A Treatise on Sheep:

another, in this country, as medicine for man, a folly still prevailing among the boors of Southern Africa, who, according to Thunberg, employ the inner coat of the stomach, dried and

for the benighted credulity which could place reliance, for a rescue from mortal ailment, on the secretions or excreti

ep boiled in water and wine, and given the sheep t

nferred, by holding ignorance up to the derision it so richly merits; no means being so powerful as broadly-drawn caricatures in exposing the extent of such delusions. Though faith has long since ceased to be reposed in the medicinal virtues of mutton broth, a variety of nostrums have from time

the employment of a favourite nostrum, on the empirical supposition that because it cured, or was thought to cure, one flock, it will cure another. Nothing is taken into account saving that, in both cases, the affected animals are sheep; and it is at once concluded, that what benefited one will benefit another. The many niceties in prescribing are never thought of: oh no, that would be of no use! of course it can be of no importance to give a moment's attention to age and sex, pasture and situation, or to leanness or fatness, or to the presence of pregnancy! These are of trifling moment, and only to be de

by Mr Stevenson, who appears to have been the first to publish any thing like a satisfactory classification. His arrangement is, however, defective in several points, more especially as it necessitates the placing in the same division diseases of organs essentially different. Thus he is compelled to admit under "Diseases of the head" Scabs on the mouth side by side with Sturdy

brought from a poor pasture to a rich one it is prone to gorge itself to an extent which may endanger life. The lower end of the gullet becomes obstructed, the gases whi

he throat, or if that cannot be procured use a cane with an ivory or wooden bullet at the end of it. Never stick the animal, as recovery by this plan is almost hopeless. If you cannot obtain the aforesaid instruments, bleed the animal till it becomes very faint, and if this is of no avai

cine, ought in most instances to be avoided, as they are of but little avail, and in this disease straw-splitting can only serve to tantalize the farmer, by giving rise to ideas of finical modes of treatment, which before the Chapter ends are reduced to the simplest aids which medicine affords. Whateve

rious, while the blood is thick and black, issuing from the orifice, in attempts at bleeding, drop by drop. Sometimes the heart beats irregularly: the mouth is parched, and the eyes are red, languid, partly closed, and watery. The head is down, the back drawn up, and the belly swollen; there is scarcely any passage through the bowels, the urine is small in quantity, high c

while the lining membrane of the abdomen (the peritoneum) is frequently affected: when this membrane has been much inflamed, the intestines are glued together, are surrounded with bloody or floculent serum, occasioning before death tumidity of the under part of the belly, and communicating, when struck, a feeling of fluctuation to a hand placed at a distance from the blow. The muscles in various parts of the body frequently participate in the disease, bloody serum being infiltrated between the layers. As the brain, in severe cases, exhibits symptoms of oppression, so on dis

ure, the sheep may be looked upon as ripe for the disease. Any crude indigestible substance, taken into the stomach when the animal is in this state, will have a te

s liable to it. This is accounted for by the fact, that hirsled hogs are comparatively dull, not being familiar with the

ulent grass in the sheltered hollows of mountains is more liable to frost than a sapless herbage, and to it, owing to its moisture, the young sheep resort, devouring it eagerly to assuage their thirst. Braxy, however, may arise from other and more obvious causes. The sheep, perhaps when heated by rash dogging, is suddenly chilled by exposure to a shower, or a plunge in a morass, and if the bowels

st expected. Many plans have been resorted to, but none are found to suit so well as that of bleeding and purging. The first thing to be attempted is the procuring of a copious flow of blood, but, as before mentioned, this is a difficult matter, owing to the stagnant state of the circulation at the surface of the body. Its abstraction

er from time to time, so as to sustain the original temperatu

ill not operate. When in spite of this the bowels continue obstinately constipated, give a glyster of tobacco decoction, made by boiling a drachm of the leaf (the full of a pipe will do) for a few minutes in a pint of water. Half of this only should be injected, using the other if circumstances require it. Place the

cts, will serve as antidotes to the dry sapless grasses, which have led to the disease. Such places as mossy soils, abounding in evergreen plants, will also serve the purpose. Burn your ley heather, as nothing is more decidedly prejudicial, not only from its constipating qualities, but also from being surrounded by a grass, which is so much relished by the sheep, that they resort to the spot long after it has been eaten to t

Pining only seizes on thriving sheep, preferring young ones, those more especially of the larger breeds, and is confined to farms where the land is principally micaceous and covered with occasional stripes of benty grasses. A whole flock sickens at once, their usual alacrity appears to have deserted them, their eyes are dull, and the whole anim

f purgatives, as, whenever a flux appears, the animal is safe. Two ounces of Castor oil given in a gruel,

ntains a good proportion of bitter plants, for the emaciation appears to be owing in a cons

time of their continuance. The animal, after staggering for some time, falls on the ground, when a general trembling comes on over the limbs; they are violently convulsed, and quite insensible to every thing. During the continuance of the paroxysm they throw the body into various positions, and sometimes roll to a considerable distance. The fit continues for a quarter, sometimes half an hour, or an hour. When they rise, they seem perfectly bewildered, till they regain the flock, when they continue to feed well, till another paroxysm supervenes. This disease appears i

is the only effec

e younger portions of the flock between April and June, leading to

particularly if fouled by the in

en change from an herbage deficient in nutri

ions from h

and relaxation

n rise to purging, a moderate allowance of good hay will gradually stop it

matter has been swallowed, and keeps up irritation by its presence, medicine must be resorted to. Administer an ounce of castor oil in gruel, adding twenty drops of Laudanum if there has been straining or evidences of p

ogwood fo

echu (Japan ea

n two d

ree Engl

ty drops of Laudanum. Administer half an English pint o

only a symptom of some other affection, or a critical effort of the constitution to ward off

tities and rumination is stopped. The discharges from the bowels are frequent, slimy, sometimes green, and a little further on in the disease are mixed with blood. The belly is drawn towards the back. It is knotted and lumpy to the touc

weak gimmers and dinmonts; whereas dy

in the spring, and ceases about J

ver or tenesmus, or pain befo

, without any blood or slime; whereas in dysentery, the f?ces con

f?tor in the f?ces in diarrh?a

is totally gone, in diarrh?a i

only a temporary stop is put to its thriving, after which

lly preceded by the "black scour," which is only an aggravation of the purging, the stools bei

the flock has been going, foul, and the management of the sheep so improper, as to be sufficient of itself to produce the disease very generally. There is in fact only one proof of a disease being infectious, viz., its immediate occurrence on the introduction of an affected animal among such as are in good health, on sound food, and in easy circumstan

xciting the action of the skin, but this may be brought about by means much more conducive to the safety of the animal. After the bleeding immerse the sheep in a tub of hot water, and retain it there for twenty minutes; then administer an ounce of Castor oil, with thirty drops of Laudanum, and cover the sheep up in a snug corner. After the oil has operated, thin well-boiled flour-porrid

part of the wool

o as some wiseacres recommend-put tar upon their tails, and noses; you will t

d more to ward off dysentery than an open frequently-changed easy-ly

S OF TH

are produced by a minute insect burrowing in the skin, which accounts for one external application of any active substance being sufficient to eradicate the malady. The infected sheep is restless, tearing off the

ieved, it sinks under i

m of smearing with tar and butter gave way before the elegant modern innovations. Into flocks anointed i

, especially those of the fine-woolled breeds, and is supposed to be induced by overh

ements of any animal excite suspicion, and remove every one that is in the least aff

rial Ointment

pentine ha

rpentine

horou

hem in the same manner, thus concluding the operation. Some farmers prefer rubbing the size of a walnut of the ointment into the delicate skin inside the thigh. The former plan is, however, the better of the t

a). The wool of sheep annoyed by this fly always contains joints or knots, owing to the occasional stoppage of its growth consequent on the fretting of the irritated animal. On thi

ions, gone the round of almost every agricultural publication. The form I prefer is one submitted to me by Mr Wilkin of Tinwald

cco scraping

tion of Broo

nd then add three Englis

ith a knife to permit the free contact of the fluid, and no more of it should be applied than is here dir

t or suet, and mixing with it (when off the fire) a fourth

ed. One of the best and most generally used, consists of a tea-spoonful of flour of

them to a better pasture, but where the animals are fat

been driven. If the disease occasionally breaks out on your ground, apply the mercurial ointment at clippin

rs, occurring in August and September, and spreading rapidly through a flock. Though there is considerable ambiguity in

ture and treatment are however allowed, by those who have seen it, to be admirabl

continue for a short time, break, discharge their matter, and are followed by a blackish scab. When the sheep are exposed to cold or wetness, the skin being fretted makes the blisters rise, or they often arise from cold, affecting the animal internally, thus producing a slight fever, which throws out these vesicles on the

here the disease is violent, a little blood should be taken. * * * * The sheep should be placed in a f

r of Sulphur

s three

warm water. If this is found unsuccessful, half an ounce of nitre, mixed with the foregoing recipe, will be attended w

of the exposure of the animals composing it to the same causes, such as peculiar diet and atmospheric variations, being entirely overlooked; but, as I have already remarked in par

ting a load of grease on the bodies of young animals. By so doing, the action of the heart and lungs is materially embarrassed, and, on the animal being chilled, or the balance of its c

n the leg, generally about the upper part of the hoof or knee. The skin on the affected parts, in a few days, exhibits scattered vesicles, not unl

uch depending on the extent of the sloughing portions, which may in

fected to any extent, the sheep must be at once destroyed, as there is scarcely a possibility of its surviving, without a degree of care and nicety in the treatment, which it is beyond the power of unprofessional persons to bestow. Where the livid spots are limited, rags dipped in spirit of turpentine, which has been heated by immersing the bottle containing it in hot water, may be laid upon the skin; bu

t readily excited by inoculation, or the application of putrid matter to a broken surface. If the odour from the affected parts is any way offensive, wash them with, and sprinkle round the fold, either a weak solution of chloride of lime, or the disinfecting liquid of Labarraque, articles which may now be procured from every provincial

s among the wool, in general about the tail, the roots of the horns, or any part which affords, from its filthy appearance, a prospect of suitable provision for the maggot. When these eggs are hatched, a

to be selected by the flies, as a receptacle for their eggs, than th

d trees, and endeavouring, by every means in its power to free itself from the annoyance. Teazed by the constant irrit

e do they appear to have occasioned in former periods. In a valuable paper, containing the result of observations made on this

as my observations could extend, to consist of four species, viz.-the

of a shining

shining bluish, the abdom

ue grey, abdomen dark glossy blue. This

gitudinal markings on the upper surface; the abdom

t to accelerate the death of the animal, after the others had commenced. The Carnaria was rare. I observed but few of them, and these seemed not concerned; which is the more remarkable, as in the fenny counties of England it is said to be most troublesome. All the species of this genus resemble one another closely, both in appearance and mode of life. They are exceedingly voracious, feeding upon carcasses an

mations I can attest, from having watched their habit

it speedily ensured. To ward off the onset of the flies, various substances noxious to them are rubbed or poured upon the wool. Tar, in small quantities, and of pungent quality, is by some daubed upon the ears, horns, and tail. Others prefer rubbing a little melted butter, thickened by

ic, finely pou

twelve

low soap s

er water th

ons, one dressing in July and another in August will suffice; but as the expense is trifling, and the process simple, it may be better to apply it more frequently, especially in low and damp situations." The liquid is applied only in dry weather. A teapot, or any

rs, however trifling, and dress them with any simple ointment containing a small proportion of sulphur, mercury, or white-

reduvius), are destroyed or stopped in their attacks by the same rem

Only the fattest and most vigorous animals are attacked, and the larv? are very difficult to destroy. Fischer found, from numerous experiments, that even spirits, and a strong solution of salt, could not affect them. The fumes of burning sulphur alone seemed to annoy the

under the charge of another nurse. Suppuration will thus be promoted, and the matter may be allowed to escape by making an opening for it at the place it points. If there is

however, to Mr Dick of Edinburgh, these disputes are closed for ever, as any one may be convinced, by perusing his clever and sarcastic paper at page 852, Vol. ii. of the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. His excell

to it. But instead of moving about in small troops, with the alacrity of the wild kinds, the sheep are seen in flocks of thousands, moving slowly over their pastures, and gorging themselves to an extent which cuts short the thread of life, by the advancement of various diseases. Instead of wandering from the summit of

tended to support the weight of the animal, and to endure the greatest share of fatigue,-is here allowed to grow out of all due bounds, because the softness of the pasturages, upon which it now moves, presents little, if any, of that rough friction to which the feet of the animal is naturally intended to be exposed. The crust, therefore, grows unrestrained, until it eith

ists to a greater or less extent in every situation which has a tendency to increase the growth of the hoofs without wearing them away, and more especially where they are kept soft by moisture. It is so prevalent in fine lawns and pleasure grounds, that they are, in many instances, reduced in value to a mere tri

increased; and the animal does not tread upon hard ground, nor has it exercise to wear them down. Now, in the case of man himself, when the nails of his fingers or toes exceed the proper length, they break, or give him such uneasiness as to induce him to pare them. And the same takes place with the hoof of sheep. But there is this difference in the case of the latter, that when their hoof once breaks, as the animal has not the power of paring it, the part thus broken mu

he more liable to the disease, as it opens up the pores of the horn, and allows the earth or sand to penetrate, and wound the quick, in the manner I have already stated. On soft sandy ground, of a dry nature, the same circumstances may occur. The soft sand gives way by the weight of the animal, and

food on extensive ranges of bare pasture, are more exposed than heavy breeds to this frequent exciting cause of the complaint. The rubbing of the grass frets the skin in the cleft of the hoof, the gland in that situation swells,

ays Mr Dick, at the conclusion of the aforementioned paper, "arises in consequence of the hoofs not being exposed to sufficient friction to wear them down, or keep them in their proper state, or where their natural growth is increased by the nature and moisture of the ground, the hoofs of all the flock should be regularly rasped or pared at short intervals, say from

way of the tender surface, and give a purgative. If not properly attended to, the suppuration soon terminates in mortification. Cleanliness in every stage and variety of foot-rot, is of the first importance. Many corrosive preparations

l in autumn; these are soon hatched, and the larv? immediately find their way up the interior of the nose, till they arrive at the frontal sinus, a cavity situated between the layers of the frontal bone, and

es, has been discovered by an able naturalist, my friend Mr Rhind of Edinburgh, in the frontal sinus of the sheep. It spends its whole existence there, and is distinguished from ot

e incapable of offensive measures. If they are clustered in considerable numbers in the frontal sinuses, they will doubtless lead to great suffering, parallel to what is recorded to have followed the nestling of insects in the same situation in the human being; and it is, therefore, advisable, when the cause of sturdy (paragraph 169) is in any way doubtful, first to apply those substances to the nostril, which are calculated to destroy both these larv? and the pentastoma, should they happen to be there. Tobacco smoke is the only available remedy, and a very good one, bein

een detected in the sheep, the former in the belly, the latter in the small intestines. They all appear to originate only in such sheep as are exposed to the sapping influence of low damp situations, combined with stinted diet. Those occuring in the air tubes give rise to irritation, and a consequent harassing cough,

to which the sheep is subjected, is from matter accumulating in the nostril, and plugging up the orifice, so that the poor creature is compelled to raise its head every three or four minutes, and labour hard for breath.[31] When the inflammation extends further down the air tubes, the symptoms assume

se of purgative medicine, are all that is required. If, however, the feverish symptoms are severe, besides giving a purgative, ble

Digitalis (Foxglo

Antimony fi

two dr

are not considerably abated. When the sheep is recovering, keep it on juicy food, and do not expose it to inclement weather, as it will be very liable to another and more severe attack. Those sheep which are subject to coug

ie of rot. The term, however, so far as it has yet been used in relation to the sheep, has figured as the representative of a host of diseases, and, in becoming standard from frequent usage, has only rendered confusion worse confounded. "Rot," says the late Professor Coventry, in his Introductory Discourses, "is a word which has been employed to express a variety of disorders affecting this animal, with no small confusion and detriment. Indeed, in few instances has senseless indiscrimination done more mischief; for means inapt and injurious have been had recourse to, where skilful and timely interference would have had the happiest effects. Sheep are sometimes said to have the rot, when they labour under phthisis pulmonalis (consumption of the lungs), which they do but rarely; or under disorders of the liver, as hepatitis chronica, and that state of the same organ pro

hed much in reconciling discrepancies, he has still left something to be done in simplifying the matter; while he has, at the same time, rendered that something difficult of execution, from his own high authority being a

the constitution, begins to be coughed up, and goes on increasing in quantity and becoming worse in quality till the termination of the disease. The wool becomes fine, white, thin, and brittle in the pile, and is easily brought away in masses by the slightest pull. The appetite is, throughout the disease, voracious, and though all the bad symptoms may be present, still the animal keeps up an appearance of plumpness. This, however, is hollow and deceitful, and the rapid loss of flesh which immediately succeeds, shows with what insidious certainty the malady has

ascribed either to the animal having been exposed to cold, or to the inflammatory action set up by the tubercles themselves. The lungs are always the principal, and I may also, from my own experience, add, the primary seat of the affection. When examined in the early stage of rot, they have a hard lumpy feel, especially at the upper part or lobe, and at this time a great number of irregular yellowish white, patchy-looking bodies (Plate VI. fig. 2.), will be seen shining through the membrane, pleura, which surrounds the organ. These tubercles, as the hard white bodies are called, vary in size from that of a mustard seed to that of a pea. They are sprinkled through all parts of the lung, and will in every dissection, be found in a variety of stages, from the firm condition in which they were deposited, to the softened state which denotes their speedy expectoration

n the clyars (mesenteric or lacteal glands) which on this account are much above their usual size, and are occasionally found in other parts; but I need n

any years in a perpetual bustle, and have so effectually hoodwinked writers on this subject, as to prevent them seeing the truly important points in the disease. For this reason, I hold them worthy

The generic name-distoma-signifies having two pores, a.b. Fig. 6, Plate I., and is for this reason applied to it. The nipple-like body at the extremity a. contains the orifice of the pore or opening leading to the female division of the generative apparatus, situated between a. and b. In this cavity are formed the eggs, which are at intervals protruded, to be hatched when floating in the sheep's bile. The male organ is situated in front of the ventral pore.

such numbers as to cause great distention of the sac and tubes, and in some instances the irritation produced by them leads to the thickening of the walls of the gall bladder, and to a deposition

y of fluid. As relates to outline, this hydatid bears no small resemblance to a Florence flask. It is said to have a head, h.-a neck, n.-a body, b.- and a posterior or caudal vesicle, c.v. Its claims to the title of an animal

tomach serves also as the reproductive cavity, but how or by what means it is fecundated would be difficult to determine. The young hydatids are found adhering to the inner surface of the

surface of which they adhere by means of two hook-shaped processes projecting from the head. These cysts are always on the surface of the different viscera of the sheep, and in this way may be distinguished from

; for simple views regarding the diseases of domestic animals were then either not deemed worthy of a moment's notice, or, if considered, were swept at once, by the strong current of prejudice, into the foul ocean of predetermined disapproval. Opinions in cattle medicine were at that time valued according to the prolixity of their detail; and the more improbable the dependence of the effects upon t

n, the fallacy of this conclusion. What the state of the liver is which is attended with flukes and hydatids, he has left us to make out. Chronic hepatitis, which accompanies tubercles in the liver, goes for nothing as a disease of sheep, and therefore does not require a notice; besides, it is not rot

rently unirritating bodies produce effects so baneful? Queries like these, however, cannot shortly be replied to, leading, as they do, to discussions which embrace many curious theories; but as the negat

mind, that if I were to contradict it by plain assertion, I should only be striving to buffet singly a tide of opposition. The best way, therefore, will be to examine a few of th

eep by being swallowed, and this, according to our theor

ted Clater; but if he had been, in this instance, a man of experiment, rather than of idle conjecture, he would have found,

page 478, that "The spawn or eggs of the liver fluke are most probably conveyed upon the grass by summer watering, and afterwards taken into the stomach with it." A few lines further on, he speaks of the eggs being "wafted thi

h, after showing the vast number of eggs which must fall upon the grass, he says, "We must cease to wonder that so many sheep die of rot; the miracle is, that every sheep does not die of it."! I cannot, however, for my part, see a m

ndition to allow of their being hatched, they, according to popula

ep, makes its way up the gall vessels. This is, I am sorry to say, a very idle conjecture, as, from the valvular nature of the opening of

notions; for if a globule of blood, which we must suppose to be the largest body capable of being absorbed from the intestine, is only about 1/3000 of an inch in diameter, how can the egg of a fluke worm pass through the same channel, when Mr King has, by careful observation, shown it to be 1/

a pole-cat almost exclusively on various kinds of intestinal worms, and their eggs mixed up with milk; and on killing and examining it, at the end of this period, not a single worm of any kind was found in it."[37] The reader may perhaps object to this illustration, on the ground that there is so vast a difference between a sheep and a pole-cat, that a comparison in regard to their digestive habits cannot possi

; but it will be found that their appearance in the bile is always preceded by tuberculous deposits in the lungs or liver. This I have proved by numerous dissections, in which I have occasionally found tubercles without flukes, but never met with flukes where I did not at the same time discover tubercles. Fluke worms, therefore, can neve

ndencies being in every instance about as logically supported as the fluke theories

d bad in quality or deficient in quantity, and over-driving, will all predispose the constitution to the deposition of tubercles. It is from the causes being in this way c

not, at the moment, shew itself; but a chain of morbid actions will in all probability then commence, and, being beyond the ken of ordinary observers, will pass unheeded, till some slight mismanagement in food or shelter, hastens their progress, and renders t

rk, on this point, that of all the food on which sheep can possibly be kept, none is known to act so deleteriously as grass which has sprouted quickly. Rot is well kno

ing it in their power to obtain at the same time those saline matters which constitute a healthy plant, becoming in

ber of proximate principles, which are more or less numerous in different kinds. These are combined with varying quantities of potass, soda, lime, magnesia, and iron, which, though formerly supposed to be too trifling in quantity materially to affect the quality of the plant, have yet been recently and satisfactorily proved completely to change the cha

frequent change of pasture often intervening between the origin of the disease, and its termination; but when it is recollected that he pursued the destructive system of breeding in and in, of itself sufficient to induce a tuberculous pre

ied, the circulation through the lungs is quickened also. If the tissue of the lungs be in any way delicate, the force with which the blood is propelled is sure to make it yield, and in this manner the animal is often suffocated by the large quantity of blood, which issues into the air tubes at once from many points. Fig. 1, Plate VI. exhibits a good illustration of this taken from a sheep. Nume

a common cause of this complaint, we should, when it shows itself, at once remove the

disease be rather far advanced, the breathing hurried, and the cough annoying, occasional doses of the following infusion wil

es of Foxglo

ter two En

the vessel, and keep it in a warm pla

he plant is an active poison, and the strength of its infusion liable t

s sweeping malady; indeed, a cure is fairly out of the question: its prevention and palliation, but not its eradication, being all that we can hope for. Sundry plausible plans of treatment have,

the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, under the title of the Mountain Shepherd's Manual, the utility of this dangerous procedure is as firmly maintained. At the same time Sir George, though rather in the dark as to the real nature of the disease, admits, in both editions, that tubercles exist in rot, especially in the lungs. Now, if he had inquired of any medical person what drug ought, when tubercles are present, of all others to be avoided, he wo

d, such as well made hay or oats, should be afforded them, and the shelter of a straw yard should if possible be obtained. A liberal supply of s

ft grass, heavy stocking, short allowance of food during winter, every thing in fact which leads to the exposure of the animal should be scrupulously avoided. The strongest constitution cannot with impunity b

he late Mr Beattie of Muckledale, and published in the 3d vol. of the Highland Society's Transactions. "The first thing to be observed," says Mr Beattie, "is in the spring, when they are dropping their lambs. A sound ewe, in good order, drops a lamb covered with a thick and y

hough, as I have here related it, it seems a very simple affair, and easily acquired, yet it is well known that many shepherds, who have followed sheep all their lives, never arrived at any thing like certainty in judging by the hand, whilst men of superior skill will seldom be mistaken, and will draw by no other rule. Yet still it must be acknowledged that the seeds of this disease will sometimes lie so occult, as to baffle all skill, and that no man can with absolute certainty draw a stock tainted with the rot. There is another method, to which men of inferior skill resort, which is more easily acquired. They take a sheep's head between their hands, and press down the eyelids, they thereby make the sheep turn its eyeball so that they get a view of the vessels in which the eyeball rol

s swell to a greater size; they therefore lay the sheep down upon its broad side, and pressing the skin in at the flank, up below the ribs, pretend to feel the

o wedders, they are generally all sold off when they are three years old, and those that buy them for feeding mostly buy th

oms to be depended on, according to those who have treated it, are a yellowness of the eyes, and an obstinate sluggishness of the animal, almost amounting to sleep. Copious bleeding and two ounce doses of Glauber salts have been recommended for the treatment, which must be gone about promptly, as the disease is

and wet. In this event the best plan is to bleed largely, and give two or three smart doses of Epsom salts. When it occurs in young lambs, sweet spirit of nitre, given in the quantity of a tea-spoonful twice a-day, is found to be attended with the happiest effects. Tapping, or, as it is popularl

r from the accumulation of a fluid. Serum is in both cases the mechanical cause of the symptoms, but in the former it is eliminated from neighbouring parts by a hydatid, while in the

Like the Cysticercus tenuicollis, already described under the head of Rot, it consists of a thin membranous cyst, full or otherwise of serous fluid; but, unlike the aforementioned animal is studded ove

irk of Deal. Fig. 1 represents the brain of a sheep two years old, which has been affected with sturdy. The right lobe, a, of the cerebellum or lesser brain, is much distended with fluid,

filled to repletion, contained ten drachms of serum. The ventricle was consequently much dilated, as shown at a in that figure, and the usual course and size of the convolutions completely altered. Instead of being folded, like the intestines, up

root of the horn, and in this way offers a spot which, from its being easily pierced, is frequently made the seat of surgical operations. Other parts of the skull also undergo considerable thinning, more so indeed than in front of the horn. The attention of the farmer has hardly, if ever, been called to this fact, though I believe that, for one instance in which p

s way, stand staring at it till at last, giddy and confused, it plumps fairly in. If, when the symptoms are very unpromising, convulsive movements should occur, they may be taken as a favourable sign,

wholesome food. Dr Jenner found that he could cause hydatids to form in rabbits at will, by feeding them on green succulent pro

Ettrick Shepherd, in the Farmer's Magazine for 1812, by the back o

t general after a wi

at are ill-sheltered, and on which the sheep

year, the wool of which separates above, leavi

the wool, so as to cover the back, such a

e four or five shillings, will furnish coverings for forty hogs, and if laid carefully aside in spring, they will continue

me particular spot, to the firm pressure of the thumb, its extraction must be set about in the manner

nging sheep from the Highlands to the south of Scotland, when it frequently prevails to so great an extent, on reaching the low country, as to oblige the shepherd to leave eight or ten behind him at every stage. Injuries of the loins, either inflicted by themselves in jumping and runni

oon as it has cleared away the grass within its reach. In the second kind, as caused by accident, the sheep must be slaughtered, as, should a cure be attempted, the treatment will be too tedious and complicated to succeed in ordinary hands. Copious bl

s best treated by enveloping them in flannel, wrung out of hot water; but if the sheep is at the time very chill, gentle friction must fir

if the disease be of recent date, bleed the animal largely from the jugular vein, and give it several doses of Epsom, or Glauber's salt. After the inflammation is subdued, or should it be in the suppurating stage when first noticed, hold the lid

ctive care usually taken of the sufferer by the rest of the flock, still such a mishap

ngy tumour, rising from the bottom of the eye, involving all the textures of that organ, so as to render them scarcely recognizable, and bleeding on the slightest touch. It is readily removed by passing a stout thread through the front of the eye with a needle, so as to afford the operator a hold by which to p

on at present in the museum of Guy's Hospital,

PE

ANAGEMENT OF SHE

considered amiss, consistently with the plan of the work, to sum up the chief points to be attended to in the management of sheep in Australia. This I shall do

he pure Merino. The fact, however, of Australia having been considered, from its earliest colonization, as unrivalled by any country in the quality of its wool, goes far to prove that, with ordinary care, almost any variety may be brought to yield a very superior produce. The mildness of the climate, the extensive range of pastur

without devoting to the subject a particular portion of his regard. Mild warm air, and abundant diet, will go far towards putting him in possession of a su

own power to subject the flocks under his charge to some one or other of the serious diseases to which sheep in all countries are peculiarly liable. He may pasture them on an improper spot, and thus induce diarrh?a, or even rot; or he may drive them a few miles from their usual feeding ground, as Dr Lang remarks, when there is nobody present to take cognizance of the fact, and thereby bring them into contact with a scabbed flock. "The chief source of the wealth and prosperity of the colony," says Dr Lang, "is thus, in great measure, at the mercy of the most worthless of men; and so much is this the case, that a hig

to paddle the ground much with their feet; and hence, in riding round your sheep stations, you have something whereby to judge whether or not your instructions are attended to. The shepherd takes out his victuals with him, and is required to be on the alert all day long, to prevent the sheep from being lost in the woods, or the native dogs from pouncing in among them. They must always be driven slowly to pasture, and if you perceive that the shepherd can walk quietly among them, without disturbing them, you may set him down as a gentle and careful man; for if he uses his flock harshly, they will be naturally terrified by him. Three flocks are always penned together under the charge of a watchman, who counts each regularly in at night, and the shepherds again count them out in the morning; so that they form a regular check upon each other, and prevent losses from carelessness or depredation. The watchman has a small weather-proof watch-box to sleep in, and is assisted by a watch-dog; he keeps up a good fire, which generally deters all nativ

ewes in October. This deviation from our practice of spring lambing, is owing, according to Mr Cunningham, to the breeders finding that the pasture is particularly good in the autumn, fr

very stunning effect, which may destroy life in an inconsiderable time, and has, in this way, been often employed for putting criminals to death. Be this as it may, the Australian sheep-farmers have doubtless been led to resort to the spout, owing to the fleeces being so full of filth as to be cleaned with difficulty in the common way. The finer the wool, the more abundant is the yolk or viscid secretion on the skin, and the greater, consequently, is the quantity of filth which sticks to it. The dirtiness of the wool becomes, in this way, no mean test of the value of the

icked parts of the finest fleeces, are 10s. 6d. p

1835, was 3,776,191 lbs., and

of each sheep, but on account of the mildness of the cl

disease better understood than almost any other. Ample directions for its treatment are given at (140.). It is easily checked if the job is gone about with determination. The great points are to take it in hand the moment it appears-for when it gains ground, all chances of a wool-crop are at an end for that year at least-and to use tobacco-juice most liberally, as it not only leads to the immediate death of the itch insect, but appears to have a specific effect in leading to the restoration of the wool. The balm of Columbia, which is at present

tno

tannica, 7th Edition

paper on the Natural History of the Sheep and Goat, by James W

d 3, Plate I. with

es is a "striking elucidation" of the injurious effects of chalk on wool. Lime removes hair from a skin because it is a powerful caustic, and, as such, speedily decomposes the animal matt

pread thence to neighbouring cities, and in process of time to the most

ian of Norfolk, that a colony of Flemish weavers settled so early as 1327, a

n we could, owing to their poor being able to work on lower terms than those of E

r of mutton, lamb, butter, and cheese, was declared a common nuisance, and forbidden on pain of forfeiture. Thus, the principal resource of a

ournal of Agric

eful Knowledge, at page 123 of that book, laments the want of an English translation of Columella. An excel

Caledonia-Art

he year exposed to the hazard of an overland journey of 400 miles, that they may pa

Philosophic

no bull beef could be sold un

t crossing has only succeeded in an eminent degree, in those instances in which the females were larger, than in t

e obtained 1200 guineas for the hire of three rams if the speculators had not intended to procure nearly similar prices for the use of the offspring of these animals; and it may be pretty safely affirmed, that this traf

ys, that a new race may be produced in the same numb

s other animals. The Museum of Guy's Hospital contains a

esex Repor

te V. I am indebted to the Quarterly J

sheep, as when laid on their sides, and retained in that position by stakes, they a

cologia, sixth edit

harmacologia,

al virtues, we may safely set him down either for a fool or an im

2

es aff

ch and In

or B

ickness,

ing, Vinquis

gge

h?a o

ng, Breckshaw

in and

or

as or Wi

Wa

or Blac

earances caused

.

Ti

strus

e T

t-r

ir Pa

aused by the {

entas

ongylus

ry

,-viz. the Lungs,

o

ndi

op

and Spin

zy, caused by {1.

alus, or Wate

Thwarter or

d E

e

tha

Can

tances merely a symptom of disease in the heart or great vessels; but as the same results are arri

veterinary works. It is sheer nonsense to blazon such a word in pages having any pretentions to candour, for how seldom are we able conscientiously to

ointed bodies, as pins or needles. I have in my possession a very stout needle, given me by Mr Wilkin of Tinwald Downs, which was

ws of this disease, I have added a drawing of the foot of the she

-c. c. Crust of the hoof; s. Sole;

the inner surface of the toe of a sheep

he g

d, opening upon the ant

ry to cut it out. This ought to be a last resource, as the part

ls, the inferior turbinated bone being of large dimensions, and occupying the greater part of the nasal cavity. It is

ep may die of true pulmonary consump

s, and allowing them to dry in this position. On holding the glass between a bright light and a lens, and looking th

to convert it into substances similar to those which co

and the bile containing the eggs will flow into the dish. Pick out any fluke worms that may be in the fluid, then dilute it with abo

travels in the Morea, alludes to an opinion prevalent there, that the vidhéla (rot) is caused by the sheep feeding in mars

Practical Medicin

3

e the floods di

rots; nor doth t

oy, but sudd

ranch, stock

Georgics,

em for the butcher. But as there was a probability of their becoming valuable in other hands, he always gave them

d into the tissue of the lungs is termed. Andral, however, is decidedly of opinion that hemoptysis is one of the ex

l have seen tubercles in

New South Wales,

w South Wales, by John Dunmor