Mr. Gunther says, "Sheep are often observed to describe eccentric
circles for whole hours, then step forwards a pace, then again stop, and
turn round again. The older the disease, the more the animal turns,
until at length it does it even in a trot. The appetite goes on
diminishing, emaciation becomes more and more perceptible, and the state
of exhaustion terminates in death. On opening the skull, there are met,
either beneath the bones of the cranium, or beneath the dura mater,[19]
or in the brain itself, hydatids varying in number and size, sometimes a
single one, often from three to six, the size of which varies: according
as these worms occupy the right side or the left, the sheep turns to the
right or left; but if they exist on both sides, the turning takes place
to the one and the other alternately.
"The animal very often does not turn, which happens when the worm is
placed on the median line; then the affected animal carries the head
down, and though it seems to move rapidly, it does not change place.
When the hydatid is situated on the posterior part of the brain, the
animal carries the head high, runs straight forward, and throws itself
on every object it meets."
_Treatment._--Take
Powdered worm seeds, (_chenopodium } 1 ounce.
anthelminticum_,) }
" sulphur, half an ounce.
" charcoal, 2 ounces.
Linseed, or flaxseed, 1 pound.
Mix. Divide into eight parts, and feed one every morning. Make a drink
from the white Indian hemp, (_asclepias incarnata_,) one ounce of which
may be infused in a quart of water, one fourth to be given every night.