154
will lead to information from many other parts of India of its occurrence
and it will be found to be very wide spread in this country.
The adult worms live in the large intestines of the sheep below the
caecum; the embryos live in the intestinal walls in tumors which though
more abundant in the caecum may be scattered throughout the intestine from
the duodenum to the anns. As the disease is little known to Veterinarians
and others it is well to reproduce some remarks on the subject of Cooper
Curtice:—
"This disease is characterised by tumors in the upper portion of the large intestine. The disease causes
some loss as it seriously affects the health of the animal. Dr. C. E. Salmon, Chief of the Bureau of Animal
Industry performed many post-mortem examinations on diseased sheep and found nothing but their intes-
tinal tumors to account for the severe symptoms of disease which they exhibited, and has stated that he be-
lieves that this malady is the chief obstacle to successful sheep industry in some of the Southern States."
The cause of the tumors is a parasite named Oesophogotma columbi-
anum; it is a round worm which though remarkably similar to some other
worms of its group is a distinct species. The male measures from 12 to 15
m. m.
It is similar in appearance to "Dochmius coenurus" but has the head
bent into the form of a hook. Head terminal very short, somewhat thicker
than the neck separated from it by a constriction. Papillae 6,2ventral,
2 dorsal, 2 lateral, mouth terminal, supplied with a chitinous armature
consisting of an annular ring which supports two systems of 24 teeth each.
Beneath the armature is the triradiate opening of the oesophagus. Neck not
inflated but provided by a fold of skin on the ventral side, just in front
of the ventral cleft.
Two lateral narrow membranous wings begin at this neck fold and
continue a quarter the length of the worm. The two lateral opposite papillae
are in these wings at the level of the first third of the oesophagus.
The pair of unicellular neck glands unite into a common duct and empty
into the ventral cleft situated beneath the nuchal fold. Male 3 / 4 length of the
female.
Bursa saucer shaped, can be spread symmetrically without tearing, spiculae
two, awl shaped bordered by a very narrow membrane; the chitinous cylinder
is apparently fenestrated. At either side of the genital orifice are two knob-
bed papillae. Female relatively stouter; vulva just in front of anus. Uteri two in
the caudal end of the body. These may be traced up to the oviduct and
ovaries which continue to the cephalic end of the abdomen where they are
reflected to form a loop and thence continue to the caudal end to form still
another loop. Eggs laid with gastrula enclosed, length 0.09 m.m. width
0.05 m.m. The largest embryos found in the tumors were 4 m.m. long, the
smallest male found in the intestine was 7 m.m. long.
The adult worms live in the large intestines of the sheep below the caecum;
the embryos live in the intestinal walls in tumors which though more abun-
dant in the caecum are found throughout.
The harm which these parasites do sheep is directly dependent on their
numbers and life history. Yearlings may show considerable infection but it
is usually in the older sheep that the most abundant infection occurs.
556. Foot-and-mouth disease.—I need only allude to this disease to say that
it is a yearly epidemic amongst the cattle of the Punjab and that it practi-
cally runs from one end of the Province to the other, many lakhs of animals
being attacked only a very few villages escaping being invaded yearly. It
is fortunately not a serious disease excepting that it causes a good deal of
inconvenience should it happen to come on at a time when the animals are
required for work. It of course lames animals for a considerable time if they
are neglected, maggots forming in the wounds in the feet and giving rise to
great pain and lameness which lasts for a very considerable time.