The flukes observed in Phoca vitulina are Distoma acanthoides and Amphistoma truncatum, the latter occurring also in P. grœnlandica. In another seal (P. barbata) we have D. tenuicolle. The nematodes are more numerous. The best-known is the maw-worm (Ascaris osculata), which seems to be always present in full-grown seals of every kind. In the years 1862–64 I conducted a series of experiments with the eggs of this worm. I reared embryos both in salt and fresh water, but the administration of the young worms to various animals led to no result. However, I succeeded in watching the growth of the embryos until they had acquired well-marked digestive organs and a length of 1/25″, their size when emerging from the egg-shell in the water having been about 1/150″ only. The large strongyle (Eustrongylus gigas) has been found in various organs of the common seal. Of more interest are the Filariæ found in the heart of seals, which in many respects resemble those obtained from the same situation in dogs. Professors Joly, Leidy, and myself, have each described a species, but apparently our descriptions all refer to one and the same parasite. It has also been seen by Camill Heller. The close correspondency in size and other characters of Leidy’s Filaria spirocauda and my Filaria hebetata leaves little doubt as to their identity. As the worms were both originally noticed by Leidy and Joly in 1858, I cannot pronounce upon the question of priority of discovery. By Joly the worm was called F. cordis phocæ. In Leidy’s and in my own specimens the males were four inches long, and the females six inches; they extended up to 8″ in some of the American examples. The worms found by Prof. Joly were all females. Professor Millen Coughtrey, who furnished me with the seal’s heart, stated that it was obtained from a male hoodcap (Stemmatopus cristatus), a rare visitant of our British coasts. This seal was captured on the Cheshire side of the Mersey river. Leidy and Joly obtained their specimens from Phoca vitulina. In the common seal have also been found Ligula crispa, Schistocephalus dimorphus, and Echinorhynchus strumosus. In other seals a not uncommon tapeworm of the Bothriocephalous type is that called Dibothrium hians by Diesing. To Prof. Krabbe I am indebted for a specimen of Bothriocephalus fasciatus taken from Phoca hispida. There is a nematode of frequent occurrence in P. hispida and P. grœnlandica. This is the Ophiostoma dispar of Rudolphi. In addition to the above I can only add that P. barbata is infested by Liorhynchus gracilescens, occupying the stomach, and by a tapeworm, Tetrabothrium anthocephalum, which is found in the lower part of the large intestine.

Bibliography (No. 46).—Cobbold, “Description of F. hebetata,” in ‘Notes on Entozoa,’ part i, sp. 3, ‘Proc. Zool. Soc.,’ Nov. 18th, 1873, p. 741.—Idem, “On Ascaris osculata,” in ‘Report of Experiments respecting the development and migrations of the Entozoa;’ ‘Brit. Assoc. Trans.,’ 1864, p. 114.—Heller, C., in ‘Schrift der zool.-botan. Gesellsch.,’ Wien, 1858, s. 83.—Joly, “On a new Species of Hæmatozoon of the genus Filaria, observed in the heart of a seal;” from ‘Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci.,’ 1856, p. 403, in ‘Ann. Nat. Hist.,’ vol. i, 3rd ser., 1858; also abstr. in the ‘Year Book,’ 1859.—Leidy, J., (E. spirocauda) in ‘Proc. Philad. Acad.,’ 1858, p. 112.

PART VI (Rodentia).

Though very numerous, the parasites of this order are chiefly interesting as embracing those of the hares and rabbits, moles, mice, rats, squirrels, and beavers. Some slight notice, however, will be given of the entozoa of each of the eleven families into which the order may be divided.

The squirrels (Sciuridæ) are liable to be infested by the common liver fluke (F. hepatica), and also, it is said, by a cysticercus (C. tenuicollis). I have never encountered this bladder worm, but in 1864 I described some polycephalous hydatids (Cœnuri) which I obtained from the viscera of an American squirrel. I think the host was of the same species (Sciurus vulpinus) as that from which Mr Chapman has since obtained an example of Echinorhynchus (E. moniliformis). This worm also infests the hamster. A very small female round worm, probably a strongyle, was described by Rudolphi as Ascaris acutissima. It infests the cæcum of the common squirrel, in which host a species of tapeworm is tolerably frequent (Tænia dendritica). The common European marmot is infested by T. pectinata, so abundant in hares and rabbits. I have also noticed it as occurring in the Canadian porcupine (Hystrix dorsata). The dormice (Myoxidæ) are not much troubled with parasites, at least I have not encountered any in our common Myoxus avellanarius. In M. glis, however, a tapeworm, and at least one species of strongyle (S. gracilis), have been observed. Dujardin described very fully another strongyle (S. lævis) from M. nitela, from the long-tailed field-mouse (Mus sylvatica), and from Arvicola subterraneus. The other species are Trichosoma myoxi nitelæ, and Ophiostoma cristatum from Myoxus dryas, and M. muscardinus. The jerboas (Dipodidæ), in common with the hamster and several species of true mice, are apt to be infested by Ascaris tetraptera; and a small nematoid, apparently immature, was noticed by Otto in the intestines and in the abdominal walls and cavity of Dipus tetradactylus. Mice, properly so called, are largely infested, as is also the hamster (Cricetus vulgaris), which I include in the Muridæ. In addition to the parasites already mentioned, the hamster is infested by Tænia straminea. Along with examples of this tapeworm I have received from Dr Murie some acephalocysts found in a hamster which died at the Zoological Gardens.

Flukes exist in the long-tailed field-mouse (Distoma vitta and D. recurvum), but I have not seen any in our common mice and rats. However, Dujardin describes a distome (D. spiculator) in the brown rat (Mus decumanus). One of the tapeworms observed in the mouse (M. musculus) is Tænia pusilla, also found in the rat (M. rattus) and long-tailed field-mouse. The house-mouse likewise harbors T. microstoma and T. leptocephala; and an immature cestode has also been seen in the abdomen, probably a species of Ligula. Various species of rat also harbor T. diminuta. In regard to the round worms one of the most common species is Ascaris oxyura. This not only occurs in rats and mice, but also in voles, water-rats, and many other rodents. The rodents’ whipworm (Trichocephalus nodosus) is yet more common in the lemmings, rats, voles, and mice; another species (T. unguiculatus), taking its place in hares and rabbits, and yet another (T. affinis) in the porcupine. Another nematoid, very common in mice, is Spiroptera obtusa, occupying the stomach. I have seen a mouse with its abdomen so distended by their presence that the animal could scarcely run along the pathway where it was killed by being trod upon. According to Marchi, the young of this entozoon dwell in the fat surrounding the alimentary canal of the larva of an insect (Tenebrio molitor). When noticing the parasites of the cat I referred to Leuckart’s interesting discovery of the relations subsisting between the adult Olulanus tricuspis, found in the stomach walls of that feline, and the immature encysted worms, found not only as wanderers in the cat itself but also in the muscles of mice. The olulanised mouse is thus an intermediate host. Rats and mice also play the part of intermediary bearers in the case of two other species of entozoa, namely, Trichina spiralis and Tænia crassicollis, the tænioid scolex or larval condition of the cat’s tapeworm being familiarly known as Cysticercus fasciolaris. This sexually-immature tapeworm infests many other rodents, especially the voles (Arvicolidæ). In regard to Trichinæ it must not be forgotten that their presence in rats is not uncommon in some parts of Europe; and this circumstance may explain the recurrence of trichinosis (first in hogs and then in man) in certain outlying districts. Only in this way can the Cumberland outbreak in this country be accounted for. Here I cannot dwell upon the subject, but in this connection I may observe that Bakody has in a very convincing manner described a new variety or species of Trichina, found by him infesting the walls of the stomach and intestine of rats. In the first instance he detected the worm in association with the ordinary T. spiralis, but afterwards separately. He also obtained it in fowls. The species should be called Trichina Bakodyii. Possibly the nematodes observed by Colin in 1863 also refer to this worm. They occupied tubercles in the liver of a rat. In regard to the beavers (Castoridæ) it appears that they harbor many species of round worms, and also several flukes, but they do not appear to have been very much studied. In Morgan’s work on the American beaver there is a notice in which it is stated that Dr Ely found a very fine filamentous worm 40‴ in length. This does not seem to correspond with Ascaris castoris (Rud.). He also speaks of large numbers of a slender white worm, 3″ to 5″ in length, found in the peritoneal cavity, and referable to the genus Filaria. This cannot be confounded with Trichocephalus castori (Rud.). Moreover, he describes a strongyle (Sclerostoma) as infesting the colon, and especially the cæcum. These all appear to be new to science. The Fasciola hepatica is occasionally found in the liver, but the most common helminth of beavers is Amphistoma subtriquetrum. Specimens of this worm may be seen in the British and Hunterian Museums. As regards the porcupines (Hystricidæ) I have already mentioned the occurrence of a tapeworm in the common species. The larval Pentastoma denticulatum has been found by Otto attached to the surface of the lungs, and Redi, about two centuries back, noticed small nematodes lodged in tubercles of the œsophagus. The late C. M. Diesing obtained Trichocephalus affinis from the intestines. So far as I am aware, little or nothing has been said respecting the helminths of the Octodontidæ, Chinchillidæ, and Cavidæ. Like other European investigators I have dissected guinea pigs (Cavia aperœa) without finding any parasites; but in Brazil a small species of ascaris (A. uncinata) was found by Natterer in this animal and also in the paca (Cœlogenys paca). The agoutis (Dasyprocta) harbor Trichocephalus gracilis.

The entozoa of the duplicidentate rodents (Leporidæ) acquire importance from the fact of their abundance and from the intimate relation which some of them bear to parasites infesting the dog and other animals. Thus, the two commonest kinds of fluke infesting cattle (Fasc. hepatica and Dist. lanceolatum) also attack hares and rabbits; the former parasite often producing the rot disease, which is almost as fatal to the rodents as it is to the ruminants. Mutual infection occasionally results from this circumstance by the distribution of germs. All experiment-conducting helminthologists have reared Tænia serrata from the Cysticercus pisiformis; nevertheless, several English Manuals of Zoology persist in propagating the old error of Von Siebold, who supposed he had reared this tapeworm by the administration of Cœnuri. So far as I am aware, no feeding experiments have been conducted with the Cœnuri of rabbits (C. cuniculi). These bladderworms infest the soft parts of the body, often producing tumours having a very unsightly appearance. For details I must refer to the papers quoted below. The Norfolk warreners call the infested hosts “bladdery rabbits.” Though apparently most abundant in the eastern counties of England, these diseased rabbits are by no means confined to that quarter. Through Mr Alston’s help I have received specimens of Cœnurus cuniculi from Ayrshire, Scotland. Probably this form of Cœnurus occurs wherever rabbits live. In Italy a case is recorded by Perroncito from the abdominal cavity of a rabbit (coniglio). Every experimenter is more or less familiar with the cestode larvæ (C. pisiformis) found wandering in the abdominal cavity. These were regarded as flukes by Kuhn (Monostoma leporis). I need hardly remark that the developmental and structural changes undergone by these Cysticerci during their residence within the rabbit have been exhaustively followed out and treated of by Leuckart. Without dwelling on this subject, I must in justice add that in this relation the special labors of Küchenmeister, Van Beneden, Haubner, Wagener, Röll, Eschricht, and Möller played no inconspicuous part. My own efforts in 1857, and subsequently, were not unattended with success. It therefore seems to me, without prejudice to the recent experiences of De Sylvestre and others, that further experiments in this immediate connection are unnecessary. As regards the nematodes of leporine rodents, probably the most important is Strongylus commutatus. This parasite, like its husk-producing congeners, infesting calves and lambs, occasionally sweeps off great numbers of hares. Such an epizoöty occurred in Thuringia in 1864. The most frequent intestinal parasite of rodents is probably Oxyuris ambigua, but Strong. retortæformis is tolerably abundant in the hare, and Trichocephalus unguiculatus is liable to occur in all leporines. I know nothing of the so-called Strong. strigosus of rabbits, but Bellingham found it in Ireland. Olfers and Natterer obtained a small ascaris (A. veligera) from Lepus braziliensis; but I cannot help thinking that the large measle (Cysticercus macrocystis) described by Diesing as three inches in length, and obtained from the same rodent, must either have been Cœnurus cuniculi or else another form of polycephalous hydatid.

In reference to the ectozoa of rodents it may be said that they are very numerous. Acari infest rats and mice, and especially leporines. Thus, in the mouse are found Sarcoptes notoedre, Bourguignon, var. muris, Mégnin, Sarc. musculinus, Koch, and Myobia musculi, Claparède. It is not very generally known that wild rabbits are apt to be attacked by the common autumnal spider (Leptus autumnalis), whence, as once happened with myself, they may be transferred to the human body. The ears of tame rabbits are sometimes covered with acari, which are easily destroyed by the cautious application of a mixture of carbolic acid and olive oil (one of acid to six of the oil). Rodents also harbor fleas. At a meeting of the Entomological Society in 1875 Mr Vernall showed living specimens from the ears of a rabbit, and Messrs Cole and W. A. Lewis stated that they had obtained fleas from the hedgehog and European marmot respectively.

Bibliography (No. 47).—Beneden (see Van Beneden below).—Capelle, J., Extr. from a letter, in which the author states that he had “found worms of the tænia kind in the liver of sixteen out of eighteen rats,” ‘Med. Commentaries,’ vol. xix, p. 139, 1794; see also ‘Trans. Coll. Phys. of Philad.,’ vol. i, part ii, p. 60, 1793.—Chapman, H. C., “Echinorhynchus in Squirrel,” ‘Proc. Acad. Philad.,’ 1874, p. 76.—Cobbold, “Note on Cœnurus (from a squirrel),” ‘Proc. Linn. Soc.,’ May 5, 1864.—Idem, “On the occurrence of Tænia pectinata in the Porcupine (Hystrix dorsata),” in a letter to Dr Lawson in the ‘Canadian Naturalist and Geologist,’ 1862.—Idem, ‘On T. serrata,’ &c. (see Bibl. No. 45).—Colin, “On the presence of a Nematode Worm in certain Tubercles of the Liver of a Rat,” from ‘Rec. de Méd. Vét.,’ in ‘Edin. Vet. Rev.,’ Oct., 1863.—Leuckart, ‘Die Blasenbandwürmer (u. s. w.),’ 1858 (contains numerous details and figs. in ref. to Cysticercus pisiformis and T. serrata, &c.).—Marchi, P., ‘Mem. della R. Accad. d. Sci. di Torino,’ xxv.—Peacock, “Remarks on the Liver of a Mouse with Cysts containing Cysticerci,” ‘Lancet’ and ‘Trans. Path. Soc.,’ 1855.—Perroncito, E., “Sopra un caso di Cœnurus (in the abdominal cavity of a rabbit),” ‘Giornale Med. Veter.,’ 1876.—Siebold (see Von Siebold, below).—Sylvestri, De, “Experiments with C. pisiformis,” ‘Il. Med. Veterinario,’ 1871.—Van Beneden (see Bibl. No. 45).—Idem, “On Sciurus glacialis and its Parasites,” from ‘Bull. de l’Acad. de Belgique,’ in ‘Ann. Nat. Hist.,’ vol. xiii, 1854.—Verrall, in ‘Proc. Ent. Soc. Lond.,’ Feb. 15, 1875, p. 3.—Von Siebold, ‘Ueber die Band-und Blasenwürmer,’ Leipsig, 1854, and Huxley’s edit. for Syd. Soc., 1857.—Idem, “Experiments on the Transformation of the Cystoid Worms into Tænias,” from ‘Ann. des Sci. Nat.,’ in ‘Ann. Nat. Hist.,’ vol. x, 1852.—Idem, “Helminthology,” trans. by Busk and pub. in ‘Ray Soc. Rep. on Zool.,’ 1843–44, p. 446, London, 1847.—Idem, “On the Transformation of Cysticercus pisiformis into Tænia serrata,” from ‘Zeitsch. f. w. Zool.,’ in ‘Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci.,’ 1854.

Part VII (Edentata).

The entozoa of the edentulate mammals are not very numerous. So far as I am aware only one species has been described from the scaly ant-eaters (Manidæ). This is the small and probably immature ascaris noticed by Whitefield in the walls of the stomach of the badgareit or short-tailed pangolin (Manis pentadactyla). Amongst the true ant-eaters (Myrmecophagidæ) a single round worm has also been observed, but not adequately described. I allude to Marcgrav’s “find” in the little ant-eater (Myrmecophaga didactyla). I observe that Rudolphi distinctly refers to this edentate as the tamandua. Diesing does the same. The ant-eaters are much infested by a thorn-headed worm (Echinorhynchus echinodiscus). On the 1st November, 1875, I received from Prof. Flower a jar labelled as follows: “Entozoon found attached to intestine of tamandua ant-eater.” The parasite was procured from the society’s gardens on August 12th, 1871. Natterer originally obtained this worm from Myrmecophaga jubata and M. bivittata. Croplin described it from a M. didactyla from Surinam (‘Wiegmann’s Archiv,’ 1849). I presume that M. tamandua answers to the M. bivittata of Geoffroy, as well as to the tridactyle and tetradactyle species of Linnæus. The parasite in question was a female, measuring exactly 10 inches long, and had its proboscis firmly anchored within the gut. The armadillos (Dasypidæ) entertain a variety of nematodes. In 1858 I obtained several examples of Ascaris retusa from the rectum of a poyou or weasel-headed armadillo (Dasypus sexcinctus). The worm was first procured by Natterer from the black armadillo (D. peba), which host also harbors Pentastoma subcylindricum. According to the “finds” of Natterer and the subsequent descriptions by Diesing, the two most common helminths of the Brazilian armadillos are Aspidocephalus scoleciformis and Trichocephalus subspiralis. As regards the sloths (Bradypidæ) it would seem that they are particularly liable to entertain round worms. The Ai (Bradypus tridactylus) is infested by Strongylus leptocephalus, Spiroptera gracilis, Sp. anterohelicina, and Sp. brachystoma; whilst the unau (Cholœpus didactylus) harbors the last-named species and also Sp. spiralis. All these worms have been described by Molin, and, with the exception of the two first named, were new to science when he wrote his well-known monograph on the genus. They were collected by Natterer. All the species infest either the stomach or intestines, with the exception of Sp. spiralis. This singular worm, like the closely allied Sp. helicina, infesting the feet of birds, has the habit of coiling itself amongst the tendons of the digits of the hind limbs more especially.

Bibliography (No. 48).—Cobbold, “On some new Forms of Entozoa,” ‘Linn. Trans.,’ vol. xxii, p. 365, 1859.—Idem, “List of Entozoa,” &c., ‘Proc. Zool. Soc.,’ March 26, 1861.—Idem, “Notes on Entozoa,” part iii, ‘Proc. Zool. Soc.,’ Feb. 1, 1876, p. 202.—Marcgrav, in his ‘Historia rerum nat. Brasil.,’ 1648, p. 226, and in ‘Rudolphi’s Synopsis,’ p. 186.—Molin, “Una Monografia del gen. Spiroptera,” ‘Aus dem Sitzungsb. d. m.-nat. Cl. d. k. Akad. d. Wissensch.,’ Bd. xxxviii, 1859, s. 911, Wien, 1860.—Whitefield, in ‘Edin. New. Phil. Journ.,’ edited by Jamieson, 1829, p. 58.

Part VIII (Ruminantia).

In the matter of parasites this order of mammalian animals stands second in importance. An entire volume of the dimensions of the present would barely do justice to the subject. Although in the article “Ruminantia” in ‘Todd’s Cyclopædia,’ and in my popular treatise on the mammalia, I have described the oxen (Bovidæ) and sheep (Ægosceridæ) as separate families, I shall here speak of their entozoa together; and, at the same time, I shall introduce occasional reference to the helminths of the antelopes and gnoos (Antilopidæ), also of the giraffes (Camelopardidæ), the deer tribe (Cervidæ), the camels, and the llamas (Camelidæ). The parasites of the last family, however, will necessarily stand somewhat apart.

1. The liver fluke, in its sexually-mature state (Fasc. hepatica), gives rise to the disease commonly called rot; this affection being also locally termed coathe (Dorsetshire, Devon), iles (Cornwall), and bane (Somersetshire). In France it is known as the Cachexie aqueuse, and more popularly as pourriture. In Germany the epidemic disease is called egelseuche, and in a more limited sense either die Fäule or die Leberkrankheit.

2. The rot is especially prevalent during the spring of the year, at which time the fluke itself and innumerable multitudes of the free eggs are constantly escaping from the alimentary canal of the bearer. The germs are thus ordinarily transferred to open pasture-grounds along with the fæces of the bearer.

3. As it has been shown by dissections that the liver of a single sheep may harbor several hundred flukes, and as, also, a single adult fluke is capable of throwing off several thousand eggs, it is certain that any rot-affected flock is capable of distributing millions of fluke germs.

4. Such flukes as have escaped the host per anum do not exhibit active powers of locomotion. Their slight contractile movements, however, serve the purpose of concealing them in the grass, and probably aid in the further expulsion of eggs, which pass from the oviduct in single file.

5. After the death of the escaped flukes the further dispersion of the eggs is facilitated by the subsequent decomposition of the parent worm, and also by its disintegration, partly occasioned by the attacks of insects. It has been calculated that the uterus of a full-grown fluke may contain upwards of forty thousand eggs.

6. By the agency of winds, rains, insects, the feet of cattle, dogs, rabbits, and other animals, as well as by man himself, the freed ova are dispersed and carried to considerable distances; and thus it is that a considerable proportion of them ultimately find their way into ponds, ditches, canals, pools of all kinds, lakes, and running streams.

7. At the time of their expulsion the eggs exhibit a finely segmented condition of the yolk. The egg-contents continue to develop whilst outside the parent’s body, the granular matrix finally becoming transformed into a ciliated embryo, which when set free follows the habit of infusorial animalcules in general by swimming rapidly in the water. The escape of the embryo is effected at the anterior pole of the egg-shell, which is furnished with a lid that opens in consequence of the action of prolonged immersion, aided by the vigorous movements of the contained embryo.

8. The ciliated, free-swimming embryo, at the time of its birth, exhibits the figure of an inverted cone, its anterior extremity, which is broad and somewhat flattened, supporting a central proboscis-like papilla. A small pigment spot placed dorsally, and having the form of a cross, is supposed to be a rudimentary organ of vision. After the lapse of a few days the cilia fall off, the embryo then assuming the character of creeping larvæ (planulæ).

9. Notwithstanding its abridged locomotive powers the non-ciliated larvæ sooner or later gain access to the body of an intermediary bearer, within or upon whose tissues it becomes transformed into a kind of sac or sporocyst. In this condition the larva is capable of developing, agamogenetically, other larvæ in its interior. The sporocysts are highly organised, forming rediæ. According to Willemoes-Suhm, the redia of Fasciola hepatica lives on the body of Planorbis marginata. This organised nurse, which is about a line in length, is the Cercaria cystophora of Wagener. The progeny of this redia consists of armed Cercariæ, which after a time quit the nurse to pass an independent existence in the water.

10. In the cases of some species of fluke there is reason to believe that before the Cercariæ gain access to their final or definitive host they re-enter the bodies of the mollusks. This they accomplish by means of a boring apparatus, and having previously cast off their tails they encyst themselves beneath the surface of the skin. In this new situation they develop into the so-called pupa, which is at length passively transferred with the fodder, or drink, to the digestive organs of the host. In the case of Fasc. hepatica, as probably obtains also with many other flukes, I think there can be no doubt that the Cercariæ pass directly into the bodies of ruminating animals. The circumstance that flukes of this species have been found beneath the human skin shows how considerable are the boring powers of the armed Cercariæ.

In regard to the possibilities of fluke development, that will be best understood by glancing at the constitution of the zoological individual. The sum total of the products of a single germ may be tabulated as follows:—

This is a fair representation of the life-phases of the fluke. The life-phases are rarely less numerous or complicated than here indicated, but Pagenstecher’s researches tend to prove that under certain climatal conditions the number of larval forms may vary considerably. In other words, the fluke individual does not comprise any definite number of “zoöids,” although the kinds of zoöids are limited. I recognise three “biotomes.” The first includes only one temporary, independent life-phase, this is the ciliated animalcule, which I call a “protozoöid.” The second “biotome” may comprise only a solitary simple sporocyst or germ-sac (deuterozoöid), but an almost indefinite multiplication of new and independent germ-sacs, as well as other more highly organised “nurse formations,” may also be developed from the primary sporocyst (secondary and tertiary “deuterozoöid”). The third “biotome” embraces a large but variable number of “tritozoöids” (cercariæ), an equal number, whatever that may be, of “tetartozoöids” (pupæ), and, therefore, also, a similar number of “pemptozoöids” (flukes).

Practically, other curious results arise out of the foregoing considerations. For example, a single sheep may harbor 1000 flukes. Each fluke will develop 10,000 to 40,000 eggs. Each egg may give rise to 370 zoöids. It thus appears that, if all the conditions were favorable, a single fluke might originate between three and four millions of individualised life-forms, whilst the solitary sheep itself would, under the same circumstances, be the means of causing the production of at least 3,000,000,000 fluke zoöids! Happily, no such results as this can possibly occur in nature, since interfering agencies reduce the favorable conditions. However, the balance of parasitic forms from all sources is usually sufficient to destroy thousands of sheep annually. The virulence of rot-epizoöty is entirely due to the presence of conditions favoring the development of fluke larvæ.

As regards the injurious action of this parasite on animals, it is well known that in particular years, in England alone, hundreds, and even thousands, of sheep have been destroyed in a single season. A writer in the ‘Edinburgh Veterinary Review’ for 1861 states that in the season of 1830–31 the estimated deaths of sheep from rot was between one and two millions. This would, of course, represent a money loss of something like four million pounds sterling. As affording additional striking instances of the disastrous effects of rot, I may cite the statements of Davaine. Thus:—“In the neighbourhood of Arles alone, during the year 1812, no less than 300,000 sheep perished, and at Nimes and Montpellier 90,000. In the inner departments, during the epidemic of the years 1853–54, many cattle-breeders lost a fourth, a third, and even three fourths of their flocks.” In like manner our English authority, Prof. Simonds, furnished a variety of painful cases. Thus, on the estate of Mr Cramp, of the Isle of Thanet, the rot epidemic of 1824 “swept away £3000 worth of his sheep in less than three months, compelling him to give up his farm.” Scores of cases are on record where our English farmers have individually lost three, four, five, six, seven, and even eight hundred sheep in a single season; and many agriculturists have thus become completely ruined.

Remarkable periodic outbreaks of this disease are recorded by Simonds as occurring in England in the successive years of 1809, ’16, ’24, ’30, ’53, and ’60; whilst, for France, Davaine mentions 1809, ’12, ’16, ’17, ’20, ’29, ’30, ’53, and ’54, as the most remarkable years. It would be interesting to know how far these outbreaks tally with the similar outbreaks which have occurred in Holland, Germany, and other European districts. The disease was prevalent during four separate years in France and England at one and the same time. This, indeed, is no more than we would naturally expect, considering that the extent of the development of the larval forms must, in a great measure, be dependent upon atmospheric conditions. A warm and moist season would alike prove beneficial to the development of the larvæ and their intermediate molluscan hosts. Their numbers would also multiply enormously; for, as already remarked, the degree of non-sexual production of trematode larvæ within their sporocysts is materially affected by climatic changes. On the other hand, a fine, dry, open season will tend to check the growth and wanderings of the larvæ, and thus render the flocks comparatively secure.

Considerations like these sufficiently explain many of the crude theories which were early propagated concerning the causes of this disease, and in particular, the very generally prevalent notion that water, and water alone, was the true source of the disease. Intelligent cattle-breeders and agriculturists have all along observed that the rot was particularly virulent after long-continued wet weather, and more especially so when there had been a succession of wet seasons. They have likewise noticed that flocks grazing in low pastures and marshy districts were much more liable to invasion than sheep which pastured on higher and drier grounds, but noteworthy exceptions occurred in the case of flocks feeding in the salt-water marshes of our eastern shores. The latter circumstance appears to have suggested the common practice of mixing salt with the food of sheep and cattle, both as a preventive and curative agent; and there can be little doubt that this remedy has always been attended with more or less satisfactory results. The intelligible explanation of the good effected by this mode of treatment we shall find to be intimately associated with a correct understanding of the genetic relations of the entozoon, for it is certain that the larvæ of Fasciola hepatica exist in the bodies of fresh-water snails. As already hinted from Willemoes-Suhm’s observations, it is not improbable that the larvæ are confined to gasteropod mollusks belonging to the genus Planorbis.

The symptoms produced by rot are very striking. When the disease has far advanced it is easy to know a rotten sheep, not only by its very look, but still more convincingly, as I have myself tested, by slightly pressing the hand over the region of the loins. In this region the diseased animal is particularly weak, and the pressure thus applied instantly causes it to wince. At the same time the hand feels a peculiar sensation very unlike that communicated by the spine of a sound animal. In bad cases the back becomes hollow, and there is a corresponding pendulous condition of the abdomen. The spinal columns ultimately stick out prominently, forming the so-called “razor-back.” As Professor Simonds has well observed, in an earlier stage of the disease, “an examination of the eye will readily assist in determining the nature of the malady. If the lids are everted it will be found that the vessels of the conjunctiva are turgid with pale or yellowish colored blood, the whole part presenting a peculiar moist or watery appearance. Later on, the same vessels become blanched and scarcely recognisable.” The skin also becomes harsh and dry, losing its natural tint, and the wool is at length rendered brittle, either becoming very easily detached or falling off spontaneously.

The first thing noticeable in dissecting a rotten sheep is the wasted and watery condition of all the tissues. There is a total absence of that firm, fresh, carneous look which so distinctively characterises the flesh in a state of health. Not only is the rigidity and firm consistency of the muscles altogether wanting, but these structures have lost that deep reddish color which normally exists. When the abdominal cavity is opened a more or less abundant, clear, limpid, or yellowish fluid will make its escape, and the entire visceral contents will, at the same time, display a remarkably blanched aspect. These pathological changes are also shared by the important organ especially affected, namely, the liver. This gland has lost its general plumpness, smoothness, and rich, reddish-brown color, and has become irregularly knotted and uneven both at the surface and the margins, its coloring being either a dirty chocolate brown, more or less strongly pronounced at different parts, or it has a peculiar yellowish tint, which in places is very pale and conspicuous. To the feel it is hard and brawny, and when incised by the scalpel, yields a tough and, in places, a very gritty sensation. On opening the gall-ducts a dark, thick, grumous, biliary secretion oozes slowly out, together with several distomes, which, if not dead, slowly curve upon themselves, and roll up like a slip of heated parchment. On further slitting open the biliary passages, they are found distended irregularly at various points, and in certain situations many flukes are massed together, having caused the ducts to form large sacs, in which the parasites are snugly ensconced. The walls of the ducts are also much thickened in places, and hardened by a deposit of coarse calcareous grains on their inner surface. Mr Simonds says, that the “coats of the ductus hepaticus, as also of the ductus communis choledicus, are not unfrequently so thick as to be upwards of ten times their normal substance, and, likewise, so hard as to approach the nature of cartilage.” Respecting their numbers, the greatest variation exists. The presence of a few flukes in the liver is totally insufficient to cause death; consequently, when a sheep dies from rot, or is killed at a time when the disease has seriously impoverished the animal, then we are sure to find the organ occupied by many dozen, many score, or even several hundred flukes. Thus from a single liver Bidloo obtained 800, Leuwenhoeck about 900, and Dupuy upwards of 1000 specimens. Even the occurrence of large numbers only destroys the animal by slow degrees, and, possibly, without producing much physical suffering, excepting, perhaps, in the later stages. Associated with the above-described appearances, one also not unfrequently finds a few flukes in the intestinal canal, whilst a still more interesting pathological feature is seen in the fact that the bile contained in the liver ducts is loaded with flukes’ eggs. In some cases there cannot be less than tens or even hundreds of thousands. Not a few may also be found in the intestinal canal and in the excrement about to be voided. Occasionally dead specimens become surrounded by inspissated bile, and gritty particles deposited in the liver ducts, thus forming the nuclei of gall-stones. Mr Simonds mentions a remarkable instance, “where the concretion was as large as an ordinary hen’s egg, and when broken up was found to contain about a dozen dead flukes. It was lying in a pouch-like cavity of one of the biliary ducts.”

In respect of treatment we all know that “prevention is better than cure.” Moisture being essential to the growth and development of the fluke-larvæ, it is clear that sheep cannot be infected so long as they remain on high and dry grounds, and even in low pastures they can scarcely take the disease so long as they are folded, and fed on hay, turnips, and fodder procured from drier situations. When once the malady has become fairly developed, internal remedies are of little avail, at least, in view of producing a thorough cure. Palliative treatment may undoubtedly do good, especially in cases where the disease is not very strongly pronounced. The most important thing is the transference of the rot-affected animals to dry ground and good shelter, supplying them, at the same time, with a liberal quantity of manger food, such as beans, peas, and other leguminous seeds. The fodder, of whatever kind, should be frequently changed, and many other hygienic measures adopted, all tending to promote the appetite and general health of the animal. An admixture of salines is a matter of essential importance, especially in cases where the disease is not far advanced. The beneficial effect of salt is one of those few points on which nearly all parties are agreed, and its preservative influence in the case of sheep fed upon salt-water marsh-land has been previously explained. In regard, however, to the legion of remedies which have from time to time been proposed, all I need here say is, that most of them when fairly tested have been found to fail ignominiously. Every year we hear of the adoption, often with enthusiasm, of new so-called specifics, or of ancient medicines whose employment had long fallen into disuse. Thus, for example, in the April number of the ‘Journal des Vétérinaires du Midi’ for 1860, we find M. Raynaud strongly recommending soot, in doses of from one to three spoonfuls, to be followed up by the administration of a grain of lupin for tonic purposes. In like manner, we received from France wonderful accounts of the medicinal virtues of a certain fœtid oleaginous compound, the value of which was put to a fair test by our distinguished veterinarian, Professor Simonds. Having with infinite care and trouble undertaken a series of experiments with the remedy in question, Mr Simonds writes in the ‘Scottish Farmer and Horticulturist’ to the effect that, as a result of his inquiries, he fears “we must conclude that this supposed cure of rot in sheep has proved quite ineffective for good.” The last new “cure” announced is by Mr Robert Fletcher (‘Journ. Nat. Agric. Soc. of Victoria,’ Dec., 1878).

The examination of rotten sheep is not altogether free from danger. Professor Simonds tells us that in August, 1854, “a person of intemperate habits, following the occupation of a country butcher, was employed in skinning and dressing a number of rotten sheep on the premises of a farmer in the county of Norfolk. The sheep were necessarily opened when warm, and while he was so engaged he complained greatly of the sickening smell. The same evening he was attacked with choleraic disease, and two days afterwards was a corpse.” This case is highly instructive and, when taken in connection with the well-known fact that animals affected with the disease putrefy very rapidly, clearly points to the necessity of removing slaughter-houses far away from densely populated localities.

Notwithstanding the above statement, there is little or no danger to be apprehended from the consumption of the flesh of rot-affected animals. On this vexed question we have the strong testimony of the late Dr Rowe, of Australia, who, after leaving the medical profession, became a large and successful stockowner, and devoted himself especially to this question. Dr Rowe, writing from the Goulburn district, said:—“The mere presence of flukes in the viscera of an animal is no proof that it is unfit for human food. For inspectors of slaughter-houses to adopt such a test of wholesome food would be the greatest mistake. It would afford no protection to the public against unhealthy food, would increase the price of animals, and be ruinous to our farmers and graziers. If the consumption of flukey beef and mutton were prejudicial to the health of man, there would be very few people alive in this part of the colony; for, to my certain knowledge, they have had no other animal food to live upon for the last twenty-five years, yet for physical ability I believe they may be favorably compared with the inhabitants of any other part of Australia.” Speaking of his own experiences, Dr Rowe avers that he found the common liver fluke in sheep, cattle, goats, opossums, kangaroos, geese, ducks, and other creatures, but he had never encountered it in men, dogs, or pigs. On the whole I think we may agree with Dr Rowe, in regarding the consumption of the flesh of rot-affected animals as free from danger provided only the meat, be well or even moderately well cooked. It must be borne in mind, however, that an essential objection to its consumption lies in the fact that the watery and otherwise chemically deteriorated flesh is comparatively innutritious. It must also be noted that the meat-supply from fluke-affected animals, as usually sold in the markets, is chiefly derived from animals which have only entered the early stage of the disorder, that is, long before the watery and wasted condition of the muscles has fairly set in.

Respecting the other trematodes I have to observe that Distoma lanceolatum not only infests the liver ducts of cattle and sheep, but also the deer tribe. Its larvæ are likewise supposed to reside in Planorbis marginatus. Still more common and widespread amongst ruminants is the Amphistoma conicum, occupying the paunch. It has been found in the ox, sheep, musk-ox, elk, roe, fallow, red-deer, goat, and dorcas-antelope; also in Cerrus campestris, C. nambi, C. rufus, and C. simplicicornis. Prof. Garrod has also recently shown me examples from the sambu deer of India (C. Aristotelis). Diesing’s A. lunatum, infesting Cerrus dichotomus, is inadmissible. Two other species of Amphistome (A. explanatum, A. crumeniferum) are said to infest the zebu; and I have described another (A. tuberculatum) from the intestines of Indian cattle. An aberrant amphistomatoid entozoon (Gyrocotyle rugosa) has been found in a Cape antelope (A. pygarga). Of more interest, however, is the circumstance that Dr Sonsino has discovered a species of Bilharzia (B. bovis) in Egyptian cattle and in sheep. The eggs of this species are distinctive, being fusiform and narrowed towards either pole.

Comparatively few tapeworms are found in ruminants. Cattle are infested by Tænia expansa and T. denticulata, the former of these two species being also more or less prevalent in sheep, antelopes, and deer. Other alleged species (Tænia fimbriata and T. capræ) appear to me more than doubtful. Unquestionably the common Tænia expansa is capable of giving rise to severe epizoöty among lambs. The privately communicated evidence of Professors Brown and Axe, and published evidence supplied by Messrs Cox and Robertson on this head, are conclusive. Mr George Rugg has also (in a letter to Prof. Simonds, dated Dec. 4th, 1878) communicated the particulars of an outbreak in which “large numbers of lambs perished rapidly” from tapeworms in the intestines, the parasites varying from one to five or six feet in length. This tapeworm (T. expansa) is also very prevalent in Germany. Ruminants, however, both at home and abroad, suffer much more severely from bladder-worms. Of these, Echinococcus veterinorum, Cysticercus tenuicollis, and Cœnurus cerebralis, are not only shared alike by all varieties of cattle, sheep, and goats, but they also infest the deer tribe, antelopes, the giraffe, and even camels. In 1859 I obtained the slender-necked hydatid from a spring-bok (Gazella). Besides these larval cestodes, cattle are very liable to harbor measles (Cysticercus bovis), whilst sheep also entertain an armed Cysticercus (C. ovis). I cannot again dwell at any length upon the source of these immature helminths, but I may remark upon the extreme frequency of measles in Indian cattle. This is explained by the careless habits of the people. They not only consume veal and beef in an imperfectly cooked state, but when suffering from tapeworm no precautions are taken to prevent cattle from having access to the expelled proglottides of Tænia mediocanellata. The subject has already been dealt with in the first part of this work, and also in my ‘Manual,’ quoted in the bibliography. The mutton measle is described under the heading of Tænia tenella. In like manner I must refer to the ‘Manual’ for a detailed account of the gid hydatid (Cœnurus cerebralis). How many kinds of Cœnuri exist it is impossible to say, but I am of opinion that the various polycephalous bladder-worms found by Rose, Baillet, and Alston in rabbits, by myself in a lemur and in a squirrel, and by Engelmeyer in the liver of a cat, are referable to tapeworms specifically distinct from the Tænia cœnurus of the dog.

It was in 1833 that Mr C. B. Rose, formerly of Swaffham, Norfolk, discovered an undoubted example of polycephalous hydatid in the rabbit, the parasite in question bearing a very close resemblance to Cœnurus cerebralis. As the accuracy of Rose’s determination respecting the characters of the hydatid has been called in question, I again invite attention to the original description as recorded in the ‘London Medical Gazette’ for November 9th, 1833. At page 206, vol. xiii, of that periodical, after describing the common Cœnurus cerebralis of the sheep, Rose writes:—“This (i.e. C. cerebralis) is the only species of Cœnurus noticed by authors, but I have met with another. It infests the rabbit, and I have found it situated between the muscles of the loins. It is also met with in the neck and back. This hydatid grows rapidly, and multiplies prodigiously, and being seated near the surface it soon projects, and sometimes forms a tumour of considerable magnitude. When the warrener meets with a rabbit thus affected, he punctures the tumour, squeezes out the fluid, and sends the animal to market with its brethren. I possess a specimen of this species in a pregnant state. The earliest visible state of gestation is a minute spot, more transparent than the surrounding coats of the parent; this enlarges till it projects from the parietes of the maternal vesicle. It continues to enlarge until it becomes a perfect hydatid, attached by a slender peduncle only; even whilst small, other young are seen sprouting from it, and so on in a series of three or four. My specimen exhibits them in every stage of growth, from a minute point to a vesicle the size of a hen’s egg. As I can see no difference in structure between this hydatid and the last-mentioned (i.e. Cœnurus cerebralis), I am unwilling to consider it a different species, for surely a varying locality ought not to constitute a specific character.”

The observations of Rose did not escape the well-known Dutch author, Numan. In a foot-note to his memoir, entitled “Over den veelkop-blaasworm der Hersenen,” he makes the following observations:—“Rose observes that he has found Cœnurus in bladdery rabbits (blaaszieke konijnen) in the skin, and in the cellular tissues of the trunk and extremities. The veterinary surgeon, Engelmeyer, of Burgau, says he has also found the Cœnurus (Veelkop) in the liver of a cat (‘Thierärztliche Wochenschrift van 1850,’ s. 192). These observations differ thus far from those of other writers, according to whom the Cœnurus is only found in the brain and spinal marrow. However, it is not impossible in particular cases that some parasites may have strayed from their ordinary dwelling-places.” Numan seems to have been not a little puzzled to account for these discrepancies, and he was altogether undecided regarding the mode of propagation of Cœnuri and Cysticerci. This will be gathered from the following passage, which I quote in the original:

“Ik moet het onbeslist laten, of de grondbeginsels, waaruit de wormen uit de blaas ontspruiten, als wezenlijke of als zoogenaamde kiemen (gemmæ) zijn te houden, waaromtrent de gevoelens der voornamste Natuuronderzoekers, die zich met de nasporing der blaaswormen hebben onledig gehouden, nog uiteenloopen. Gulliver, door Rose (a. p. pag. 231) aangehaald, houdt ze voor eijeren, in den Cysticercus tenuicollis, en Goodsir, mede aldaar genoemd, spreckt ook van ova bij den Cœnurus cerebralis; doch de laatstgenoemde en Busk houden ze voor gemmæ. Hier wordt voots gewezen op Owen en de meeste onderzoekers van den tegenwoordigen tijd, die het daarvoor houden, dat alle hydatiden zich alleen door gemmæ reproduceren. Rose merkt voorts aan, dat, hetzij men de geboorte dezer ingewandswormen toekenne aan eijeren of kiemen (gemmæ), dit om het even is, wat hunne verspreiding (dissemination) betreft, daar zij ingesloten zijn, waardoor de wijze, hoe zij naar buiten komen en verspried worden, tot dusver een gesloten boek is.”

The idea of Numan that these are strayed forms of Cœnurus cerebralis is not convincing. It must not be forgotten, however, as Leuckart and Numan have both reminded us, that Eichler discovered an hydatid about the size of a goose egg in the subcutaneous tissue of a sheep. This bladder-worm supported nearly two thousand heads. In regard to true hydatids or acephalocysts in ruminants, on which subject I have already dwelt at much length, I may again observe that the Hunterian Museum contains some remarkable examples. In 1854 I obtained Cysticerci from a giraffe, and I have reason to believe that similar bladder-worms infest antelopes and deer.

The nematodes of the ruminants are both numerous in, and destructive to, their bearers, those infesting the lungs being productive of a parasitic bronchitis termed husk or hoose. In cattle the lung-worm (Strongylus micrurus) is particularly fatal to calves, whilst S. filaria attacks sheep, and especially lambs. A larger but less common lung strongyle (S. rufescens) is sometimes found associated with the latter. In 1875 I conducted experiments with the view of finding the intermediate hosts of S. micrurus, and I arrived at the conclusion that the larvæ of this parasite are passively transferred to the digestive organs of earth-worms. The growth and metamorphoses which I witnessed in strongyloid larvæ taken from earth-worms (into which I had previously introduced embryos) were remarkably rapid, and accompanied by ecdysis. The facts were as follows. About the middle of October, 1875, I received from Messrs Farrow, of Durham, a fresh and characteristic specimen of diseased lungs, in which the bronchi were swarming with Filariæ.

In reference to the case itself, Mr George Farrow afterwards informed me by letter that the calf was one of a herd of seven, whose ages respectively varied from four to six months. At the time of his writing (October 20th) the remaining six animals were progressing favorably towards recovery—a result which Mr Farrow attributes to the employment of inhalations of turpentine and savin, combined with the internal administration of tonics. In regard to this plan of treatment, and in reference to the source of infection, he adds:—“I should have preferred trying the inhalations of chlorine gas, but as the patients were so very young and in poor condition, I deemed it advisable to try a milder course of treatment.

“The history of the case is brief. The cattle are on a very dry and well-drained farm, but during the summer there was a great scarcity of water, and they were supplied from a stagnant pool which eventually became dry. This, in my opinion, is where the disease originated.”

Mr George Farrow’s opinion is probably correct, being in harmony with the most recent results of scientific research as made known more particularly by Leuckart. But the facts thus conveyed do not explain the whole truth; or, rather, they convey it only in a very incomplete manner. Professor Leuckart’s experiments were made with several species such as Strongylus armatus of the horse, S. rufescens, S. hypostomus, and S. filaria of the sheep, and S. commutatus of the hare. Still, as regards the strongyles, partial as the results have thus far appeared, there cannot be a doubt that his successes with several allied nematode species form a key by which we may yet unlock and expose to view the entire life-history of that specially obnoxious form under consideration, namely, Strongylus micrurus. To summarise the whole matter in a few words, Leuckart supposes that all these strongyloids require a change of hosts before they can take up their final abode in the sexually-mature state. This he infers especially because their respective embryos display characters very similar to those exhibited by Olulanus. He believes that either small mollusks or insects and their larvæ play the rôle of intermediary bearer. His experiments with the embryos of Strongylus filaria prove that these larvæ can be kept alive for several weeks in moist earth, and that whilst so conditioned they undergo a first change of skin within a period varying from eight to fourteen days. Experiments on sheep, made with these moulting larvæ, led only to negative results. Unless the following facts be accepted, the scientific position remains pretty much where Leuckart left it.

On the 22nd of October, 1875, at 1 p.m., I placed the entire egg-contents of the uterus of a Strongylus micrurus on a glass slide hollowed out in the centre. Probably something like ten thousand ova were thus brought under observation, yet only three were noticed as freed from their shells, probably as the result of accidental rupture. Two of these displayed lively movements. In round numbers the ova gave a measurement of 1/300 of an inch in length by 1/750 of an inch in breadth, whilst the free embryos measured about 1/90 of an inch long, and less than 1/1000 of an inch in thickness. The integument of the embryo displayed neither markings of any kind nor any double contour. The contents of the worm were granular throughout, these granules being crowded in the centre of the body, but scarcely visible towards the head and tail, where for a considerable space (fully 1/300″) the worm was perfectly transparent. No trace of any sexual organs or their outlets was visible. An examination of numerous eggs and free embryos obtained from near the primary bronchial bifurcations (of Mr Farrow’s specimen) yielded the same microscopic results, the only thing worthy of remark being that the embryos from the mucus seemed much more lively than those which, as I supposed, had accidentally escaped their shells.

At 1.30 p.m. I placed some free embryos in two watch-glasses, one containing water and the other saliva, and placed them before the fire. Being called away professionally I found on my return at 3 p.m. that evaporation to dryness had occurred in the interval. All my attempts to resuscitate the embryos by moisture proved unavailing, a result which, though negative, proves how little capable these embryonic creatures are of enduring desiccation. If these facts be confirmed, their practical significance is not without value in relation to the choice of dry pasturage grounds for the rearing of young cattle. I may add that whilst half an hour’s immersion of the dried embryos failed to restore any sign of life, the previous warmth and moisture had caused many more embryos to escape their shells during the time they were placed before the fire.

At 4 p.m. I passed some very rich mould through muslin. Some of this finely sifted earth I placed in a watch-glass, adding a little water to moisten it, and also numerous eggs and free embryos. In a wine-glass and also in a small jar I placed some coarse earth with water added to make thin mud, and to both of these I added, not only eggs and embryos, but also portions of the reproductive organs of the adult female worms.

On the 23rd of October, at 2 p.m., I examined the contents of these vessels. All the embryos in the vessels containing the coarse earth were dead, but several were found alive in the watch-glass containing the fine moist mould. Structurally these latter had undergone no perceptible change beyond a somewhat closer aggregation of the somatic granules.

Although the embryos in the coarse wet mud had perished, the eggs with unhatched embryos appeared to have retained their vitality. Of this fact, indeed, I subsequently obtained abundant proof; and I also satisfied myself that the death of the embryos had not resulted either from the coarseness of the earth or from excessive moisture, but from the presence of numerous shreds of the uterine tubes which I had somewhat carelessly added to the vessels. Previous experiments, conducted many years back, had indeed taught me that few if any nematoid larvæ can resist the fatal action of putrid matter, however slight the putrescence.

Having removed the offending shreds, I next placed a quantity of living ova together in the earthenware jar, and allowed the earth-contents to become much drier by evaporation before the fire. I also left others in a watch-glass, which was placed under a bell-jar enclosing several ferns.

On the 25th of October I removed particles of the moist earth, altogether weighing about two grains, and, on submitting them to microscopic examination, had the satisfaction to observe about a dozen living embryos, some of which exhibited very lively movements. There was not the slightest indication of putridity; nevertheless, I noticed several shreds of the adult worms whose presence had been accidentally overlooked, and, curiously enough, all the embryos subsequently removed from the immediate neighbourhood of these decomposing shreds of tissue were almost motionless and apparently in a moribund condition. On examining the contents of the watch-glass placed under the fern shade, I noticed several points of interest. First of all the earth contained strongyle embryos, such as I had seen before. Secondly, the surface of the mould was being traversed by three or four briskly-moving Thysanuridæ, hunting about with all that restless activity which Sir John Lubbock has so well described. Thirdly, in marked contrast to the behaviour of these I noticed several slow-moving Acaridæ, apparently also employed in searching for food. And lastly, while thus engaged, the surface of the mould in the centre of the deep watch-glass was suddenly upheaved, by which I was at once made aware of the presence of another most welcome and unexpected intruder. In short, an earth-worm had crept from the dry mould in which the ferns were growing, and had taken up its temporary abode in the soft moist experimental-earth contained in the watch-glass. When contracted, this Lumbricus terrestris was barely an inch in length. On placing it under the half-inch objective glass, I noticed a single embryonic strongyle adhering to the skin, but not firmly, and evidently only in an accidental way, so to speak. It was clear to me that it possessed neither the intention nor the power to penetrate the chitinous integument of the earth-worm.

Having in the next place removed the Lumbricus with a pair of forceps, and having washed it under a current of water, I snipped off the lower end of the body, and allowed some of the intestinal contents to escape on a clean glass slide for separate microscopic examination. Immediately, to my satisfaction, I found that the fæcal contents displayed a large quantity of my strongyle ova, enclosing still living embryos, and in addition several free embryos presenting characters which declared that they were from the same source. Clearly they had been ingested by the earth-worm along with its ordinary food. One or two of the embryos were conspicuously larger than their fellows, but the structural changes they had undergone were not so marked as to lead me for a single moment to associate them with any of the various sexually-mature worms which have been described as normally infesting the earth-worm. I had no doubt whatever that such slight structural changes as were now discernible had resulted from growth and development consequent upon this accidental admission into the body of the intermediate bearer which might or might not prove to be its legitimate territory. It will be seen that subsequent observations tended to affirm the truth of this view. I made a careful examination of one of these larvæ, whose active movements were such as to render the process exceedingly tedious. The earth-worm itself (or rather its unequal halves) was placed in a fresh watch-glass containing ordinary mould. The larvæ or embryos obtained from the earth-worm now measured about 1/80 of an inch in length, their heads exhibiting a short and simple chitinous buccal tube, whilst their tails were somewhat more pointed and bent upward. The somatic granules were more crowded, rendering the position of the intestinal tract more marked, though, as yet, the differentiation gave no indication of the formation of a distinct intestinal wall. There was no perceptible increase of thickness of the body of the embryos. The results thus far naturally encouraged me to procure some fresh earth-worms for experimental purposes.

On the 26th of October I found that the halves of the earth-worm were alive, and I left them undisturbed in rather dry mould, freshly added. To a watch-glass containing newly sifted earth and embryos I added a fresh garden-worm, which was rather sluggish from the cold; and in the original jar I placed another smaller and very active earth-worm obtained the same morning. Finding the soil in the jar congenial, this lumbricus soon buried itself. Another and larger earth-worm subsequently added refused to follow this example. It was therefore removed from the jar. Believing the fine and artificially prepared soil to be still much too moist, I caused further evaporation; and I afterwards found that the thicker the mud the more suitable it proved as a residence for embryonic nematodes and earth-worms alike.

On the 27th I found the small earth-worms in the jar burrowing freely and throwing up fæcal casts. From one of my watch-glasses the worm had escaped, its place being occupied in the meantime by an actively crawling Julus. I put a second Julus, obtained from the mould in the fern jar, to form a companion (in view of other experiments), and I also added a fresh earth-worm, covering all by another inverted watch-glass, which I thought would prevent their escape.

In the next place I examined the halves of my original experimental earth-worm. They were scarcely capable of motion, but retained a certain amount of vitality. The tail was the more active half, and unfortunately it was soon afterwards lost. Carefully washing the superior half, and transferring its contents to a glass slide, I immediately detected under the microscope a large number of embryos. They were in a state of marked activity, the largest having increased to about 1/50″ of an inch in length, whilst their structure had become correspondingly advanced. Here, again, there was no room for doubt as to their source, especially as they individually displayed different degrees of organisation, all answering to one and the same embryonal type. I now observed a distinct œsophagus, the rest of the intestinal tract being still more conspicuous than heretofore, though, as yet, no true cells marked the limitation of the stomach and chylous intestine.

After an hour’s immersion in cold water some of the larvæ became much less active, whilst others were motionless, so that I feared all were about to perish. In the hope of keeping a few of them alive I now added to the slide some finely sifted grains of mould, placing the slide under a small bell jar which protected some of my ferns. The remains of the moribund earth-worm were also covered with mould.

Other larvæ, derived from the earth-worm, were placed on the moist pinnæ of a living fern-frond which supported small drops of water, for by this process I hoped in some measure to imitate the dew which naturally condenses on the grass and fodder of our low-lying fields. At 3.15 p.m. of the same day (27th) I also examined a fresh worm pellet from the jar, and found it to contain living strongyle embryos, which as heretofore had not exhibited the slightest advance either in respect of size or structure.

At noon on the 28th I again sought for the larger larvæ, first of all on the slide covered with fine earth, and afterwards within the remains of the upper half of the original earth-worm. On the slide I could detect none, but within the intestine of the worm there were still two living larvæ left, whose characters corresponded precisely with the largest that I had previously obtained from the same source only the day before. They had undergone, however, no further change in structure, and their measurements remained precisely the same.

At 12.30 p.m. I snipped off two or three of the terminal fern-fronds on which I had placed a few advanced larvæ. On examination under the half-inch objective I immediately detected one of the larvæ cruising about most actively. On adding a drop of water it soon rushed across the field of the microscope, its movements being thoroughly eel-like. The size of this larvæ had so much increased that it was now visible to the naked eye, measuring, indeed, as much as 1/30 of an inch from head to tail. Moreover, its organisation had advanced in a marked degree. Thus, the digestive organs were better defined, and on one side of them there appeared a regularly arranged congeries of cellules, forming the commencement of the reproductive organs. As yet, however, I could not pronounce as to the sex.

At 1.45 p.m. I again examined a few grains of earth from the jar, when I at once noticed five or six active embryos whose structure failed to show the slightest advance upon that originally described. It was evident that the jar contained thousands of them; and since no ova were found, it became probable that all their embryonic contents had escaped to swell the number of free larvæ, leaving their very delicate envelopes to perish. I think I had hit upon the most suitable degree of moisture favorable to this result.

In the next place I sought for the earth-worm that had been placed in the infested soil between two watch-glasses. It had escaped. This obliged me to transfer the mould to a rather wide-mouthed and open phial, in which four more fresh lumbrici were placed. I feared the closing of the bottle would be detrimental.

Later in the day I selected an earth-worm which had not been exposed to strongyle infection, but which was in a moribund condition. In the intestine there were several free nematoids and also several psorosperms of the genus Monocystis, so well illustrated by E. Ray Lankester. As to the nematoids, which were filariform, they neither corresponded in size nor structure with my strongyle embryos.

At 1 p.m. on the 29th I renewed my examination of the larva removed from the fern-pinnule. It showed a further stage of growth, the male character of the reproductive organs having become apparent. The now tolerably well-formed vas deferens had pushed the chylous intestine on one side, whilst a series of caudal rays, five on either side, supported two narrow membranous wings, which represented the lateral lobes of the hood of the adult strongyle.

At 1.30 p.m. I submitted the intestinal contents of four fresh earth-worms removed from my garden to microscopic examination, but no nematoids were found in any one of them.

About 2 p.m. I removed another large and active strongyle larva that had been reared on another fern-pinnule. It was of the same size as that previously described, but was in the act of changing its skin. It was then put aside along with the other worm under the glass shade.