SHEEP. 



333 



ill treated to the extent that their general health suffers, the skin will of course participate in 

 the evil effects of the imperfect nourishment of the body; hence, the wool will be supplied 

 with a less amount of the liquids from which it derives the elements of growth, and receiving 

 less of the oily secretion, called yolk, from the minute glands that supply it, withers, becomes 

 hard and dry, loses its softness and elasticity, and becomes matted into inextricable masses, 

 while on the backs of the sheep. If there is any tendency to scab or skin eruptions, the dif 

 ficulty will of course become greatly aggravated. The only remedy for this difficulty is to 

 keep the sheep in good condition by observing the sanitary laws necessary to that result. 

 Good food in sufficient quantities, plenty of pure air and water, clean, dry yards, and a warm, 

 dry place to sleep at night in winter, and dry land for pasturage in summer are the essentials. 

 No sheep can be healthy where the soil is so damp that the hoofs are constantly wet. To 

 avoid the cotting of fleece, therefore, implies the avoidance of all the causes of disease and 

 lack of thrift in a flock, since by good care and perfect health the fleece will receive from the 

 sebaceous glands which secrete the yolk a sufficient supply of that element to render the wool 

 soft and elastic, and its cotting impossible. When the wool has become cotted, it will gener 

 ally be found impossible to restore it, but by improving the general system and skin of the 

 animal the future growth will become natural and strong. 



Skeleton of the Sheep. The following explanation will be found of value in giving 

 the location and names of the bones of the sheep: 



Beginning with the head, the references to cut of skeleton show : 1 The intermaxillary bone. 



2 The nasal bones. 3 The upper jaw. 4 The union of the nasal and upper jaw bone. 5 The 



union of the molar and lachrymal bones. 6 The orbits of the eye. 7 The frontal bone, t) The 



lower jaw. 10 The incisor teeth or nippers. 11 The molars or grinders. 



THE NECK AND BODY. 1, 1 The ligament of the neck, supporting the head. 1, 2. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 



The seven vertebrae, or bones 

 of the neck. 1-13 The thirteen 

 vertebrae, or bones of the back. 

 1-6 The six vertebrae of the 

 loins. 7 The sacral bone. 8 

 The bones of the tail, varying in 

 different breeds from twelve to 

 twenty-one. 9 The haunch and 

 pelvis. 1-8 The eight true ribs 

 with their cartilages. 9-13 The 

 five false ribs, or those that are 

 not attached to the breast bone. 

 14 The breast bone. 



THE FORE LEG. 1 The 

 scapula or shoulder-blade. 2 



[9 jZf - The humerus, bone of the arm, 



or lower part of the shoulder. 

 3 The radius, or bone of the 

 forearm. 4 The ulna, or elbow. 

 5 The knee, with its different 

 bones. 6 The metacarpal or 



shank-bones ; the larger bones of the leg. 7 A rudiment of the smaller metacarpal. 8 One of the 



sessamoid bones. 9 The two first bones of the foot; the pasterns. 10 The proper bones of the foot. 

 THE HIND LEG. 1 The Thigh bone. 2 The stifle joint and its bone, the patella, 3 The 



tibia, or bone of the upper part of the leg. 4 The point of the hock. 5 The other bones of the hock. 



6 The metatarsal bone, or bone of the hind leg. 7 Rudiment of the small metatarsal. 8 A 



sessamoid bone. 9 The first two bones of the foot, the pasterns. 10 The proper bone of the foot. 

 It will be seen that the general anatomy of the sheep corresponds to that of the ox. In the limbs 



we find the number of joints the same in the horse, ox, and sheep Beneath the fetlock, however, the 



four bones are doubled in the sheep. 



SKELETON OF LEICESTEKSHIKE SHEEP. 



