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148

food... If found effectual it would greatly simplify the means of carrying out treatment. The different trypanosome diseases found in Northern Nigeria are as follows, as the result of experimental work by me, followed by the examination and experimental work by Mr. Stewart Stockman, C.V.O., Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, of material brought to England, the examination by Dr. Laveran, of Paris, of blood smears taken from sick animals whose blood was used for experi- mental purposes on dogs and guinea pigs during my tour.

Tryp. nagana, or allied disease, at Žungeru and Ileo.

Tryp. dimorphon, at Zungeru, Lokoja, and Ileo.

Tryp. Cazalboni, in cattle, at Zungeru.

Tryp. surra, at Lokoja and Zaria.

Doctor Laveran informed me that the morphology alone cannot be relied on, but as his identification of smears agreed with the clinical symptoms shown by dogs and guinea pigs infected from the same blood, this may be accepted as fairly

accurate.

Blood-sucking Flies.

I may add that they The following is a list of those collected during the tour. probably represent a small portion of those found in the Protectorate. They have been determined by G. E. Austen, Esq., of the British Museum.

Family Tabanidae (horse flies).

Chrysops distinctipennis (Austen).

Haematopota fulchrithorax (Austen).

(unnamed).

"

"

"

cordigera, or allied species. (unnamed).

}}

**

"

decora.

allied to. Two specimens.

Tabanus fasciatus.

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11

latipes.

taeniatus.

(unnamed).

11

21

gratus.

*

(unnamed).

"

par, Walk.

subangustus.

(near T. albipalpas, Walk.).

ciguttatus, Wied.

+1

pluto.

ruficrus

Family muscidae (tsetse flies).

Glossina palpalis.

19

..

tachnioides.

morsitans.

Of the tsetse flies the most common is the tachnioides.

It is quite

Family hippoboscidae (Hippobosca maculata olfersia species). impossible for anyone but an expert entomologist to make a good collection, as the identification differences between a great many is so difficult to detect except by the trained eye. When a veterinary survey of a country is being made where blood- sucking flies play such an important part in spreading disease, I feel certain that the services of an entomologist to work in conjunction would increase the value of the work much in excess of what the actual cost would be to secure his services.

A great many points of relationship would be cleared up at a small cost that would make the survey of much greater value.

Ticks are found in great numbers in almost every part of the Protectorate, causing anæmia in horses and cattle, and, in consequence, they become more sus- ceptible to other diseases. I did not find one case of illness due to piroplasmosis. Ticks taken off sick oxen were sent home in order to test their power to cause disease when put on to healthy cattle. The results in each case were negative. It is a question whether tick diseases exist or not.

.

149

The following spécies were brought home and have been determined by A. S. Hurst, Esquire, of the British Museum :-

Margaropus annulatus Say. Amblyomma variegatum fabricius. Hyalomma egyptium. Rhipicephalus evertsi.

$3

decoloratus.

The following remarks made by Mr. Hurst. The first one (M. annulatus) has a wide distribution, and has been reported from many parts of the world.

Amblyomma is essentially an African tick; it occurs in many localities (German East Africa. Togoland, Angola, and Guinea). It is chiefly found on cows and the zebra, but it has been found on sheep.

Iyalomma egyptium is widely distributed in Africa, Asia Minor, and Europe on domestic animals.

Rhipicephalus evertsi is an African form. It has been found in South Africa and in German East Africa, on cows, horses, dogs, and on the giraffe.

R. decoloratus has a wide distribution.

Distomatosis (Liver rot in cattle).—The variety of fluke worm found is the Amphistomum explanatum. This disease is most common in almost every part of the Protectorate where cattle are found and gives rise to the following symptoms: At first the affected animals appear dull and disinclined to move. During the second stage all the visible mucous membranes become white or ivory-coloured, accompanied by marked anæmia; the slightest exercise causes exhaustion; loss of condition is noticeable. In the final stage of the disease there is great wasting, diarrhoea, and dropsy. The natives know the disease well; when the disease is noticed in a herd, all those that become sick are slaughtered and the beef sold in the village markets.

Gastrodiscus of Northern Nigeria (G. sonsinoi).—This appears to be the same parasite that is found in Egypt and is known to exist in other parts of West Africa. The body is flattened into an elliptical disc, the dorsal surface being convex and smooth, and the ventral surface concave and covered with about two hundred papillary suckers.

The buccal sucker-smaller than the posterior sucker-is situated at the end of a cylindro-conical neck and is salient on the dorsal surface, with which it forms a wide obtuse angle behind. The neck varies from two to three m.m. long. The body is disc-like, most frequently the antro-posterior diameter is about one m.m. more than the other. The colour is rosy in the fresh state, about the same shade as the mucous membrane of healthy bowel. After the parasites have been a short time in alcohol they become a very pale brown colour. This parasite fixes itself on the mucous membrane by the posterior sucker. When the bowel is opened and the parasites exposed, they appear like large blisters about the size of a horse- bean closely crowded together and occupying the whole of the large bowel in most I found this disease in horses only; its existence has been found in other animals. This disease might easily be mistaken for trypanosomiasis as the clinical symptoms in the living animal in the final stages of the disease are almost identical. Great weakness, very marked anæmia, dropsy of the chest and belly, paralysis of the penis, and in some cases dropsy of the legs, but not so marked as in trypano- On post- somiasis. Small hemorrhages appear on the memb. nictitans of the eye. mortem one never finds the spleen enlarged; no serous effusion. All the internal organs are pale and wasted.

cases.

Epizootic lymphangitis, called by the natives "yaws." This disease has a very wide distribution all over Northern Nigeria, and is to be found in all stages in almost any village where horses are found. The natives do not think it a very serious malady and treat their affected animals with antimony and excision of the affected chain of glands. The number of cases could probably be reduced if the Government would give £1 per head for animals affected.

Pleuro-pneumonia (contagious), called balagero by the natives.-This disease has been said to exist since our occupation of the Protectorate, and has been reported on by both medical and veterinary officers. I had an opportunity of visiting an outbreak at Koage. Glendenne, and Gombo. The clinical symptoms and post- mortem appearances were somewhat different to outbreaks that I had previously seen in Africa and Scotland. The fact that the animals were also suffering from