The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1870-07-09

by PROFESSOR A, T. VERRILI.
That thousands of lambs and sheep are
annually killed 10y dogs that have Il taste for
mutton of their own procuring is uni"r-
tunately too well known to most of the
farmers i'll this country, especially i'll those
States where neither stringent laws on
severe taxes have diminished the numbers
of these useless ours. The true treat
ment for such dogs seems to be the same
that would be given To wolves under the
same circumstances; for if u dog has so
far dcgenerated and returned to the origi-
nal woltish habits Of his ancestors as to
destroy more useful and valuable animals,
he is no more or less than Il degcncrated
domestic wolf, and ought to be destroyed
by the use of whatever means may he most
available.
That the number of dogs in every part
of the country is by far too great, and even
dangerously SO, is generally admitted,
especially during the summer, when mad
dogs and hydropheba are the constant
theme of conversation in our cities.
That the law of every State ought to
impose restrictions, or, at least, very high
taxes, upon the owners of dogs, is both
evident and generally admitted 1t has
even been proposed by some persons to
make the income from dog taxes pay for
the sheep killed by dogs. In this and sue
ceeding articles, we hope to show that
even this proposition would be very far
from doing justice either to the owners of
sheep or to the community generally.
1t is perfectly safe to say that at least
twenty-five sheep arc killed by parasites
derived from dogs for every one killed by
the teeth of dogs, 1t is also safe to say
that more than ten persons die from the
same parasites, for every one that dies Of
hydrophobia. And yet this work of des-
truction goes on silently and almost unob-
served, except by professional men, week
after week and year after year. The loss
of human life every year more than coun-
terbalances all the good that all the dogs
in the civilized world can possibly do
Why then, do we tolerate so many dogs
There are three principal and very mpor-
tant parasites of sheep derived from tape
worms of dogs. These are: |. The water
brain " of sheep, which i, prnduocd by the
young or larvr uf small ,ape-worm TTniu
cHnurNS:l ,. The echinococcus, or hytlatid
tumors of sheep, of cattle, and of man.
found in various organs, but most common
ly i'll the liver, brain, and kidney, which
are caused by the young of a very small
dog tape-worm TTnia ecAin0c0rcus.l 8.
The diving bladder-worm, or 4" water-blad-
der" often found in the abdomen of sheep,
cattle, and pigs, frequently forming tumors
as large as hens egg, OF even a goose
egg, which is the young of a larger tape
worm of the dog TTnM maryinata.)
THE WATER BRAIN OF SHEEP.
In the substance of the brain of sheep
there is often found 4 soft tumor, often as
large as Il pigeons egg, and sometimes lar
ger than hen s-egg, which is filled with 4
watery fluid. Such tumors would 90 on
increasing in size indefinitely, until death
ensucS. But even long before the result
becomes fatal, the health is seriously
impaired The brain is often found much
diseased, and in part quite disorganized-
a state of things which i'll man would pro-
ducc incurablc insanity, In Sheep it causes
'staggcrs, gid OF sturdy" and
other cerebral arrangements This disease
is, of course, incurable, and such diseased
sheep are too often sent to the market
Fortunately, man cannot he infected with
this parasite.
When one of these tumors is removed
with care, it will be found to consist of Il
thin. white, translucent cyst or sac round
side may be seen clusters of little white
spots. If the spots be examined with 4
lens, each one will be seen to be formed 10y
depression or pit, looking like slit i'll
the membrane. If the sac be opened, the
water will escape, and then good lens will
show that there are clusters of little worm
like creatures attached to the inside, each
one corresponding to one of the outside
pits. which do in fact connect with the
inside of the worms. Each little worm has
head with the circle Of hooks in the mid
die, surrounded by four suckers.
In this case, each little worm with head
is the larva of one of the dog tape worms
Tuniu cHhurus,) but in this the young
worms have the power Of propigating them
selves by a kind of budding, in a manner
similar that by which the coral animals
bud from each other and thus build great
colonies. Thus it is that one of these little
worms, after lodging in the brain, by bud
ding produces hundreds of others like
itself, all connected together by the mem
brande of the cyst; and thus the tumor
constantly grows larger, instead of always
remaining small, as does the meaSle- worm
Now if a dog gnaws skull containing
such a tumor, and swallows the whole cyst
or any part of the membrane that has heads
on it, the heads will be liberated from the
membrance, and each one will fasten to
the lining Of the dog 5 intestine by means
of its suckers and hooks. There they will
rapidly grow larger and larger; new joints
will be formed for the body. and in the
course Of three or four weeks each one will
| become small tape worm, with many
joints, and each of the larger Joints will
have both male and female organs, and
| will he capable of propogating the race by
itself. The female organs Of each Joint
contain thousands of eggs, which are freely
discharged when mature passing from the
| intestine of the dog i'll large numbers, they
| will be scattered about freely over the pas
| lures and fields wherever the dogs 60 If
Il lamb OF sheep accidentally swallows some
of the eggs with the grass or in water, the
eggs will hatch in the stomach into minute
worms. These cat OF force their way
through the lining of the intestine into the
blood vessels, and are t!ll.- carried to diff
| tcrent parts of the system; but usually
only those that lodge i'll the brain live, and
grow, and bud, and finally form the
''water- BRAIN and kill the sheep. The
same cysts have. however, been found
i'll the liver of rabbits, so that dogs my
obtain the same tare-wormS by eating r;ib-
bits, and then give the water-blain i'll
turn 10 lalhDS. 1ounS lalnbS are more Ia
bic to be infected by this parasite than
Sheep the liability decreasing with age.
This parasite 10 by no means uncommon,
and is always abundant in proportion to
the number of dogs i'll any country. Thus,
i'll Iceland, where both dogs and sheep are
kept III large numbers, DR.. krabho found
this tape-worm in eighteen per cent Of the
| dogs, while the two other tape worms dan
gerous to sheep were found even in much
greater numbers.