SEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X. 493 



those which surround the average diseased flock upon the farm. In the 

 first place, the erosions had not extended very deeply Into the foot, and, 

 secondly, the animal was not allowed to run in a muddy yard, but was 

 kept upon a dry stable floor. The instances serve to prove, however, that 

 the remedy need not be very poisonous or caustic to produce the desired 

 results, and to emphasize the fact that one must constantly aim, while 

 treating foot-rot in sheep, to expose the diseased areas to the action of 

 the disinfectant used. 



Treatment of the affected animals should not be deferred, as more sat- 

 isfactory results will be obtained by attacking the outbreak as soon as 

 discovered than can be expected if the disease is permitted to spread 

 among the flock or to penetrate deeper into the tissues of the affected feet. 

 This is accepted as a very practical fact by the English shepherds, who 

 attend shipments of thoroughbred sheep on their trans-Atlantic voyage 

 to this country for breeding purposes. The statement is made by them 

 that none but negligent or inexperienced shepherds will ever allow 

 foot-rot to spread through a flock of which they are in charge, as thorough 

 trimming and antiseptic treatment of the hoof of the first animals seen 

 to be lame will surely save the balance of the sheep from an attack. 



The treatment already suggested for the sound portion of the flock 

 will be found very efllcacious for early stages of the disease, but after 

 the animal has become more seriously affected one should carefully exam- 

 ine each of its feet and, if necessary, pare away all shredded or loosened 

 portions of the horny tissue. This will often prove to be a very laborious 

 undertaking, but the operator should persist until the loosened horn has 

 been thoroughly removed and all of the ulcerous fissures have been ex- 

 posed. 



The foot must he carefully cleaned and every portion of loosened and 

 detached horn cut away, as the horny tissue once separated from the 

 sensitive parts beneath will never unite with them again, but will re- 

 main as a source of pain and inflammation and also a protection for the 

 disease-producing organisms while they attack and destroy the internal 

 structures. Should fungoid granulations be met they should be removed 

 with a knife or pair of curved scissors. All clippings and trimmings that 

 are removed from the diseased feet, whether composed of bits of horn, 

 shreds of tissue, or fungoid growths, should be carefully gathered up 

 and burned or disinfected, as they may serve to spread the disease further 

 if left where passing sheep may come in contact with them. 



If this work has been thoroughly done, standing a sheep for ten min- 

 utes in a strong solution of copper sulphate (blue vitrol), made as warm 

 as can be borne by the hand, will in most cases effect a cure. This 

 solution may be prepared by dissolving 3 pounds of copper sulphate in 

 .5 gallons of warm water. The foot-bath should be repeated if neces- 

 sary. 



; An attendant should remain stationed by the side of each sheep whose 

 feet are badly affected, to prevent the animal from lying down while it 

 ■is in the copper-sulphate solution, as sheep of this class, because of the 

 pain produced during their efforts to stand, are liable to drop to their 

 knees, or even to lie down in the trough, during the application of the 

 treatment. Soft bandages should be applied, after the sheep are re- 



