267 
STURDY IN SHEEP. 
Mu. J. M c Call, student, Veterinary College, Edinburgh, 
in a communication forwarded to us, in which he refers to 
the review of an Essay that has appeared in e The Highland, 
and Agricultural Society’s Journal/ showing that this disease 
affects only those flocks of sheep which are attended by dogs, 
remarks : 
“To recount my experience on sturdy, as it affects 
sheep in Ayrshire, I may briefly state that hydatids in the 
brain, or turnsick, sturdy, &c., prevails in the upland or 
moorland sheep-walks, and that there it is difficult to manage 
flocks of sheep without attentive men and good dogs. A 
fact not to be forgotten is, that in the upland districts hares 
and rabbits are very plentiful. In the lowlands, on arable 
soil, there is every facility for sheep to be fenced in, and 
accordingly dogs are rarely used, except one chained up to 
guard the farm-steading. So unaccustomed are the sheep 
on the lowlands to the sight of a dog, that they will take to 
flight on the appearance of one at a distance ; whereas the 
upland sheep are quite at home and cool when barked at and 
driven by a colley. 
“ In the lowland sheep we have no sturdy, or at all events 
very exceptional cases ; and all the cases I have seen have 
been in the moorland sheep, purchased to feed on the turnips 
on the lowland farms. The distribution of sturdy in the 
county of Ayrshire unquestionably proves that where dogs, 
rabbits, hares, and men, are located together, hydatids in the 
brains of sheep are frequently to be met with ; and from all 
we know now of the development of the cysto-cesiold worms, 
we must infer, that for the propagation of certain animal 
parasites, several species of the higher orders of animals 
must cohabit, and that the means to be adopted for dimi- 
• nishing the chances the parasites have to multiply is to keep 
the various animals, which such parasites infest at different 
stages of development, isolated from each other. You might, 
as Professor Gamgee says, prevent sturdy by preventing or 
curing taenia in the dog ; but the best way is to keep the dogs 
from the sheep, especially from the lambs. It is clear all 
the old views on sturdy are proved to be wrong. The disease 
is not hereditary ; it does not depend on the dogs worrying 
the sheep, but on the dogs being subject to tapeworm/’ 
