ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. 
894 
tongue was moved from side to side, and the lips and face became more 
or less enlarged. 
The tongue and lining membranes of the mouth generally were beset 
with small, round, white bladder-like spots, and presented also a swollen 
and inflamed condition. In some the mouth was extensively ulcerated, 
and the eruption extended over the lips and face, reaching as high as 
the eyes. In such cases the breath emitted an offensive odour, and the 
salivary discharge was blood-stained and sticky. Inability to feed, and 
the constitutional disturbance associated with the disease, produced 
great prostration and wasting. In the latter stage of the disorder diar¬ 
rhoea was sometimes present, and lung complications were also frequently 
developed, giving rise to coughing, a discharge from the nostrils, and 
embarrassed breathing. 
I had an opportunity of making a post-mortem examination of one of 
the sheep. In that case the lips and face presented small pustules, and 
the skin was extensively ulcerated. The membrane covering the tongue 
and the inside of the mouth generally was studded with small round 
white vesicles, and in some parts also with ulcers similar to those referred 
to in connection with the skin. 
The mucous membrane of the fourth stomach, as well as that of the 
intestines, was redder than natural, owing to vascular engorgement, and 
it was besides infiltrated with serosity, and slightly thickened. 
The liver was pale in colour, softer in consistence than normal, and 
somewhat friable. 
The kidneys and spleen were congested. The lungs showed patches 
of consolidation and extravasated blood spots. From a full consideration 
of all the facts pertaining to the outbreak, I came to the conclusion that 
the cause of the malady was in some way connected with the vetches. 
Accordingly I visited the field in which they were, and carefully examined 
them. The plant was generally strong, and in itself as good as could be 
desired, but I noticed that it was not only much blighted, but that the 
heads of the vetches were everywhere invaded with grubs (insect larvae). 
In the majority of plants examined, not less than 40 or 50 of these 
parasites were counted. In what relation, if any, they stand to the 
disease, I have not been able to determine. It may be pointed out that, 
by the universal presence of these creatures, the sheep were compelled 
to partake of a large quantity of animal matter from day to day, and to 
depart so far from their natural aliment as to become, for the time, semi- 
carnivorous. Whether these insect larvae have any immediate connec¬ 
tion with the origin of the malady, or whether the cause is to be found 
in the blighted condition of the plant, or in a combination of these with 
other conditions, I am unable to determine. It is highly probable, 
however, that when partaken of in such quantities as were here present, 
the grubs are cabable of giving rise to considerable disturbance of the 
digestive canal, and laying the foundation for active disease. That the 
cause of the outbreak was connected with the tares is rendered probable 
by the fact that so soon as the animals ceased to feed on them they 
quickly recovered, and no further outbreak occurred. 
It should be mentioned that the stock ewes were pastured on the tares 
on the Gth of August—two days prior to my visit—and have continued 
free from the disorder up to the present time. This fact does not in 
any way affect the conclusion arrived at in respect of the cause, inas¬ 
much as aphthee is a disease belonging essentially to young animals. 
Moreover, at that time the insect larvae were changing their state, and 
dispersing. 
With reference to general management, it was suggested that the use 
