POISONING BY LUPINES (LUPINUS LEUCOPHYLLUS; L. SERICEUS; L. CYANEUS).
These plants are commonly known by the names blue pea, blue bean, and wild bean. They are coarse, silky-haired perennial herbs, with blue flowers arranged in conspicuous terminal racemes, which blossom in June and July, with long-stemmed leaves, which are divided into from seven to eleven leaflets radiating from a common point. The fruit is a hairy, several-seeded pod, and the seeds are small and somewhat flattened.
As a rule these plants do not occur in the flat river bottoms. They occur most abundantly on the foothills and mountain ranges at moderate elevations.
During the season of 1900 the lupines in Montana began to bloom about May 20th, and the first full pods were collected on June 5th. Lupines are not very extensively eaten by sheep during the spring and summer, except when they are unusually hungry or are being driven from one range to another. Lupines are more often eaten by sheep in summer on the mountain sides, and in the fall and early winter after early frosts have opened the pods and the seeds have fallen out. Lupine hay is greedily eaten by all kinds of stock during the winter, and large quantities of this hay have been fed for the past fifteen or twenty years. Lupine hay is cut in different years at dates ranging from the 1st of July to the middle of September. When cut during the first half of July the newly ripe pods, full of seeds, are secured in the hay. When, however, the harvesting of lupine hay is postponed until September, the pods become ripe and split open, and the majority of seeds fall out. A striking variation in the quantity of pods containing seeds is noted during different years. During seasons in which May and June are wet the quantity of pods is usually large. When, however, these months are dry only a few pods are found on each plant, and a vast majority of the flowers fail to be fertilised.
Dr. Wilcox has observed that sheep are especially fond of the pods of various leguminous plants before they become mature and while they are still in a succulent condition.
Dr. Wilcox saw a flock of sheep which while being driven from one range to another, in a hungry condition, was allowed to feed upon an area of lupines in a nearly ripe condition. Within two hours the sheep manifested violent symptoms of poisoning, and ultimately 100 out of the lot of 200 died. He afterwards saw many hundreds of fatal cases in sheep and a number in horses, both from eating green lupines and lupine hay.
As an experiment two sheep were given each 150 medium-sized lupine pods (L. leucophyllus) which were entirely full of ripe seeds. The sheep ate the pods readily. Both sheep became frenzied within about forty-five minutes after feeding upon the lupine pods, and died about one hour later. The symptoms in these cases were the same as those observed in poisoning under natural conditions.
The symptoms of lupine poisoning are so well known in Europe that chronic lupine poisoning has been given the name lupinosis. It is characterised by loss of appetite, fever, dyspnœa, constipation, and yellowness of the visible mucous membranes. Diarrhœa, sometimes of a sanguinolent type, appears later. The urine becomes albuminous, tinted with bile products or stained red by hæmoglobin, and the head shows œdema. Death occurs in a few days. In America the chronic form has not been observed. In cases of lupine poisoning in Montana there was noted acute cerebral congestion, accompanied with mental excitement. The sheep rushed about in different directions, butting one another and other objects. The first stage of frenzy was soon followed by a second stage, characterised by pronounced irregularity of movement, spasms, and falling fits. In the majority of cases death occurred in from one-half to one and one-half hours. In extensive cases of lupine poisoning it was uniformly observed that a number of the sheep lingered on from two to four days before they died. The muscular convulsions resembled those caused by strychnine. The excretion of the kidneys was much increased and frequently was bloody. Post-mortem examinations of sheep poisoned by lupines revealed conditions similar to those in acute forms of loco disease, with the addition of a congested condition of the kidneys.
Fig. 94.—Lupine (Lupinus leucophyllus).
(From the Annual Report, U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, 1900.)
Fig. 95.—Lupine (Lupinus leucophyllus) in hay.
(From the Annual Report, U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, 1900.)
No remedies have been tried in cases of poisoning from American species of lupine, but it seems reasonable to suppose that potassium permanganate would probably destroy the lupine alkaloids in the stomach if administered promptly after the first signs of poisoning. Experience and observation indicate that lupine hay is always dangerous for sheep if cut at a time when the seeds are retained in the hay. The evidence thus far collected regarding this matter indicates that the seeds are the most poisonous part of the plant.
POISONING BY VETCHES (LATHYRUS SATIVUS): LATHYRISM.
In the horse this disease is due to feeding on grain containing the seeds of vetches, but in the ox to eating the green portions of the plants. Feeding has to be continued for at least a month to produce accidents.
The earliest symptoms consist in suppression of milk secretion, and somnolence. Nervous symptoms—from which alone the horse suffers—soon make their appearance. The neuro-muscular system is attacked. Interference with the nervous system is followed by inco-ordination of movement, and later by paraplegia of the hind quarters. Roaring is not noticeable, probably because the patients rarely move rapidly.
The lesions have been little studied, but appear to consist in congestion and infiltration of the meninges, cord, and roots of the lumbo-sacral plexus.
Treatment. If the animals are paralysed, treatment is rarely of value; otherwise it is sufficient to remove the cause and to administer purgatives and diuretics, with the object of eliminating toxic products. Recovery follows in three to four weeks.
Robinia pseudacacia.—The common locust tree is native in the central and eastern parts of the United States, and is extensively cultivated for ornamental purposes throughout the Union. The bark and leaves contain a powerful poison, and persons have been killed by eating these parts.
* Sophora secundiflora.—The beautiful bright-red beans of the frijo-lillo, or coral bean of southern and western Texas contain a powerfully poisonous alkaloid. The plant is said to have poisoned stock in Texas and in northern Mexico.
LINACEÆ (FLAX FAMILY).
Linum rigidum.—The large-flowered yellow flax is reported from Pecos Valley, Texas, as poisonous to sheep. An investigation made by the Bureau of Animal Industry, U.S.A., showed that the plant is poisonous.
Fig. 96.—Caper spurge (Euphorbia lathyris). a, Upper half of plant, one-third natural size; b, seed capsule, natural size.
Fig. 97.—Snow on the mountain (Euphorbia marginata). a, Whole plant, one-third natural size; b, seed capsule, natural size.
MELIACEÆ (UMBRELLA-TREE FAMILY).
* Melia azedarach.—The Chinese umbrella-tree is much cultivated for ornament, and sometimes grows wild in the South. A correspondent from Arizona stated that three of his hogs were poisoned by eating the seeds, which were ignorantly offered to them for food.
EUPHORBIACEÆ (SPURGE FAMILY).
Euphorbia.—There are many species of spurge native to the United States, nearly all of which contain an acrid milky juice. Stock generally avoid them, but cattle have been poisoned by drinking water into which the plants have been thrown. The juice of E. marginata and E. bicolour is used to some extent in Texas to brand cattle, it being held to be superior to a red-hot iron for that purpose, because screw worms will not infect the fresh scar and the spot heals more readily.
* Jatropha stimulosa.—The seeds of the spurge nettle of the Southern States are extremely poisonous. Stock avoid the plant on account of its stinging hairs.
Fig. 98.—Castor oil plant (Ricinus communis).
Fig. 99.—Red chestnut (Æsculus pavia). a, Flowering branch; b, seed—both two-ninths natural size.
* Ricinus communis.—The castor oil plant is quite commonly cultivated in the warmer portions of the United States, and grows wild in the South. The seeds have been accidentally eaten by horses with fatal effect, and they have been strewn on pasture lands in the North-West for the purpose of killing sheep that were trespassing thereon. A Frenchman has discovered a method of making cattle immune to the effects of the toxalbumin contained in the seeds, so that they may be fed to stock without causing any apparent ill effect. A note on poisoning by castor oil cake will be found hereafter.
BUXACEÆ (BOX FAMILY).
* Buxus sempervirens.—The leaves of the common box, cultivated for hedges, are poisonous to all kinds of stock.
ÆSCULACÆ (HORSE-CHESTNUT FAMILY).
Fig. 100.—Water hemlock (Cicuta maculata), showing section of spindle-shaped roots and lower stem, the leaves, flowers, and fruit, one-half natural size; also fruit and cross-section of seed, enlarged five times.
Æsculus californica, California buckeye: Æ. glabra, Ohio buckeye; fœtid buckeye: Æ. hippocastanum, horse-chestnut: Æ. pavia, red buckeye.—The leaves and fruit of these species are generally regarded as poisonous to stock. The fruit may be easily converted into food by washing and boiling. It is believed that a small quantity of the unprepared fruit of the California buckeye will cause cows to slip their young.
HYPERICACEÆ (ST. JOHN’S WORT FAMILY).
* Hypericum perforatum.—The common St. John’s wort is commonly believed to cause disagreeable eruptions on cows’ udders and on the feet of white haired animals. This species and the spotted St. John’s wort (H. maculatum) were brought into the United States Bureau of Agriculture by Dr. G. W. Bready, from Norwood, Maryland, who stated that five horses were poisoned in May, 1898, by eating meadow hay which contained nearly 50 per cent. of these plants. One horse died from the effects of the poison, and two were killed to prevent their further suffering.
POISONING BY ST. JOHN’S WORT.
The ingestion of St. John’s wort produces excitement followed by dulness, interference with vision and hearing, and by visual hallucinations with a tendency to lean backwards, the front limbs remaining fixed in position. The patient often sits down on the hind quarters like a dog.
APIACEÆ (CARROT FAMILY).
* Cicuta maculata. This is the water hemlock (spotted hemlock; beaver poison; cowbane), which grows most abundantly throughout the United States. It is one of the best known poisonous plants. Stock are not infrequently killed by eating the fleshy roots or hay with which the plants are mixed.
Fig. 101.—Oregon water hemlock (Cicuta vagans). a, Plant with leaves, one-sixth natural size; b and b′, rootstock and horizontal roots, showing section, half-size; c, terminal leaflets, one-sixth natural size; d, flowering spray, full size.
Fig. 102.—Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), showing upper portion of plant with flowers and seed, one-third natural size.
* Cicuta vagans.—Cattle are frequently killed in Oregon and Washington by eating the large fleshy rootstocks which have been washed, frozen, or dug out of the soil, or by drinking water in marshes where the roots have been trampled upon. The roots of the other species of Cicuta are undoubtedly poisonous, but cases have been reported against one other species only, namely, C. bolanderi. It grows in marshy land in California.
* Conium maculatum.—The well-known poison hemlock, or spotted hemlock of Europe, is an introduced weed not uncommon in the north-eastern section of the United States and in California. The plant is generally avoided by stock on account of its bad odour, but animals have been killed by eating it in the fresh state. Since the poisonous constituent is volatile, the dry plants are not so dangerous.
Fig. 103.—Narrow-leaf laurel (Kalmia angustifolia), showing flowering branch, one-third natural size.
Fig. 104.—Broad-leaf laurel (Kalmia latifolia). a, Flowering spray, one-third natural size; b, vertical section of flower showing peculiar attachment of stamens, natural size; c, fruiting capsules, natural size.
POISONING BY HEMLOCK AND WILD CHERVIL (ANTHRISCUS SYLVESTRIS).
Poisoning only results from ingestion of the green plants. It is characterised by salivation, nausea, dyspnœa, generalised trembling and vertigo, paraplegia, and symptoms of gastro-enteritis.
POISONING BY FENNEL.
Fig. 105.—Branch ivy (Leucothoë catesbæi). a, Flowering branch; b, fruiting capsules.
This disease, seen in Algeria, and recently studied by Bremond and Bojoly, need only be mentioned. The information at present available is indefinite, and the symptoms so closely resemble those of Texas fever that there seems a possibility of confusion having arisen.
The lesions are those of hæmorrhagic gastro-enteritis.
Treatment consists in giving tannin, opium, and emollients.
Oxypolis rigidus.—The cowbane is natural in swamps throughout the eastern half of the United States. The leaves and roots are reputed to be poisonous to cattle.
Sium cicutæfolium.—The leaves of the hemlock water parsnip, which is more or less common throughout the United States, are said to be poisonous to stock.
ERICAEÆ (HEATH FAMILY).
Andromeda polifolia.—The wild rosemary, or moorwort, is a plant native to the northern regions of Europe, Asia, and America, entering the United States only in the extreme north-east. The leaves, which have been eaten by sheep with fatal effect, contain a narcotic poison known as andromedotoxin. The plant is not very dangerous in its native habitat, because it grows in bogs which are inaccessible to stock.
* Azalea occidentalis.—The California azalea is very much dreaded by sheep men who drive their flocks into the southern Sierras for pasture. Investigation has shown that the leaves contain a poisonous substance.
* Kalmia angustifolia.—The narrow-leaf laurel is abundant in the north-eastern section of the United States, where it is also well known as sheep laurel and lamb-kill. The leaves contain andromedotoxin, and sheep and calves are frequently poisoned by eating them.
* Kalmia latifolia.—The broad-leaf laurel is native throughout the greater part of the eastern half of the United States, and is known by a great variety of common names, the most important of which are laurel and ivy. The latter name is most commonly used south of Maryland. Scores of cattle and sheep are poisoned annually by eating the plant. It is probably the most dangerous of all the shrubs belonging to the heath family.
Fig. 106.—Stagger bush (Pieris mariana), showing flowering branch, one-third natural size.
Fig. 107.—Great laurel (Rhododendron maximum). a, Flowering branch; b, fruiting capsules—both one-third natural size.
* Leucothoë catesbæi.—This is the branch ivy, hemlock, or calf-kill, of the Allegheny Mountains. It is well known in that region to be fatal to all kinds of stock.
* Leucothoë racemosa.—The swamp Leucothoë of the Atlantic and Gulf States has been reported from New Jersey as especially fatal to calves.
* Pieris mariana.—The stagger bush of the Atlantic Coast region, Tennessee, and Arkansas is commonly known to be poisonous to calves and to sheep. The name stagger bush was applied to the shrub on account of the peculiar intoxicating effect of the leaves.
* Rhododendron californicum.—The California rhododendron is native on the Pacific Slope from San Francisco to British Columbia. The plant is reported from Oregon as poisonous to sheep. It is quite probable that the leaves contain andromedotoxin, but they have not been tested.
Fig. 108.—Milkweed (Asclepias eriocarpa), one-sixth natural size.
* Rhododendron maximum.—The great laurel (rosebay; mountain laurel; rhododendron) is a large evergreen bush or small tree which is quite commonly cultivated for ornament, and is found native in the Allegheny Mountains. The leaves contain andromedotoxin, and they are occasionally eaten by stock with fatal effect.
PRIMULACEÆ (PRIMROSE FAMILY).
Anagallis arvensis.—The pimpernel is a European plant which has obtained a specially strong foothold in California, where it grows luxuriantly and is sometimes known as poison weed. It is suspected of having caused the death of a horse at Santa Ana. Chemists have isolated a powerfully poisonous oil and a strongly active ferment from the plant.
OLEACEÆ (OLIVE FAMILY).
Ligustrum vulgare.—The privet, or prim, is a garden shrub, introduced from Europe and Asia, which is much used for hedges, and has escaped from cultivation in western New York and southward to North Carolina. Accidents have been occasioned in children both by the fruit and the leaves. The plant is to be suspected in cases of poisoning in animals.
APOCYNACEÆ (DOGBANE FAMILY).
Apocynum androsæmifolium, spreading dogbane: A. cannabinum, Indian hemp.—These plants are generally distributed throughout the United States. Stock generally avoid them in pasture fields on account of their acrid milky juice. When dry they are not so poisonous as when in the fresh state.
Nerium oleander.—The oleander is a common house plant throughout a large portion of the United States. It grows freely out of doors in the Southern and Western States, and has probably escaped from cultivation in some places. It grows wild in northern Mexico. The leaves are well known to be most powerfully poisonous, and stock are occasionally killed by eating them.
ASCLEPIADACEÆ (MILKWEED FAMILY).
Fig. 109.—Jimson weed (Datura stramonium). a, Flowering spray; b, fruiting capsule—both one-third natural size.
* Asclepias eriocarpa.—This is the plant with broad mullein-like leaves which is known as milkweed in California. Several authentic accounts of the poisoning of sheep have been secured against the plant in Mendocino County. It is especially feared on very warm days by sheep men when they are compelled to drive their flocks through dry, barren valleys. It sometimes grows on cultivated land, and is cut with hay.
* Asclepias syriaca.—This is the common milkweed, or silkweed, of the north-eastern quarter of the United States. Experiments show that the milky juice so abundant in all parts of the plant is very acrid and poisonous. It is listed among the poisonous plants of Europe.
SOLANACEÆ (POTATO FAMILY).
* Datura stramonium: D. tatula.—These two species very closely resemble each other, and are most commonly known in the United States by the name of jimson weed. They are European plants which have become weeds in waste grounds and about dwellings throughout the greater portion of the country. One or two instances are recorded in which cattle have been poisoned by eating hay containing the young leaves.
* Hyoscyamus niger.—The black henbane is an ill-smelling plant, a native of Europe, now naturalised in Michigan, and from New York northward. One or two cases are recorded in European literature in which stock have been poisoned by eating the plant of their own accord, but there is very little danger from it, on account of its ill odour and harsh texture.
Fig. 110.—Bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara). a, Flowering spray; b, fruit—both one-third natural size.
Fig. 111.—Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum), one-third natural size.
* Nicotiana tabacum.—This is the tobacco most commonly cultivated in the United States. It is native to South America and has escaped from cultivation to some extent in the Southern States. According to some authorities stock are not always disposed to shun this plant on account of its characteristic ill odour and taste, but, on the contrary, will eat a small amount of the leaves with apparent relish, especially when they are somewhat fresh. Stock have, however, been poisoned by eating leaves which were placed within their reach to dry, and also by eating food contaminated with the juice of the leaves. Considerable precaution should be used in applying tobacco juice to fresh cuts or bruises in stock, as the poison is easily absorbed into the system and may prove fatal. There are several native species of tobacco in the western half of the United States, all of which are undoubtedly poisonous if eaten even in moderate quantity.
TOBACCO POISONING.
Fig. 112.—Spreading nightshade (Solanum triflorum), one-third natural size.
Tobacco poisoning may be produced by baths or lotions containing tobacco juice, which is often used as a parasiticide. The ingestion of tobacco leaves in forage may also produce poisoning. Doses of 1 ounce in the goat and 10 ounces in the ox are toxic.
The symptoms consist in salivation, vomiting, nausea, diarrhœa, cardiac palpitation and dyspnœa.
The lesions are those of gastro-enteritis with cerebral congestion.
Treatment consists in giving tannin, black coffee, etc.
Solanum dulcamara.—The bittersweet, or climbing nightshade, is a European weed, now introduced in the north-eastern quarter of the United States. The leaves are suspected of being poisonous to stock.
* Solanum nigrum.—The black nightshade (common nightshade; garden nightshade) is a common weed in cultivated fields throughout the greater portion of the United States. Cattle seldom eat the plant, but a few cases of poisoning are recorded for calves, sheep, goats, and swine.
* Solanum triflorum.—The spreading nightshade is a native of the Great Plains (United States), and also a common garden weed from Arizona and Texas to British America. Complaints of the poisoning of cattle by this plant have been sent to the Department of Agriculture from Nebraska. Experiments show that the berries are poisonous.
Solanum tuberosum.—The small, immature tubers of the common cultivated potato and those that have turned green from exposure to the sun are slightly poisonous. The green fruit and the white sprouts from mature potatoes are likewise poisonous. In all of these cases the deleterious substance may be removed or destroyed by thorough boiling.
SCROPHULARIACEÆ (FIGWORT FAMILY).
Fig. 113.—Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale), one-third natural size.
Digitalis purpurea.—The purple foxglove is a common garden plant which has sparingly escaped from cultivation and is naturalised to some extent on Cape Breton Island. Horses are occasionally poisoned in Europe by nipping the plants from gardens or by eating hay contaminated with it.
Gerardia tenuifolia.—The slender gerardia is native to the eastern half of the United States, and has been specially reported as poisonous to sheep and to calves in the Southern States.
Gratiola officinalis.—The hedge hyssop of the Southern States contains an acrid poison. The same plant grows in Europe, and is there regarded as poisonous to stock.
Pedicularis.—The plants of this genus are commonly called lousewort. In Europe several species are suspected of being slightly poisonous to stock. One of these, P. palustris, occurs in Labrador, and there are over thirty species native to the United States, largely Western. They should all be suspected of being poisonous.
CAMPANULACEÆ (BELL-FLOWER FAMILY).
Lobelia inflata, Indian tobacco: L. kalmii, brook lobelia: L. spicata, pale-spiked lobelia: L. syphilitica, great lobelia.—All of the species in this genus contain an acrid and usually milky juice, and are poisonous. None has been specially reported as poisonous to stock, but the above-named species are to be suspected, because they frequently occur in grass and are sometimes found in meadow hay.
AMBROSIACEÆ (RAGWEED FAMILY).
Xanthium canadense.—The young seedlings of the American cocklebur are reported from Texas as being rapidly fatal to hogs.
Xanthium spinosum.—The spiny clotbur is suspected of being poisonous, but few cases have been definitely recorded against it. The seeds apparently contain a toxic compound.
Xanthium strumarium.—The young seedlings of the broad cocklebur are reported from Georgia as being fatal to hogs. Experiments seem to show that the seed is poisonous.
CARDUACEÆ (THISTLE FAMILY).
* Helenium autumnale.—Sneezeweed (sneezewort; autumn sneezeweed; stagger weed; false sunflower) is found throughout the greater portion of the United States, being most abundant in the Southern and Eastern States. Sheep, cattle and horses that are unfamiliar with the plant are often poisoned by it when driven to localities where it is abundant. Stock avoid it, as a rule, but it is claimed that they sometimes develop a taste for the plant, and are killed quickly by eating it in large quantity.
Senecio jacobæa.—The tansy ragwort, or stagger wort, is a European plant which grows as a weed in ballast about New York and Philadelphia. Farther north, in Nova Scotia, it has become extensively naturalised, and it is there regarded by stock men as poisonous. It is interesting to note that S. guadalensis of Mexico is also considered fatal to stock.
COLCHICUM POISONING.
Fodder of bad quality often contains leaves, flowers, and particularly seeds of colchicum, which produce nausea, vomiting, colic and diarrhœa. The colchicine acts particularly on the kidney and heart, producing specific disturbance, indicated by hæmaturia, polyuria, and cardiac palpitation, with lowering of the body temperature.
Even when poisoning is not fatal, it is very apt to produce abortion.
POISONING BY ANNUAL MERCURY.
Annual mercury given in green fodder is stated to produce indigestion, diarrhœa, vesical and intestinal hæmorrhage, and early death. Some authors, however, deny that it has such toxic properties.
POISONING BY BRYONY.
In large doses all parts of the bryony plant are toxic—the root, stalk, and leaves.
Bryony is sometimes used as a purgative. Poisoning is characterised by nausea, sweating, diuresis, frequent action of the bowels, and, in grave cases, by tetaniform convulsions followed by death.
POISONING BY CASTOR OIL CAKE.
Causation. Excessive use of this form of cake is the usual cause of such poisoning, though bad quality is also an important factor. The castor oil beans are often insufficiently crushed and compressed, so that a considerable amount of oil is contained in the cakes as sold; but the most dangerous constituent is undoubtedly the material known as ricin, which, in some specimens of cake, may exist in highly dangerous quantity.
The oil contained in the cake, like every other fatty substance, favours intestinal peristalsis and the onward movement of the digested food. The laxative principle excites secretion, and if the cake be given for considerable periods, the most serious consequences may ensue.
Cakes prepared from mixed rape seed and castor beans act in a similar way, though in a longer or shorter time, according to their richness in ricin.
The earliest symptom consists in purgation, which gradually develops into super-purgation, and is followed by direct irritation of the mucous membrane, indicated by serous, fœtid, and sometimes sanguinolent, diarrhœa. The symptoms may appear in twenty-four hours. They are usually accompanied by a rise in temperature of 2° to 3° Fahr. Secretion of milk ceases, and animals heavy with young sometimes abort. In exceptional cases death follows.
The lesions are those of hæmorrhagic enteritis.
Treatment is principally of a preventive character. The cakes should be examined, and if they contain insufficiently crushed seeds or beans should be discontinued or given in smaller quantities. The proportion of ricin in mixed rape and castor cakes should be determined.
Curative treatment consists in removing the cause and treating the enteritis. The latter is best controlled by giving emollients, diuretics, and mucilaginous drinks prepared from linseed, marsh-mallow, barley, etc.
POISONING BY COTTON CAKE.
Cotton cake forms a rich food, which fattens animals very rapidly, but given in excess may produce true poisoning, and if prepared from undecorticated seed may produce mechanical irritation ending in obstruction of the bowel.
The latter accident occurs only in the sheep. It consists in obstruction of the omasum (œsophageal gutter), and particularly of the abomasum, by the woody seed covering, the fibres of which become agglutinated and close the pyloric opening, just as do the fragments of wool or the hairs in animals affected with the licking habit (pica, depraved appetite). The mass thus formed passes into the intestine, and is apt to become fixed at some point and to cause death.
In the ox, as in the sheep, true poisoning may result from the action of an injurious principle which Cornevin discovered in the seed and particularly in the meal. The relative rarity of such accidents is explained by the composition of the cakes, which are rich in husks but poor in meal.
In the first series of accidents the symptoms resemble those produced by the intestinal obstructions peculiar to the licking disease; in the second they appear about the eighth to the fifteenth day, and are indicated by sensitiveness of the abdomen and by efforts to pass urine. The urine is albuminous; at a later stage it becomes darker in colour, reddish, and stained with hæmoglobin. The mucous membranes exhibit a sub-icteric tint.
Lesions. The liver shows interstitial hepatitis, consequent on changes in the hepatic cells due to the poisonous principle. The kidney first shows lesions of interstitial, but afterwards of epithelial, nephritis; the endothelium of the tubes appears to be undergoing proliferation.
Treatment should only be undertaken when the organic lesions seem trifling, and suggest the possibility of cure without excessive outlay. Under such circumstances it is sufficient to remove the cause and to supply proper diet.
POISONING BY MOLASSES REFUSE.
Molasses refuse is much used about Paris and in the department of Le Nord for fattening or simply for feeding animals. Added to rough fodder, even of poor quality, the refuse renders it palatable, and thus forms an economic food; it also improves the condition of animals with broken wind. Its poverty in nitrogenous materials (the refuse consists of 60 per cent. of hydrocarbons; 10 to 12 per cent. of potash and soda salts) renders it necessary to enrich it in this respect. Moreover, only a limited quantity should be given. If given in larger amounts than 2 to 2½ parts per 500 parts of body weight it may produce bad effects. In this case the earlier symptoms point to interference with the urinary apparatus, the digestive apparatus being affected later; both accidents are due to the potash and soda salts present in the refuse, and may become so well marked as to constitute true poisoning.
The symptoms consist in abundant diuresis, resulting from the excess of potash and soda salts, and are followed by albuminuria. Superpurgation is usually present.
Lesions. On post-mortem examination one finds lesions of irritant gastro-enteritis, and of chronic nephritis.
Treatment consists in withdrawing the molasses refuse, and giving milk, mucilaginous fluids, barley-water, and cereals, which soothe the kidney.
DISEASES PRODUCED BY DISTILLERY AND SUGAR FACTORY PULP.
This disease, which is very common in France and Germany, results from feeding on distillery and sugar factory residues, consisting for the most part of beet pulp.
In 1860 Guionnet described it under the name of disease of the abomasum, and more recent work by Butel, Rossignol, and Arloing has thrown a great deal of light on its exact nature.
Causation. Guionnet attributed the injurious action of beet pulp, etc., to excess of acidity, due to the addition of sulphuric acid during manipulation in the factory; but it has since been shown that this acidity, if existing, is specially due to various fermentation products, the results of lactic, butyric, and acetic fermentation, etc.
Rossignol regarded the symptoms as wholly due to the excessive proportion of water, viz., 90 per cent.; but this does not explain the general symptoms of poisoning.
The real cause is to be sought in the manner of preserving the pulp in simple earth silos or in cemented silos, where it undergoes fermentation and putrefaction. The contained liquid is then extremely toxic. Filtered through porcelain and injected under the skin, it produces vaso-motor and vaso-paralytic disorder, identical with that seen in acute forms of the disease; in other cases it excites abnormal secretion, and leads to permanent diarrhœa and chronic gastro-enteritis.
This liquid, if injected intravenously, may prove toxic in doses of 2 to 3 cubic centimètres per kilogram of bodily weight. Its injurious effect is due to toxins secreted by special bacilli, which were isolated and studied by Arloing. The toxicity diminishes as the pulp becomes older, and can be avoided by adding antiseptics like common salt, which prevent fermentation. These experiments of the Lyons professor are certainly very interesting, and, although perhaps not identical with what occurs in practice, sufficiently indicate the way in which poisoning occurs.
Pathological disturbance only follows the use of decomposed pulp.
Animals reared on farms where distillery and sugar factory pulp is regularly given become accustomed to it, and are rarely affected. The chief sufferers are those recently imported, or recently placed on such food; in them the disease may assume either the acute, nervous, subacute, or chronic form.
Acute form: Symptoms. This form is exceptional in the ox, but is more frequent in the sheep. In oxen the earlier symptoms point to digestive disturbance, and consist of dulness, loss of appetite, colic, sensibility of the abdomen, cessation of rumination (without tympanites), and constipation. The excreta are hard, coated, and blackish in colour, but not blood-stained.
Diarrhœa follows, is accompanied by aggravation of the general symptoms, the temperature rises to 104° or 106° Fahr. (40° or 41° C.), and exhaustion is pronounced. Other, less characteristic, symptoms, such as grinding of the teeth and mastication without food being present in the mouth may accompany the above and arouse fears of peritonitis. In sheep the dulness and prostration shown at first suggest the existence of anthrax—a view strengthened by the fact that the respiration becomes very frequent and the fever intense, whilst death may be rapid, and may sometimes occur with startling suddenness.
Lesions. Bacteriological examination, or even a naked-eye examination, made immediately after death enables one easily to differentiate between the two conditions. When the animals have died very rapidly—in one night—lesions of enteritis alone are present. More marked cases exhibit thickening and intense congestion of the mucous membrane of the abomasum, which may be of a deep mahogany colour.
The intestine itself is affected, and even though the glandular epithelium is little changed, the intercellular spaces show ecchymoses and multiple hæmorrhages, which give the contents of the digestive tract the appearance of wine lees.
The abdominal viscera scarcely present any characteristic lesions. The liver has the appearance of having been boiled, as in many forms of poisoning. The kidney is congested and blackish; the spleen only appears hypertrophied when post-mortem examination has been delayed and microorganisms from the intestine have invaded the circulatory system. After death the kidneys and spleen very rapidly undergo softening.
Nervous form: Symptoms. Whilst in the first form the symptoms appear especially due to diastatic ferments present in the pulp liquid, in the nervous form they appear rather to result from the convulsing and paralysing action of ptomaines.
The ox seems more particularly susceptible to the action of the latter. It shows symptoms resembling those of horses suffering from a severe abdominal form of influenza: profound depression, mahogany-coloured conjunctiva, lachrymation, infiltration of the cornea, high temperature (104° to 106° Fahr.—41° to 41·5° C.), strong action of the heart, but small pulse. The cerebral symptoms are especially marked. The animal suffers from vertigo, and when excited, or when attempts are made to administer medicine, it thrusts its head against the wall, as though suffering from a cerebral tumour. It also shows hyperæsthesia, slight colic, and sensitiveness of the abdomen.
In sheep the symptoms consist in alternate extreme depression and extreme excitability.
In both species the termination is always rapid: death occurs in a few days.
The abdominal lesions are identical with those of the acute form. They consist in gastro-enteritis, or, rather, intense congestion of the abomasum and intestine, with extravasation of blood around the acini of the glands and beneath the mucous membrane, etc., and in more or less marked desquamation of epithelium.
The annexed organs sometimes present secondary changes: in the nervous centres the lesions are more marked; the meninges are congested, in some cases inflamed, and cerebro-spinal fluid is present in increased quantity.
Subacute or Chronic form: Symptoms. This form is equally frequent in the ox and sheep; it develops insidiously, and for a time may escape detection.
The symptoms are those of slight gastro-enteritis without tympanites; but this condition is succeeded by serous, fœtid, uncontrollable diarrhœa, which weakens the animal and causes death from excessive wasting and hydræmia.
The sensitiveness of the entire right side of the abdomen, the special diarrhœa, the cardiac disturbance, and the widely distributed œdema, usually suffice to prevent confusion with the ordinary forms of gastro-enteritis. In sheep the diarrhœa is blackish, sometimes blood-stained, and is accompanied by a sub-icteric or icteric tint of the mucous membranes, of the skin, and of all the tissues. The intensity of coloration affords a guide to the rapidity of development of the disease. The urine is also bile-stained, and there appears to be an exchange of functions between the two great depurative organs, the liver and kidney. The urine may become sanguinolent, because it contains either unchanged blood or simply dissolved hæmoglobin.
The lesions are similar to those previously described, but with modifications of intensity. When diarrhœa has been marked and persistent, the digestive mucous membrane is hardened, indurated, and appears as though tanned. This is due to chronic inflammation, probably to the gastro-enteritis with which the condition begins. The liver appears as if cooked; the fat, the majority of the tissues, and especially the conjunctiva, exhibit a light yellow tint, pointing to hepatic disturbance.
The diagnosis is generally easy in all three forms, provided that the food be examined.
The prognosis varies; the acute and nervous forms are usually fatal. But when the disease develops slowly, recovery may occur.
Pathogeny. Practical observation and laboratory researches show that the above conditions result from poisoning. Histological examination of livers from sheep which have died rapidly shows complete degeneration of the hepatic cells, which become incapable of performing their function. The biliary acids, no longer being withdrawn from the circulating blood, produce general intoxication, destruction of the blood corpuscles, and the appearance of hæmaphæic icterus and hæmoglobinuria.
Treatment. Being convinced that acidity alone caused this disease, the older practitioners suggested the administration of salines. In reality it is necessary to check fermentation. Drainage of the silos in which beet pulp is stored is often sufficient for this purpose; but if badly arranged, drainage rather assists the growth of moulds and various organisms in the mass, which affords a medium favourable to their multiplication. Complete desiccation would undoubtedly give much better results, but cannot economically be effected. The best practical measure consists in storing the pulp in special silos, divided into compartments by lattice work partitions. The escape of liquid is facilitated by forming the floors of the silo with a sufficient slope. Preservation, however, is not perfect, and some compartments are always found damaged. Excessive fermentation can be checked by adding ordinary salt to the pulp in the proportion of ·2 per cent.
Curative treatment comprises restricted diet for several days, and the administration of milk, carbonate of soda, and stimulants, which favour excretion of the toxins. Some patients may be saved by subcutaneous injections of large quantities of normal salt solution. When poisoning is pronounced, and the viscera are clearly injured, it is more economical to slaughter the animals, provided that the icterus does not render the flesh useless for sale.
CHAPTER VIII.
PARASITES OF THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS.
Parasites of the digestive apparatus are extremely common in ruminants, some, like the infusoria of the rumen, being of no importance, others, on the contrary, appearing to play a predominating part in the development of certain forms of anæmia and serious wasting diseases, such as the various forms of gastro-intestinal strongylosis, coccidial enteritis, etc.
GASTRO-INTESTINAL STRONGYLOSIS IN SHEEP.
PARASITIC GASTRO-ENTERITIS. OVINE PASTEURELLOSIS.
Verminous diseases of the abomasum are common in the sheep and goat, but (in France at least) appear rare in the ox.
Causation. Gastro-intestinal strongylosis is produced by various parasites of the genus Strongylus, such as Strongylus contortus, Strongylus convolutus, Strongylus instabilis, Strongylus circumcinctus, Strongylus filicolis, which occur not only in the abomasum, but also in the small portions of the first intestine, sometimes in very large numbers.
The first is a threadlike worm, pointed at both extremities, and from ½ to 1 inch in length. It exhibits a red tint, which zoologists refer to the presence of blood in its digestive apparatus, derived from the host’s intestinal mucous membrane. Some doubt has been thrown on the nature of this coloration, however; and certain Italian authors, in common with Lignières, have declared it due to a certain red pigment developed in the tissues of the parasite, the spectroscopic reaction of which differs from that of hæmoglobin.
The strongyles are said not to penetrate the mucous membrane, but simply live on the intestinal contents. This may be true of certain varieties, but it is none the less certain that others penetrate the mucous membrane deeply, even to the extent of becoming half-embedded in it. Particularly is this the case with Strongylus circumcinctus, found in the epizooty which occurred at Grignon, and also found by Moussu in grave epizooties which he has from time to time investigated.
According to Lignières this gastro-intestinal strongylosis only plays a trifling part in the development of the above-mentioned disease, which he declares to be due to infection with a cocco-bacillus of the Pasteurella group, the development of which alone, he states, explains all the symptoms.
In France the disease now under consideration has never extended beyond limited regions, but in Argentina, where Lignières carried out his investigations, it is said to be very fatal. Lignières bases his opinion on the following facts:—
Firstly, that experimental verminous infection of young animals does not produce either anæmia or cachexia.
Secondly, that animals in excellent condition may prove to be infested with large numbers of parasites.
Thirdly, that animals which have succumbed to this disease, hitherto regarded as verminous, sometimes prove to harbour few or no parasites.
Fourthly, that this grave and fatal disease, and the symptoms by which it is clinically recognised, can be produced with cultures of the cocco-bacillus, which he has isolated.
These statements are very precise, but Moussu declares that he has never yet been convinced of the reliability of the last statement referring to experimental transmission, any more than of the data regarding alleged protective vaccination.
The symptoms of gastro-intestinal strongylosis or ovine pasteurellosis point to a progressive pernicious anæmia of chronic or subacute form. Rapidly progressive cases are exceptional.
In France the form seen is almost invariably chronic. The animals appear dull, sluggish, and feeble; they lose appetite, waste, become anæmic, then cachectic, and, after several months, die of exhaustion and wasting, after having shown diarrhœa during the later stages.
The fæces are pasty, and exhale a very marked putrefactive odour. There is little room to doubt that auto-intoxication from resorption of intestinal products is continually going on.
The animal’s general appearance is bad, the ears are pendant, the wool is dry and dull, and can be removed in handfuls by the slightest pull. There are no other external symptoms, and the diagnosis can only be arrived at by discovering the eggs of the parasite in the fæces.
Lesions. Post-mortem examination reveals all the general lesions of advanced cachexia and of gastro-enteritis of varying intensity. The abomasum and first portions of the small intestine usually contain a considerable number of strongyles; tæniae are often present in the intestine, and Moussu declares that he has always found a certain number of hooked worms and œsophagostomes.
The peritoneal, pleuritic, and pericardial exudates common in most wasting conditions are always present, but the quantity of exudate in each cavity varies within wide limits. The liquid may even resemble that due to inflammation or infection; sometimes it is light pink or red in colour.
Pulmonary lesions usually exist. Moussu has almost always found gastric strongylosis associated with pulmonary or tracheo-bronchic strongylosis, but Lignières asserts that the Argentine cases showed nodules of hepatisation which had nothing to do with the pulmonary strongylosis, and which appeared to result from areas of pneumonia produced by the specific cocco-bacillus and other organisms. He has even found abscesses and cavernous spaces in the lung.
Fig. 114.—Wasting due to gastro-intestinal strongylosis.
Pathogeny. According to Lignières the specific agent of pernicious anæmia is a cocco-bacillus which stains well with fuchsin, violet, blue, safranin, etc., but does not take Gram, and which in cultures assumes either the strepto-bacillary form or occurs in barrel-shaped masses. It grows in simple bouillon at 38° C., but better still in peptonised bouillon, which turns turbid for five or six days, afterwards becoming limpid in consequence of the organisms falling to the bottom of the vessel. It does not coagulate milk. On agar the culture is thin, bluish, shows an iridescent reflection, and when old appears whitish. Grown on gelatine, the appearances are similar—the gelatine is not liquefied; on serum the pellicle is scarcely visible.
The organism is said to be pathogenic for guinea-pigs, rabbits, dogs, and, of course, for sheep. Moussu, however, does not consider that the reported cases of transmission through the blood stream or by subcutaneous injection are really convincing or characteristic. He does not question the fact that Lignières discovered a special pathogenic agent in all cases and in all his patients; but what appears to him debatable is the exclusive part which Lignières attributes to that agent.
The fact that in Argentina, just as in France, strongyles have always been discovered in epizootics of this nature of itself constitutes something; and causes the second fact, that it has never yet been proved that any heavy mortality occurred in the absence of parasitic infestation, to assume considerable importance. Moussu regards these two facts as the greatest obstacles to Lignières’ theory. He states that in his view the verminous affection is the essential, primordial and primitive affection, and that microbic infection is only secondary, and an almost inevitable result of grave verminous infestation.
It is quite certainly wrong to think that verminous affections may continue with scarcely any injury to the animal, especially when such a belief is based on observation of a few parasites which are not of a predatory character. In most cases of the kind now under consideration, the various parasites found (Strongylus circumcinctus and filicolis, Anchylostomes, etc.) cause more or less grave lesions.
These intestinal wounds facilitate the infection to which the fatal course of the disease is due. The disease, then, is not a special unvarying infection, but consists of multiple superposed infections.
It is wrong to believe and to teach that the parasitic disease is of no importance, and Moussu declares his belief that the proposed vaccinations will prove unavailing. He is of opinion, on the other hand, that when the parasitic invasion can be overcome the mortality will be checked, and only those animals which are already suffering from severe infections will succumb. Is not this precisely what has been observed in human pathology regarding miners’ anæmia or miners’ worm disease (anchylostomiasis)?
The diagnosis presents no difficulty for those who have had a little practice with the microscope, since the presence of eggs of the parasite can always be detected in the fæces in cases where external signs have given rise to suspicion of gastro-entestinal strongylosis.
The macroscopic diagnosis on post-mortem examination is not so easy as might be supposed, and when very small varieties are in question it is sometimes necessary to examine the mucous membrane of the abomasum or intestine very carefully in order to discover the parasite.
The prognosis is grave, because before attention has been drawn to many patients, the entire herd may be more or less infested. It is also grave because the pastures are infested with eggs or embryos, and the power of increase of these parasites is enormous.
Treatment. The earliest and most energetic means should be adopted in all cases. Treatment comprises:—
Drainage of swampy pastures.
Dressing of the pastures with chemical manures, preferably with iron sulphate, at the rate of 40 to 80 lbs. per acre.
Disinfection of manure to destroy the contained eggs or embryos.
The use of chalk, iron sulphate, various acids, etc.
As regards curative treatment, the diseased animals should be grouped and isolated as far as possible, and should receive doses of the following vermifuge:—
| Powdered areca nut | 2 ounces. |
| Arsenic | 30 grains. |
The above is sufficient for ten animals, and a dose should be given daily for a period of six days in a small quantity of bran. Treatment is completed by abundant nourishment, and by distributing about the pastures pieces of rock-salt suitably protected.
Many other vermicides or vermifuges have been suggested, but are less easy to use. They comprise essence of turpentine, mixtures of oil with essence of turpentine and benzine, picrate of potash in doses of 7 to 20 grains per day, ethereal extract of male fern, etc.
LUMBRICOSIS OF CALVES.
Following the example of human medicine, we apply the term “lumbricosis” to a disease caused by ascarides in calves, although Neumann separates the ascarides of calves from the lumbricoid ascarides with which they are usually confused in current practice.
Causation. The disease is exclusively due to infestation with embryos of the parasite, which in young calves afterwards develop in the first portions of the intestine and in the abomasum, interfering with secretion, and producing mechanical disturbance, colic, and digestive irregularity, eventually followed by marked loss of condition. Death may even follow, either from rupture of the pylorus or duodenum, or from secondary septicæmia of intestinal origin, due to the parasites burrowing into the mucous membrane and facilitating infection. In adults of all species lumbricosis is rare. It occurs principally in young animals from the time of weaning up to the age of eighteen months or two years.
The diagnosis cannot usually be formed until the parasites are found in the fæces, but microscopic examination sometimes reveals the presence of the eggs, and thus excites suspicion.
Provided the condition is diagnosed early, the prognosis is not grave; but when patients have become exhausted and anæmic they require a long time to recover, even when freed from parasites.
Treatment. Guittard recommends empyreumatic oil as very efficacious, and gives it in doses of 2½ to 3 drachms diluted with ordinary oil, or emulsified with any kind of mucilage.
Calomel gives good results, and maybe administered in doses of 15 to 60 grains, according to the animal’s age and size.
Powdered areca nut would probably be easier to administer with the food. Oil of turpentine is given mixed with ordinary oil, but its action is less certain.
STRONGYLOSIS OF THE ABOMASUM IN THE OX.
Although well studied by Stadelmann and Ostertag in Germany, and by Stiles in America, this disease has not yet been regarded in France as giving rise to accidents.
It is produced by the Strongylus convolutus rel Ostertagi, which becomes embedded under the epithelium of the mucous membrane and causes the formation of small nodules, the size of a pin’s head or lentil, which can be detected on palpation. The cavity thus formed beneath the epithelium communicates with the gastric cavity by a little orifice, through which the cephalic end of the parasite passes.
PARASITIC GASTRO-ENTERITIS, DIARRHŒA, AND ANÆMIA IN CATTLE, SHEEP AND LAMBS.
A disease characterised by anæmia with wasting and diarrhœa is sometimes produced in cattle by the presence in the fourth stomach of small strongyles varying in size between 3 and 9 millimètres in length, according to the variety encountered. One variety of the smaller size has been named by McFadyean Strongylus gracilis. Penberthy, who described the disease in the Jour. of Comp. Path. and Therap. for 1894, p. 249, states that in certain cases he also found the Strongylus ventricosus, the Tricocephalus affiinis, and minute straight worms about ²⁄₂₅ of an inch long, which he regarded as anguillulæ. Neumann declares that pernicious anæmia with catarrh of the abomasum in young animals is due to Strongylus convolutus.
The symptoms comprise anæmia, wasting, and diarrhœa of varying severity. In acute cases, which are common between the ages of six months and two years, husk is sometimes (accidentally) present. The disease is rarest in summer. Certain animals lose flesh rapidly, though appetite is retained. Acute fœtid watery diarrhœa follows. The animal shows tenesmus, appears dejected, and has a temperature of 103° to 105° Fahr. The mucous membranes become pale, the pulse small and weak, the appetite capricious, the eyes sunken, belly tucked up, coat harsh and dry and hide tight. Wasting is rapid. The animals are listless, and often lie down for long periods. Death occurs from exhaustion.
The parasite. Scrapings from the abomasum and intestine when diluted with water and viewed under a lens show minute bodies resembling short, fine hairs. When isolated these are easily visible with the naked eye. In situ they appear to be lying on the mucous membrane, sometimes with the head fixed in the latter. They vary in length from ³⁄₂₅ to ⁶⁄₂₅ of an inch, and are brownish in colour. For a detailed description see Penberthy loc. cit. McFadyean (Jour. of Comp. Path. and Therap. for 1896, p. 314) also gives a very full description, illustrated by plates, of the two species of strongyles which he regards as the cause of gastritis in cattle in England.
Fig. 115.—Caudal extremity of male Strongylus cervicornis. (Block kindly lent by Prof. McFadyean.)
The lesions are those of wasting diseases. The first three gastric compartments may be thin, but usually show no abnormality. The mucous membrane of the abomasum shows evidences of catarrh, is sometimes covered with a loose croupous material, or is denuded of its epithelium and even extensively destroyed. In acute cases it is more or less deeply reddened over spots or extensive patches. Occasionally it appears jelly-like, owing to effusion into its substance. Except for the catarrhal condition the small intestines may be healthy, but the large, especially the colon and cæcum, show lesions similar to, but more pronounced than, those of the abomasum.
The treatment comprises administration of the usual vermifuges, of which Penberthy prefers turpentine. The diet should be nutritious and easily digestible. Among drugs, non-irritant iron salts, cod liver oil, bitter vegetable tonics and common salt are recommended. The animals should be housed and kept warm; the litter, containing parasites, should be destroyed. The pastures may be dressed with salt and lime; those worst infected should be ploughed. An uninfected water supply is essential.
Parasitic Gastro-enteritis in Sheep and Lambs. A disease in seven to eight months old lambs, closely resembling the above, was described by McFadyean in the Jour. of Comp. Path. and Therap. for 1897, p. 48. Sheep over one year old were not affected.
The symptoms comprised diarrhœa, rapid wasting, impaired appetite, thirst, a tendency to lick and swallow sand or earth, dulness, and continued fever (105° to 108° Fahr.). There was no evidence of acute pain or of marked cough.
Duration. The disease sometimes proved fatal in one or two days, but sometimes extended over several days or weeks. The mortality varied from 10 to 20 per cent., but in many cases almost all the members of a flock exhibited diarrhœa and loss of condition.
The cause appeared to be the presence of small nematode worms in the fourth stomach, which generally exhibited gastritis with inflammatory congestion of the mucous membrane, though in a considerable number of cases the lining membrane of the stomach was markedly anæmic. In a large number of cases the irritation of the mucous membrane was continued into the duodenum, but as a rule the remainder of the small intestine was not inflamed.
The worms named by McFadyean Strongylus cervicornis are from 10 to 12 mm. in length, so that although not of microscopic dimensions they cannot be seen when suspended in the stomach contents. They are readily detected in microscopical preparations under a low power.
Fig. 116.—Caudal extremity of male Strongylus contortus. (Block kindly lent by Prof. McFadyean.)
The treatment is similar to that of gastro-enteritis in cattle, but chief attention should be directed to prophylaxis.
A verminous disease, closely simulating the above, and affecting cattle, sheep, and goats in Texas, is described by Ch. Wardell Stiles in the Annual Report of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1900, p. 356. The disease was of mixed character, and consisted in various degrees of verminous gastritis, verminous enteritis, and verminous bronchitis. In the stomach were found the common twisted wireworm (Strongylus contortus) and Ostertag’s encysted wireworm (Strongylus Ostertagi). It appeared to be present in every calf, steer and cow examined (post-mortem), and was undoubtedly the chief agent in causing death. The sheep and goats were very similarly affected. In the bowel of cattle were found the hookworm (Uncinaria radiata), nodular disease worm (Œsophagostoma columbianum): in that of sheep the hookworm (Uncinaria cernua) and nodular disease worm (Œsophagostoma columbianum), and the fringed tapeworm (Thysanosoma actinioides). In the lungs of the cattle Strongylus micrurus (the small-tailed lungworm), and of sheep the threadworm strongyle (Strongylus filaria) were detected.
Treatment. Sulphate of copper, gasoline and coal-tar creosote were tried, but the best results were obtained from doses of 30 grains (for a lamb) up to 100 grains (for a two-year-old sheep) of thymol in 1 per cent. coal-tar creosote solution.