The Red Cloud chief., 1901-12-20
FARM AND GARDEN.
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO AGRl-
CUlTURiSTS.
somc 'Up-to-Date Hints About Cult.
walton of tho Soil and Yields
Observation-Disclosures, vitlouiture aud
Horticulture
Liver GluNes.

Liver tluNes
In the various books OF veterinary
medicine published in this country we
are told that "nukes" are n rare occur
renee In the livers Of our animals. In
Europe nukes arc often so common In
the livers OF sheep as to produce a fa-
tai disease known as rot" or liver
rot" and the disease sometimes deci-
mates great flocks. The fluke Is n par
asite OF the trematoda family and has
one of the most interesting life his
tories known. 1t passes out of the
body OF the sheep In the form OF an
egg which. after dropping upon the
ground or into water. takes on n new
form termed a "ciliated embryo" This
form has hairs which enable II to
swim about and look for It's next host.
which Is the water slug or snail. into
the body of which 1t pen%etrates by
mean of a special apparatus intended
for boring. Should 1t not find a snail
within two days after leaving the
sheep II dies. On gaining access to a
snail 1t takes on q new form In the
respiratory organs of its host. 1t be-
comes encysted. contracting into an
oval mass which grows rapidly. At
this stage It Is called q "s%porocyst."
This sporocyst splits up into from Ave
to eight bodies, called "rediae," which
are Of small size and leave the cyst
one by one. These rediae, each one
OF them. develop within themselves hf-
teen to twenty "cercariae." which are
thrust out In turn through an oriHce
under the neck of the rediae. These
c>."ariae are what escape from the
snail, being scattered broadcast in Its
wanderings. After q short time they
lose their tails and again become en-
cysted, the contents Of these cysts be-
ling attached to blades OF grass. etc.
are swallowed by the sheep or other
animal, the gastric juice acting upon 1t
10 break the covering. setting free the
toung fiukes in the stomach and duo
fenum. from which they reach the BIZ
tary ducts and pass up them to the
tver where they grow into adult her
taphrodite parasites able to give ORR
4n to another generation OF young. At
l(ast seventy-five young flukes under
suitable circumstances may develop
fPm a single egg. The technical name
OF the fluke Is "distoma hypaticum"
and 1t Is shaped like q leech or small
leAf. In this country we begin to find
them and 1t will soon become appar-
ent that they are not SO rare as the
books would make 1t appear. The wri-
ter recently received q number of specl-
meps from Mexican sheep and the gov
ernmeIt inspectors find them now and
then IN the lungs and livers of Texas
and ether southern cattle. 1t Is
claimei that the fiuke is not q native
Of thLI country but that where 1t is
found 1 has come to us In sheep from
other Countries. This Is erroneous. for
the fiuke of the Mexican sheep Is much
smalla than that SO commonly found
in theisheep of Great Britain. We be-
lleve that the flukes found in our
sheep are originated In this country
and i'd not come to US from abroad.
We AXE this ground for the reason
that o few days ago we made q post
mor,em examination Of a deer shot In
the woods Of northern Wisconsin, and
to oar surprise found a number Of very
large fiukcs encysted In the liver. On
inquiry we found that the liver OF
every adult deer shot In Wisconsin
contains these flukes which the hun
tiers call leeches. Unlike the flukes
of sheep they are found not In the
ducts of the liver but in colonies of
two to four located In cysts which sep
arate them from the tissues OF the liv-
cr. The cysts are filled with a dark,
offensive smelling liquor which rem
ders the liver unfit for use although
most hunters have failed to notice the
flukes, hence s the liver for food. 1t
may be added that after the aukes
were pointed out and set free from
their surrounding filth that spectators
vowed they would never again eat the
liver Of ar adult deer. There is no
danger of sheep becoming invaded by
this giant fiuke of deer, which Is two
and one-half inches In length and
known as "faciola hypaticum." or II.
maqua." Deer apparently suffer little
from Its presence and do not show
signs of 1t until at least one year old.
Where iukes are found In the liver OF
sheep not imported from Europe we
think the variety present Is "distoma
lanceolatum." and this fluke is less
harmful than I'd. hypaticum" Of Brit
ish sheep. The latter tluke may be
present in thousands in the ducts Of q
single liver and in that case sets up q
disease OF the liver which at first leads
to rapid fattening and later to as
speedy emaciation.