264 
THOMAS WALLEY. 
are aggravated by low temperature and exposure to cold winds, 
particularly east or north-east winds, but of the latter more anon. 
Excessive quantities of turnips are most injurious when artificial 
manures, especially salines, have been too generously used and 
there has been long-continued wet weather. Moisture within, 
moisture without, moisture above, below and around, will tell its 
tale ; will dilute and impoverish the blood and macerate and soften 
the tissues; will disintegrate the cell elements and render them 
incapable of performing the functions of organic life; moreover, 
it will affect the blood cells and the walls of the blood-vessels 
injuriously. 
While swedes are more nutritious than white turnips, they too 
may be overdone; and owing to the quantity of sugar they con¬ 
tain they produce fatty changes in the liver and as a result thereof 
deficiency in blood supply, especially of red blood, with a tendency 
to throwing out of fluids of an albuminous character into the 
tissues, constituting “ turnip braxy.” 
I have seen sheep (especially lambing ewes) that have been 
fed ad libitum on swedes, without any complementary food, die 
in dozens, their carcasses laden with fat but not a teacupful of 
blood in the veins of any one of them ; and in the case of breeding 
ewes, I have seen the recently born lambs the subjects of internal 
dropsies. I have again seen ewes fed in the same way, on swedes 
which have been forced with artificial manure, especially plios- 
phatic manure, die in dozens from milk fever (so called in some 
districts) while their lambs have succumbed to joint-ill; and some 
years ago, Mr. Robertson, late of Kelso (the late Professor 
Robertson), assured me that he had, by way of experiment, pro¬ 
duced these diseases at will. 
Foods rich in carbohydrates and fatty matters are, in excess, 
extremely injurious, bringing about, as they do, the changes already 
noticed in the liver; and if sugar is superabundant, diarrhoea or 
scour. Moreover the blood becomes over-laden with their products 
and highly plastic from imperfect oxidation, and congestion is 
the result. 
Foods rich in flesh-forming material (proteids ) are, in too 
great quantity, also highly injurious, tending, as they do, to an 
