Diseases  of  Cattle  and  Sheep. 
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sudden  in  its  attack,  but  generally  the  result  of  small  yet  reiterated 
application  of  causes,  during  which  the  ailment  has  been  maturing 
unnoticed  and  unsuspected.  This  disease  is  more  or  less  accom- 
panied with  loss  of  condition,  and  frequently  occurs  as  a sequel 
to  other  complaints. 
There  is  a hereditary  taint  in  this  disease,  as  well  as  the  pre- 
vious one,  consumption;  and  hence  breeders  should  beware  of 
breeding  from  stock  having  such  predispositions. 
As  a further  illustration  of  those  chronic  diseases,  consumption 
and  diarrhoea,  1 would  adduce  the  following  examples  : — During 
the  winter  and  spring  of  1846-47  the  Farmers  and  Graziers’ 
Cattle  Insurance  Association  sustained  considerable  losses  from 
cows  insured  by  the  Cheshire  dairy  farmers.  The  summer  of 
1846  was  an  exceedingly  dry  one,  which  occasioned  a scarcity  of 
winter  forage  ; and  the  insurers,  instead  of  purchasing  hay,  turned 
their  cows  into  the  open  fields  to  graze  whenever  the  weather 
permitted  it.  The  consequence  of  this  half-starved  system  of 
feeding,  combined  with  sudden  changes  of  temperature,  caused 
an  immense  number  of  deaths.  The  cows  are  noticed  in  the 
books  of  the  association  as  dying  from  the  “ rotf  “ wasting 
“ shooting “ consumption “ went  off;”  and  numbers  that 
escaped  ihese  complaints  “ went  off ” with  the  pleuro-pneumonia, 
which  was  rife  in  the  district  at  the  time. 
3.  Insufficient  drainage  of  soil  exercises  an  unfavourable 
influence  on  cattle  and  sheep,  and  the  diseases  induced  in  conse- 
quence are  numerous  and  important.  These  are  generally  attri- 
buted to  miasms,  or  deleterious  principles  developed  in  the  land 
from  the  decay  and  exposure  of  vegetable  substances  to  the  sun. 
Under  this  head  will  be  briefly  considered  various  verminous 
diseases,  fevers,  catarrhal  epizootics,  and  epizootic  infectious 
diseases.  These  complaints  are  all  rife  in  marsh  or  wet  stag- 
nant soils,  and  may  therefore  be  considered  under  the  same 
category. 
Verminous  diseases  of  sheep  are  the  rot,  produced  from  the 
fluke-worm  ( Distoma  hepaticum ),  and  the  sturdy  or  staggers, 
caused  by  hydatids,  the  Ccenurus  ccrebralis ; the  former  finds  its 
seat  in  the  livers  and  gall  ducts,  and  is  common  to  sheep  in  all 
kinds  of  condition  that  have  been  graaed  in  flooded  meadows  or 
undrained  soils  in  the  summer,  whilst  the  latter  more  commonly 
attacks  young  sheep  that  have  been  neglected  and  ill  fed.  The 
predisposing  cause  of  sturdy  may  be  traced  to  insufficient  nourish- 
ment, with  a residence  in  a humid  exposed  situation. 
Bronchitis  (verminous)  in  calves  and  yearlings  is  also  referable 
to  the  same  debilitating  influences.  During  certain  moist  warm 
