28 
England in regard to these worms. Within a week thereafter I had information from 
different counties of Illinois and Iowa of the almost universal prevalence of the parasites 
in question, and of the consequent frightful mortality in lambs. One Iowa flockmas- 
ter wrote me that his county contained 100,000 head fewer sheep than it had done seven 
years before, though nobody had suspected the true cause of the mortality until my re¬ 
marks came under his notice. By way of corroboration I was sent many fine speci¬ 
mens of the small lung strongyles of sheep. I have not yet seen the long species in 
America. Here in a single County we have a loss of sheep to the value of not less than 
$300,000 in place of the natural yearly increase to double their numbers. Will this not 
abundantly justify the expense of prophylactic measures? 
Recently I saw in a prominent agricultural paper an advice tendered to a farmer to 
improve the feed of his anaemic sheep and give tonics. To test the true cause of the 
bloodlessness, I dropped a line to the farmer in question, and by return mail I received 
large bundles of the taenia dentata which he had found in the bowels of a single lamb. 
With us as with the Australians and Germans enormous losses are yearly sustained from 
the prevalence of these intestinal tapeworms; as well as from round worms in the 
bowels of sheep. The success or insuccess of sheep husbandry is often determined by 
the absence or presence of these parasites, and their neglect bids fair to lead to the aban¬ 
donment of many of the best wool-growing districts, either to nature or to less remu¬ 
nerative culture. 
In Swine I have known Intestinal worms to induce fatal palpitations, diarrhoeas, 
and enteritis, and lung worms to prove as injurious as in calves, so that in this whole 
class of verminous diseases there is ample scope for restrictive measures and abundant 
promise of good results. 
I have called this the true work of the Veterinarian. I have said that no one can 
accomplish it so promptly, so cheaply and so well as the accomplished veterinary 
pathologist. Even as private practitioners we can do much in giving to the stockowner 
advice which will enable him to obviate much of the danger. This we will do if we 
wouM be true to ourselves, our profession and humanity. But in fulfilling this duty, 
we must never forget the greater possibilities, the incomparably more beneficial, because 
more thorough, fundamental and lasting good which may be accomplished by a wise 
and vigorous action of the government, for the restriction and extinction of animal 
plagues. Let us not shrink then from our duty in this respect also. Let us sound the 
note of warning, let us tell the nation of the evils that beset it, that are ever increasing 
and closing around it, and even if our voice remains unheeded, if pestilence and de¬ 
struction are allowed to overrun the land and to undo our prospects of a permanent 
high, national prosperity, we will at least have the consolation of an approving con¬ 
science, and will in the end be duly credited with having advocated a system which is 
at once sound, economical and beneficient. 
