Abstract
IN this short and concise work Dr. Cobbold has embodied a series of articles which have appeared from time to time in the Field. They, having been originally written for the perusal of the non-scientific public, are put in a simple and elementary manner, and much stress is laid on the practical bearing of the science of helminthology, the true value of which the author clearly shows to be but little appreciated by the growers of stock. Several excellent illustrations accompany the descriptions, which will greatly assist the amateur reader. The entozoa infesting the ox are first described,—flukes, tapeworms, and measle, together with round worms. The importance of more perfect sewage arrangements whereby the ejecta of one animal are not allowed to contaminate the ingesta of another, is laid great stress on. The great carelessness on this point in India evidently leads to the preponderance of parasitic diseases in that country, where the heat and attending thirst cause the frequently small supplies of water to be employed for drink when in a very unfit state, on account of the abundance of ova of parasites that it may contain. A description is also given of the manner in which the Burates or Cossacks of the region of Lake Baikal are nearly all infested with tapeworm, from the custom prevalent amongst them of eating their meat—the flesh of calves, sheep, camels, and horses—in an almost raw condition, and in enormous quantities. We think that there is one point in which this work is particularly suggestive. The great gaps there are in our knowledge of helminthology, such as the imperfect information that can be given as to the source of the liver fluke, must cause most readers who have opportunities at their disposal to wish to develop further a subject which has so many obvious practical bearings on the prosperity of this country; for England in the opinion of many competent authorities is developing more and more into a meat-producing and not seed-growing land. The parasites of the sheep, dog, hog, and cat are those which form the rest of this instructive little volume.
The Internal Parasites of our Domesticated Animals.
By T. S. Cobbold. (The Field Office.)
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The Internal Parasites of our Domesticated Animals . Nature 9, 4 (1873). https://doi.org/10.1038/009004a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/009004a0