THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



33 



made in conjmicliou with this appointment, whicli, it is confi- 

 deutly hoped, will ohviatc riilliouUics which have soiuctiiiu>a 

 arisen in the selection of stock entitled to coni)iete for prizfs. 



" The (Jouiicil desire spcoially to direct the attention of 

 the mcmliers anil friends of the society to the financial statt- 

 ment published in the Journal. 



" Tl\i! circumstance that the increase of members is not 

 followed by a proportionatii increase in the available resources 

 of the society, lias engaged the attention of the Council, and 

 a committee of their nu'^ her has repotted the result of an 

 investigation of the suiiject. It appears that a considerable 

 proportion of our members are ol the class entithd to tlie 

 privileges of the society on payment of an annual siibscri;)- 

 tion of ten shillings, which amount is iihuosi, if not entirely 

 returned in the form of a copy of the Journsl, and frfc ad- 

 missions to the show-yard and other privileges, leaving little, 

 if any, balance applicable to gt^neral purposes. Many gculK'- 

 raen who miglit have claimed the advantaajes of membership 

 at ten shillings per annum, liave from the first s-.ibscribcd 

 double this amount, ami several others h>»ve lately followed 

 their example. The Council hope that many more may be 

 encouraged to adopt the same course, as it is only by a per- 

 maueut and substantil increase in its resources that the 



society can be maintained in its present state of efficiency. 

 The receipts for admission to the show-yard have hitherto 

 proved a most important and anniiallyimproving branch of 

 revenue ; but it must be remembered that this is liable at my 

 time to be seriously affected by the contingency of unfavour- 

 able weather and other causes. 



" On the recomaiendation of the Implement Committee and 

 their Engineers, the Council think it right to aid that they 

 have adopted some new regulations, ai conditions to be com- 

 plied with by all exhibitors of steam engines, the result of which 

 tiiey hope will be to secure to the practical farmer the oppor- 

 tunity of witue^aing in operatioi in the yard engines possess- 

 ing greater simplicity and more permanent ellicicncy than 

 heretofore." 



Mr. yilli'ant was elected president for the ensuing year; 

 and Mr. Clement Bush, of Wiston, near Bath ; Mr. Cald- 

 well, of )-;ckham house, Wilts ; Si: J. Duntze, Bart., of Star- 

 cross; Mr. E. S. Drewe, of the Granire, CoUumpton ; Mr. 

 Walrond, of Brailfield ; Mr. Lan^ford, of Ashpool, near 

 Barnstaple; Mr. Fitt^, of Drewsteijiiton ; and Mr. John 

 Drew, Jim., of Powderham, near Exeter, weie elected mem- 

 bers of Council, in addition to a number of re-elections. Mr. 

 Duller, M.P., and Mr. R. K. King, are the vice-presidents. 



THE TREATMENT OF LAMBS AS A PREVENTIVE TO DISEASE. 



The paper read by Mr. Marshall to tlie members of 

 the London Farmers' Club was both novel and in- 

 structive. Although the discussion that followed upon 

 it did not greatly elucidate the subject, still sulKcient 

 was advanced in corroboration of his statement to lead 

 us to infer tliat hereafter it will tend to a beneficial re- 

 sult. 



"Any infrinj^ement of the organic laws," Geo. Coombe 

 observes, " will inevitably lead to a derangement of 

 the system ; " and it is to this circumstance that the 

 origin of the disease is to be traced. Sheep in their 

 natural state are not subjected to feed on the same 

 pasture continuously for any great length of time to- 

 gether, but travel from one portion to the other, as it 

 suits their inclination. In no instance, either, do the 

 lambs leave their motliers until late in the autumn, or 

 when they become able to provide and assimilate their 

 food properly, and at a season when the autumnal 

 showers have rendered it succulent and adapted to 

 their constitutions. 



Thit premised, let us examine the method pursued 

 by rfur sheep-breeders as regards their young stock. 

 At a very eai'ly period the lambs are separated from 

 their motliers, and are at once placed upon artificial 

 grasses, at a season when these are so far ripened as to 

 be totally unsuitable to the tender stomachs of the 

 lambs. Tlie sudden transition from the milk of the 

 ewe to the dry summer food that succeeds, i^ beyond 

 the power of their digestive organs to assimilate pro- 

 perly; consequently general derangement of the sto- 

 mach and system immediately follows, and of which 

 the small thread like worms that are found in the lungs 

 are but the indication. 



It has been established as a principle among the me- 

 dical profession, that upon any sudden change taking 

 place in the qualiiy of the food, disorder in the di- 

 gestive organs is prclty certain to fullo'.v ; and this is so 

 palpable to every one, thnt ii requires no argument to 



prove that such is the ca«e. With herbaceous ani- 

 mals also the same result will invariably follow — 

 instance that of a horse when taken suddenly from dry 

 food, and put ujion pasture, or vice versa. The fact is, 

 the gastric juice of the stomach ii process of time 

 adapts itself to the task it has to perform, and when 

 once so adapted, requires time for it again to suit it- 

 self to any other description of food to which it may 

 be subjected. A lamb in its early stages is dependent 

 almost entirely upon its mother's milk for subsistence, 

 and for several months from its birth mainly so. Ima- 

 gine then its being at once taken from the ewe, and 

 placed upm food entirely of a different character, 

 which, as we before stated, it is unable to digest! Dis- 

 turbance of the system at once follows. This is attended 

 with loss of appetite and fever ; parasitic worms, as al- 

 luded to, are engendered in the vessels of the throat and 

 lungs, and which, from their constantly irritating these 

 important vital organs, soon terminate the life of the 

 animal, to the great loss of the owner. 



We have analogous ca.ses in other de-criptions of live 

 stock — in young calves especially, taken too early from 

 their mothers, or improperly fed upon food that they 

 cannot digest. Milk, when tiiken into the stomach of 

 a young animal, becomes immediately coagulated by 

 the action of the gastric juice, and digestion then 

 follows in the natural way. But if, as in some cases, 

 any admi.\ture of other substances be made with the 

 milk previously to giving it, in the early period of 

 rearing, so as to prevent the coagulation of it when 

 taken into the stomach, an unhealthy condition of the 

 animal follows. The coat stares, a cough ensues, and 

 all the symptoms that are attendant upon the diseased 

 lambs become apparent. Small thread-like worms fill 

 the cavities of the lungs and windpipe ; and the animal 

 dies, unless medical aid be procured in sufficient time 

 to arrest the disease. This is generally cfTectcd by 

 the inhalation of gases destructive to the para>ites, or 



