcoj) were all right and doing 
well," the sccjucl has proved that I was right. The animals, 
however, went well through the lambing season, and produced a 
good fall of healthy, strong lambs, with a loss of less than 3 per 
cent, of the ewes. The livers of those dying were generally 
examined by Mr. Garrett's steward, and found to be greatly 
infested with flukes. This account somewhat militates against 
the received opinion that rotten sheep thrive at first ; but the 
above facts nevertheless remain. This appears to me to be a very 
critical time with flock-owners, for this reason amongst others. 
Affected ewes now discharge the flukes which have completed 
their ordinary term of life, and accomplished their mission of 
reproduction by emission of their ova. The sheep, moreover, 
are in danger of recontamination by the cercaria? produced from 
the ova of last year's parasites. Where is the mischief to stop? 
If we have a continuance of wet weather, there is imminent 
danger of the disease being increasingly prevalent. Of what 
use will it be for the farmer to kill or sell off his present flock, 
and buy fresh sheep to introduce to the affected sites ? This 
is a serious question, and demands much consideration." 
Norfolk. — Writing from " Brettenham Manor, Thetford 
(Feb. 22nd, 1881), Mr. J. Ferguson reported that in his district 
thousands of sheep have been made away with in consequence 
of the rot, and farmers in increasing pecuniary embarrassment 
consider it better to say nothing about their losses. " I keep," 
he continues, " from 1400 to 2000 sheep. My farm — with the 
exception of about 140 acres of low meadow — is high and dry, 
too dry ; and on my low lands I never allow any sheep except 
crones to run. 
" Last Michaelmas I purchased at a sale near here 160 sheep. 
After having them a few weeks I had doubts about them, and 
had some killed ; they were full of flukes ; the rest of the lot 
were fatted and sold to a butcher, who told me that the whole lot 
were rotten. I may say that these ewes were kept on high and 
dry land of good quality, where no floods could possibly happen, 
and where sheep were never known to rot. 
" The snails that are supposed to cause the rot can be seen in 
any quantity on the marshes near Lynn ; they are the shape of 
an ammonite, and in size from a threepenny-bit downwards. 
" A neighbouring butcher told me the other day that he kills 
but few bullocks now without finding flukes in the liver. I 
had some young cattle and a mare and foal on my low meadows 
during the summer of 1879, and in the spring of 1880 I lost a 
heiler and the mare. The former was perfectly rotten, and I 
believe the mare also, as she died very unaccountably; but 
unfortunately we did not examine the liver. A dealer in this 
