32 REPORT ON FOOT-ROT IN SHEEP. 



lot of sheep affected with the disease appear all very lame on 

 a dry day. Should rain begin to fall, they become apparently 

 a good deal better ; but let them be caught and examined, and it 

 will be seen that the disease is progressing ; or let a dry day 

 recur, and the lameness returns in a more aggravated form. 

 There are, no doubt, farms so situated, that the growth of grass is 

 most luxuriant in dry seasons, and in some such exceptional 

 cases foot-rot may then prevail to a greater degree. 



Foot-rot is generally most prevalent in the months of July, 

 August, September, and October — in fact, it may be said to com- 

 mence when vegetation arrives at a certain stage, and gradually 

 declines, if properly treated and kept under, as vegetation decays ; 

 but if allowed to gain head in a hirsel of sheep, it will prevail 

 throughout the most barren months. No variety of weather will 

 totally eradicate it, and we have seen it to a great extent in 

 November and December, in rich old parks which had been 

 lightly stocked during the summer. 



It is not easy to say what breed of sheep is most liable to 

 foot-rot, but it is clear that both Cheviot and Blackfaced, taken 

 from hill-pasture and put in parks in the back end of the year, 

 when the pasture has a tendency to propagate the disease, 

 are far more susceptible to it than park-bred Leicesters on the 

 same pasture and exposed to the same circumstances. We have 

 seen instances of lots of both Cheviot and Blackfaced ewes taken 

 from hill pasture totally free of the disease, and put into grass- 

 parks, and in the course of a month almost every sheep was 

 more or less affected ; and although Leicester ewes had been 

 grazing in the same parks all summer, they were not so liable 

 to the disease, nor affected to as great an extent, and were 

 more susceptible of cure. Nevertheless, although Cheviot and 

 Blackfaced sheep are more liable to foot-rot of a certain kind 

 than Leicesters — when it breaks out below the horn or crust 

 — it is clear that Leicester lambs are as liable to the dis- 

 ease as any other breed — that is, when the malady breaks 

 out between the hoofs, and when the skin in the first stage 

 appears a little red and tender, and, as the disease advances, 

 discharges a thick adhesive matter. These facts appear a 

 little contradictory, but we state them from our own personal 

 observation, and cannot venture to give any scientific solu- 

 tion of the two cases. We have, however, never seen lambs 

 affected to any extent with foot-rot on hill-pasture, but in rich 

 old grass parks we have seen whole flocks of lambs seriously 

 deteriorated, especially in wet weather. Conflicting opinions exist 

 among scientific men, stock owners, and shepherds of practical 

 experience and observation, as to the infectious nature of the dis- 

 ease, and there is no doubt the preponderance of evidence is on 

 the side of infection. Judging, however, from our own observa- 



