WORMS IN SHEEP.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1446, 8 October 1881, Page 4

WORMS IN SHEEP.

—♦ The worm (strongylus) disease in sheep and lambs is often very prevalent in warm district*, and, has been so on many occasions in Queensland and New South Welles. With the 'natural history of the insect our flock owners appear to be imperfectly acquainted. We therefore present the foilowmg letter from the correspondence columns of the Field as a pertinent and usef ul contribution. The worm desrribed is called strongylus micurus, oti whrhMrtS. A. Moffat thu* writes: — " While f-taying at one of the large and princely farms in North Northumberland about three years ago, sever.il valuable wether hoars, which had been removed from the turnip ' break' to an old rptentive wet pasture on account of the muddy state of the land, suddenly died in a mysterious and incomprehensible manner, the service of a veterinary surgeon was called in, and suspecting that strongle wa9 the cause of death, a jmt mortem of the lungs of some of the defunct animals was made, when his views were found to be perfectly correct. Having my micro - scopo with me, I placed one of the paraeites in a coll with water, nnd while examining it the posterior half of its body feuddenlysplitlongitudinally open, and two or three dozen young wriggled out among the water, and continued to swim about as long as I examined them. This at least proves that the parasite in question is ovo-viviparoub, and that tho eggs arc hatched provious to exclusion within the body of the parent, as also that tho birth of the young is attended by the destruction of tho former. Since it would appear that as yet little is accurately known of the life-history of the strongylus, perhaps this information regarding their mode of reproduction may not be unacceptable, while it shows with what rapid dity their numbers may be iiicicumml to a fatal extent, whon even a single female iv a fecundated condition can succeed in obtaining .1 footing wiLliiu the bronchial tubo of a As regards tho rcnicdical measures, it occurs to me that a very efficient method of treatment would be to expose the attected animals to the fumes of coal or Stockholm tar in a, hovel or other partially enclosed place, when tho caibolic acid and cieosoto contained in the fumes would ceitainly be fatal to the parasites. A convouicnt method of pioducing the fumes would bo to put a red hot laundreba's heater or other lump of nori among tho tar in <m old pan or other vessel, when, by inserting or withdrawing it at pleasure, (lie strength of tho fumigation may be icgulated as dashed, the operator's own feelings being an efficient guide. Dining th« opeiation cure must be taken that the fumes are not too strong, otlier-wit-o the epiglottis or valve at tho entiance of the windpipe Avould be instantly spasmodically closed, and tho fumes prevented from entering the air passigcs, whereby the intention would bo defeated."